All language subtitles for The.Kardashians.Billion.Dollar.Dynasty.2023.720p.WEB.h264-BAE

I'm the dopest. I'm the
ropest person in this class.

- You're 16 years old
and cameras are rolling

and you're telling everybody,

"I wanna be famous, I wanna
be famous, I wanna be famous."

- Does everyone
get a tape of this?

Because I hope you do so you
can see me when I'm famous

and all of you remember me of
this beautiful little girl.

(dramatic music)

- Kim Kardashian,
she had one goal,

make me the most famous
person in the world.

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] The Kardashians
seemed so ordinary

when they hit our
screens 15 years ago.

(crowd screams)

They're now the biggest
family in show business.

- They're victorious.
We have been vanquished.

They are in fact an industry.

- World domination next?

- Maybe.
(crowd screams)

- [Narrator] These
films tell the story

of how they capture
the world's imagination

to become rich beyond
their wildest dreams.

- They're aligned for
public consumption.

So on Instagram,

the power of the Kardashians
reach, it's that valuable.

(dramatic music)

- Together with Kim Kardashian,
we broke the internet.

(dramatic music)

- That deal valued her
business at $1.2 billion,

which is insane.
(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] What were they
like before they were famous?

- I think this is it.

- You know Khloe and Kourtney.

- They were in it to win
it from the beginning.

(dramatic music)

- I don't think I've
ever known anybody who

started out the way
Chris started out.

- We've got the machine

that's about to revolutionise
the way America walks.

- [Reporter] Barack Obama
thinks Kim Kardashian

and Kanye West are the worst.

- [Narrator] And
how did they conquer

the world of celebrity?
(dramatic music)

- To have a reality star

whose career was
essentially launched

from a scandalous sex tape.

- Kim Kardashian-West.
(crowd applauds)

- Sit down and discuss policy

and prison reform with
the sitting president.

That only happens in America.

- It really is such
an honour to be here.

- That's wild.

- [Producer] All
right, we're ready.

- No, no, no. You're right here.

- [Narrator] On the
14th of October, 2007,

the Kardashians made their debut

on an obscure US cable channel.

- I need someone
to make me laugh.

- [Narrator] The title
sequence portrayed a wholesome,

fun-loving all-American family,

but it gave no hint that
the show was definitely not

traditional family viewing.

- [Producer] That's
it, we're done.

- Why did you make a sex tape?

- Because I was horny
and I felt like it.

(Khloe laughs)
(jazz music)

- [Narrator] The show would
enable the Kardashians

to capitalise on
an exciting new gap

in the entertainment market.

(jazz music)

- So this is where we are.

This is where it all happened.

Kim Kardashian lived right
here in this building here,

right here on South Clark Drive,

right here in West Hollywood.

She came on her own, lived
in a one bedroom apartment,

and built an empire.
(jazz music)

My name is Sheeraz Hasan
and I make people famous.

Kim Kardashian did not
wanna be a movie star.

She didn't wanna be
a recording artist.

She didn't want to do modelling.

You know, she didn't
wanna do fashion.

You know, what do you want?

"Sheeraz, I wanna become

the most famous
person in the world."

- [Paparazzi] This your
first tour in LA, Paris?

- [Paparazzi] Paris, Paris.

- [Paparazzi]
Paris, we love you.

- My first interaction with Kim

is when she was Paris
Hilton's assistant.

Paris Hilton, you know,
is huge reality star,

but she was pretty much her
stylist, running errands.

Where Paris Hilton was one of
the biggest stars in the world

and Kim was her shadow.

- Can I get a picture with you?

Thank you, I love your blog.
- Thank you.

- Now what Kim did was
very smart at the time.

She was photo bombing
media opportunities.

(dramatic music)
Even if I'm holding a bag.

Even when we're
running your Starbucks,

I don't care what I'm doing,

I'm in that shot.
(dramatic music)

So when you have someone
like Kim that's DNA

and her entire focus is
I want to become famous,

then she's gonna do
whatever it takes.

(dramatic music)

- I just gotta do
a screen cover.

