Kendra Scott, Carolyn Rafaelian Made This Forbes List Again

New York—Forbes, that frequent publisher of lists of people who’ve made a lot of money, just released its latest, the 2018 ranking of America’s Richest Self-Made Women.

Once again, the list includes two women well-known in the jewelry world: Carolyn Rafaelian, whose Alex and Ani bangle bracelets are carried by fine jewelers nationwide, and Kendra Scott, who started her eponymous costume jewelry company with $500 in her spare bedroom.

Rafaelian ranks No. 21 out of 60 with a net worth of $1 billion.

A Rhode Island native who is the daughter of Armenian immigrants, Rafaelian started bangle brand Alex and Ani in 2004. The company is named after her two daughters, and its bangles are made in the same factory where Rafaelian’s father manufactured American flag pins and costume jewelry.

She remains the company’s CEO and chief creative officer and holds a majority stake in Alex and Ani.

Scott, meanwhile, ranks No. 40 with an estimated net worth of $500 million. She has 79 of her own stores, and her jewelry is carried by department stores and other retailers nationwide.

Both women made the list last year as well.

Insta-Fortunes
If there was a lesson to be taken away from the 2018 list of the U.S.’s richest self-made women, it’s this: There is a lot of money to be made in cosmetics, and the best way to make it is to have a huge Instagram following and showcase the products there.

Kylie Jenner (No. 27) started her cosmetics business two years ago selling a $29 kit consisting of lipstick and a matching liner. She leveraged her 110 million Instagram followers to turn Kylie Cosmetics into an $800 million company, Forbes estimates, and personally is worth $900 million.

At only 20, she’s on track to become the youngest-ever self-made billionaire and is the youngest woman on the 2018 list (Taylor Swift is second at age 28.)

Joining her on the list are several other women who’ve made a fortune in cosmetics thanks in large part to the power of social media.

According to Forbes, Anastasia Soare’s (No. 21, $1 billion) Anastasia Beverly Hills brand took off after her daughter opened an Instagram account for the company that now has more than 17 million followers.

Huda Kattan (No. 37, $550 million) used her status as an Instagram influencer to help launch Huda Beauty after she couldn’t find any false eyelashes that she liked.