- Oh my gosh.
(dramatic violin music)

You're not recording.

Oh.
- I was just doing photo.

- [Narrator] Before the
Kardashians were discovered,

Spencer and Heidi were the
big names in reality TV

portraying themselves as the
constantly rowing love birds

in a show called "The Hills."

- She's hand is
practically on your knee.

I mean, and dressed like that.

How many times have
you even seen her?

(dramatic music)

I remember meeting Kim,

I think the first time was when

we were filming for "The Hills"

and she was coming over
to organise my closet.

And I knew her as Paris's friend

and the Kardashians
hadn't been picked up yet

and she was so nice and you
know, had a great work ethic.

She never drank and she
was always so on point,

knew everybody's name.

Just a very professional person.

- I wonder, do you
guys need footage?

I have my own footage
that I got from Heidi

when she was in the Girl's
Gone Wild Fashion Show

and we're backstage with Kim.

This up here is
a stash of tapes.

I don't know what most
of these are, but,

but I think this is it,
Heidi Fashion Show, Miami.

(pop music)

Boom.

Look it who it is.

- [Heidi] Hey, hey.
- How are you guys?

The whole fam is here.

- [Spencer] I remember
she was did up

like ready for the Oscars

before anyone knew who she was.

- [Guest] Sharon, a smash box.

- Your welcome.

Thank you. Thank you.

I only wish I had the guts
to walk out on the runway

with all the lights.

- [Guest] Look the Kardashians.

- [Kim] Oh my God.

- You notice Kim takes her
photo with Heidi, is nice,

boom, on to networking.

Off to work the room like a pro.

Kim was thirstier than us, as
wild as that statement sounds,

you know, known as the
most fame-whore couple,

Kim blew us out of the water.

- And they were really
targeting fame and studying it

and taking it very
seriously, the entire family.

So they were in it to win
it from the beginning.

(dramatic piano music)

- [Narrator] Starring
in a reality show

was the key to finding fame
for low level celebrities

lacking traditional
showbiz talents.

The Kardashians just
needed a foot in the door.

(dramatic piano music)

- My name's Eliot Goldberg.

I was a co-creator

and executive producer
of "Keeping Up With
The Kardashians."

(dramatic piano music)

So I was looking for
a celebrity family

that we could put on television.

I just remember being
hit like a lightning bolt

in the meeting.

I'm sitting there talking to,

at that point was
Bruce now Caitlyn,

and he's sort of rolling his
eyes, talking about sports,

and going like this and
Kris, you know, saying,

"You know what Kim, you
know you," blah blah blah.

And it was just like sort
of watching a performance,

which I had had hundreds and
hundreds of pitches in my life.

I'd never had a pitch like this.

But I remember thinking,

"We should try to do
something with them."

(pop music)

- Hey, I'm Kim Kardashian

and I get to live
every girl's dream.

I can't believe it's
actually my job-

- [Narrator] The
original sales tape

saw a perfectly coiffured Kim

confidently posing as
an established star.

- If you think my life
is crazy, meet my family.

- We kind of came
up with this idea

to make Kim sort of the lead.

We made her the narrator

and I thought that was sort
of a hook that made sense.

I don't know what it is, who
knows if it's even a show,

but my job as a development
executive is to take chances

and to try.

(dramatic music)
(cameras click)

- [Narrator] As
luck would have it,

Lindsay Lohan's show
had just been cancelled

following a drink
driving incident

that left a cable channel
with a gaping hole

in their schedule.
(dramatic music)

- My name's Ted Harbert.
(dramatic music)

E at that time was a successful
but struggling network

and I was brought in to try
to just put on more hit shows.

I took the, I think
it was a TVD home,

and put it in the machine,

came back the next morning
and said to my staff,

"I think this is a hit.

We should put it on the air."

(light music)

- We got a call on Monday,

"Hey Eliot, so hey,

if we're gonna pick up
the Kardashian show,

I need it on the
air in six weeks."

And I said, "Wait, wait, wait.

Did you say you're gonna
pick up the Kardashian show?"

- Yeah.
- Can someone (beep) help me?

- Do you have it?
- Like, I'm really tired

of doing all (beep).

- I'm buying something
on the phone.

- [Narrator] The first season of

"Keeping Up with
the Kardashians"

followed a fail safe formula,

mixing banality with
explosive arguments.

- Send to you.

- Get the (beep) outta here.

Go to (beep) smooch, get
the (beep) out of here.

- Oh my God, psycho.

- Out. Get the (beep) out.

- I've been involved with
a lot of family dramas

and it's a kind of
a simple formula,

conflict between family,
resolution at the end.

Everybody hugs, we
love each other.

I narrowed that down
to fight, fight, fight,

hug, hug, hug, love, love, love.

And that's basically, if you
watch the Kardashian episodes,

it's what happens
almost every episode.

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] What really
gave the Kardashians the edge

was how perfectly
poised family members

showed no embarrassment
discussing the most

intimate personal matters.

- When I first heard about
Kim's tape as her mother,

I wanted to kill her,

but as her manager I knew
that I had a job to do

and I really just wanted
her to move past it.

(dramatic music)

- So there were rumours
that Kim had a sex tape

going around Hollywood

and she was adamant
that this wasn't true.

And then one morning we saw
an item in the Daily News

that said that there
was a sex tape in fact

and it was being touted
around porn companies

and it was Kim Kardashian's.

She was in Australia at
the beach with Paris.

So we called her and
Kim was in tears.

She was absolutely in pieces,

but she admitted that
there was a sex tape.

- Can you even see?

- Yeah, I got it set up.

I'll be back in a minute, holla.

- [Narrator] The low
quality home movie

had been made four
years earlier,

filmed by Kim's then boyfriend,

now forgotten R&B star Ray J.

- That's just a little taste
of me making a bounce tonight.

- [Narrator] What the film
lacked in production values

was made up for by the
uninhibited performances

of its stars.

- Everyone wanted to know
was this a strategic move

to catapult Kim
Kardashian's fame

or were they victims of someone
violating their privacy?

(dramatic violin music)

- [Narrator] For many, it
seemed too much of a coincidence

that Kim's mentor Paris Hilton

had also found fame following
the release of a tape.

(dramatic violin music)

- You remember Paris
Hilton's sex tape

obviously put Paris
Hilton on another level

when it came to stardom.
(dramatic violin music)

I was told Paris led Kim
down that path and said,

"Here is the roadmap.
Put out a sex tape.

The world will know your name."

- [Narrator] In February, 2007,

the Kardashians announced they
would sue the distributors.

- That lawsuit
settled out of court.

I'm gonna give you
my personal opinion.

It was done to save face.

I can tell you it's not
the first time I've seen

a frivalent lawsuit go out

where all parties
involved know exactly

what's going on 'cause
it benefits everyone.

Putting out a lawsuit,

saying you didn't
wanna be a part of it,

all of it fueled the fire

of more people being
interested in seeing it

'cause they're not
supposed to see it.

It is the highest
grossing sex tape,

celebrity sex tape, of all time.

- The sex tape did have
relevance to my decision.

I was a little worried
that we'd be criticised for

putting Kim on.

On the other hand,

I also thought that the sex
tape might attract viewers

who wanna, okay,
who is this woman?

But that can help
elevate curiosity

and let's go check out what
this woman's all about.

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] The
gamble paid off.

Despite industry critics,

the audience wanted more and
the series was recommissioned.

- Kris pulled me
aside and she said,

"And I just have a
great feeling about this

and I just wanna
make you one promise,

with this family shit
always happens to us."

(paparazzi chatter)

(crowd cheers)

- While we breathe, we hope.

And where we are met
with cynicism and doubts

and those who tell
us that we can't,

we will respond with that
timeless creed that sums up

the spirit of a people.

Yes, we can.
(crowd cheers)

- [Narrator] In 2008,
Obama makes history.

He'd soon discover
that middle America

was more interested in a
different kind of celebrity.

- My name is Larry Hackett.

I was the editor-in-chief
of People Magazine.

We were the final kind of
stamp of celebrity achievement.

If you got on the cover
of People Magazine,

you had arrived in the
pantheon of American stardom.

And I go to Washington
to interview

the new president of the
United States, Barack Obama.

(foreboding music)

We are leaving, the
correspondent and I,

and she says to me,

"So I'll talk to press secretary

and tell him about the cover."

And I screw up the
courage and I say,

"It's not gonna be the cover."

She's like, "What do you mean
it's not gonna be the cover?"

I'm like, "We have a
different cover this week"

She said, "What is it?"

I said, "Heidi Montag's
breast surgery."

(comical music)

- [Narrator] On the cover,

The Obamas were
relegated to a picture

the size of a postage stamp.

- I put Heidi Montag's
breast surgery

on the cover of the magazine

instead of the new president
of the United States.

Why? Because I still
believe to this day

it was gonna sell more.

You can imagine his response.

(Larry laughs)
(electronic music)

So that was the world
we were living in.

- [Paparazzi] Love you Kourtney.

(paparazzi chatter)

- [Paparazzi] You guys
pulled up in the same time

like y'all are sisters and
know what's going on and stuff.

- [Narrator] "Keeping
up with the Kardashians"

had just been recommissioned

but the family had yet
to make their fortune.

(paparazzi chatter)

- It was keeping
up with the Jones.

You're shopping and
spending all this money.

You're driving cars that you
might not be able to afford.

You're spending
millions of dollars

or racking it up
on a credit card

so you can ha be best dressed

and be relevant within
these magazines.

- And people are like,

"Oh, how'd you go through
$10 million," da da da?

It's like, that was
easy at this time

'cause reality TV is
now getting put in with

A-list celebrities in the media.

So we're going
against their checks,

which are 25 million a movie

against our way smaller checks,

you know, battling
for headlines,

"Entertainment Tonight,"
"Extra," "Access Hollywood."

So the playing field
had levelled out,

but we didn't have the budget.

(dramatic piano music)

- I remember if you look back,

the Kardashians were in
massive credit card debt

and there was a bunch of stories

that had come out about that.

That they needed money

and this show changed
their entire lives.

They were using a facade
house for Kris Jenner's home

where it was this
big beautiful home

near Runyon Canyon
that was very visible,

but it wasn't even where
the Kardashians lived.

And I think that was,

"We want to put on a persona of

we have more money than
we necessarily have."

Which I kind of love the
the whole Kim Kardashian

fake it till you make it
really worked out for them.

(fast paced piano music)

- [Narrator] Right
from the start,

The Kardashians had
a plan to become rich

beyond their wildest dreams.

- At that time,

you gotta remember there
was no social media.

There was none of these
platforms out there, none.

So the only thing that you
could get was the cameras,

was the media, was the paparazzi
driving that level of fame.

So the strategy was once
we make enough of a noise

in the tabloid world,

once we make enough
noise in the media,

covers would follow,
the brands would follow,

that could monetize
what they were doing.

(fast paced piano music)

- My name is Dan Wakeford.

I was the editor and chief
of Life & Style Magazine.

It was 2008 and Kim wanted
a cover the magazine

and I was really scared
to give her a cover

because you wouldn't usually
do that with a cable show,

it would usually have
to be a big star.

But people were
chattering about Kim.

And then one night she
invited me out to a club

with her friend
Brittny Gastineau

and we pulled up and there
were ques around the block,

there were lines around
the block and I was like,

"What is going on?
Why are they here?"

And Britney just looked at me,

"They're here for Kim."

And it was in the
moment I decided to

take a risk and put her on
the cover of the magazine.

(foreboding music)

We did a great body
positivity interview with her

and the cover line was, "I
have cellulite, so what?"

And it flew off the shelves.

It was my biggest seller
I'd ever had at the time.

Women just adored the fact
that she was being open

and relatable and
just like them.

(foreboding music)

- Kim was so good at
doing body related stuff,

how Kim lost 30 pounds,

how Kim's getting bikini ready,

like I remember always
seeing that as her way in.

And this is when these magazines
sold 3 million plus a week.

It was like dropping a
multi-platinum album.

(paparazzi chatter)

- Once the new it girl
looked far differently

than what we've seen before.

You know, everyone wanted
to start looking like

Kim Kardashian because

Kim Kardashian was found
to be very attractive

by men everywhere.

- I remember we had an editor
at TMZ back in the day.

He started to take
a big liking to Kim.

He liked her butt.

That's really what
it came down to.

And every video that we'd get
we would start focusing in

on her backside
and start saying,

"This woman is beautiful.

The world should pay
attention to her."

- Well.
- Hi.

- Hello and what a pleasure.

- [Narrator] Kim was
quick to capitalise

on her unique asset

and just 10 months after
the launch of her sex tape

she was in frank negotiations
to grace the cover

of an adult magazine.

- I'm very excited about having
you in the December issue.

- I'm very excited.
- Very excited.

The great face, the
hair, the booty.

I think it will
all do very well.

- Got it.

- I have one little question.

- [Hugh] Okay.
- Does she have to take

her clothes off?

- [Hugh] Oh yes.
(dramatic music)

- When we get to see
Kim and her mother,

Kris Jenner going back
and forth to decide

if she should do the
cover of Playboy Magazine,

people were all in.

- I mean, I'm sure she's
not just standing there

with her boobs out.

- She's probably posing
and going like this.

- [Narrator] The show went
on to document the sisters'

entertaining support for
Kim's decision to bear all

in an ultra glamorous
photo shoot.

- And then she
sticks her butt out

and then her
stomach goes in more

and her mouth is always open.

Like why is her mouth
open in every picture.

- So I did do Playboy
a few months after Kim

and she was really encouraging
that she didn't regret it

and just go for it and
just get the great photos.

And I ended up not
doing the nudity route.

- You start getting, you
know, half a million dollars,

it's a lot of
money so it's like.

And they're just
like, "Just boobs."

And it's like, again,

I don't have boobs otherwise
they would've been in that.

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] As season two
rolled into season three,

the family quickly became known

for their audacious
pursuit of money.

- [Reporter] Kim
Kardashian helped open

their newest location
at 142 West 42nd Street

where Kim was
presented with the key

to unlock the 2010
Charmin restrooms.

- She was at the opening of
the new hottest toilet in town

and good for her
'cause, you know,

it looked like she got paid.

- It's the fifth year in a
row that Charmin is opening up

a great gorgeous
clean restrooms for,

you know, everyone to
use in New York City

during the holidays.

- This is a great example of Kim

and the Kardashians not
being too good for anything

and just really being there,
putting their head down.

She didn't have any
attitude about it.

She showed up.

She had a great
speech to the camera,

hair, makeup, professional.
(enchanting music)

- Anything they got
offered they would do.

There was no no,

like they said yes to everything

and eventually that paid off

because they just were
everywhere at one point.

(crowd cheers)

- [Narrator] The family
would soon find themselves

fending our false
advertising lawsuits.

They were eventually
forced to cut ties

with a high interest credit card

accused of targeting
young people

and a slimming supplement that
contained mostly caffeine.

But in 2011,

they secured a deal that would
change the family's fortunes.

(dramatic music)

- I got a phone call of
how the CMO of Sketchers

is gonna be at Mr.
Chows in Beverly Hills.

"Kim, you're gonna out
to dinner tonight."

"Where?"

"You're gonna Mr. Chows."

"Why?"

"There's a huge
marketing executive

going to be eating at Mr. Chows.

He's gonna eat.

He's gonna do what he
wants, doesn't matter.

Yes, he doesn't
know you, whatever.

We're gonna get you a table."

- [Paparazzi] Kim.
(paparazzi chatter)

- I made such a media drama

outside Mr. Chows
that the CMO was just,

"Who is this? Who
is this person?"

- [Paparazzi] Kim, man,
what are you doing?

- Later Kris Jenner ended up
closing a deal with Sketchers

and she became the
face of the Super Bowl.

- This commercial
starts playing.

(seductive music)

And it cuts to a scene
where it's Kim Kardashian

barely wearing any clothes.

It's her and this guy.

- I don't really
know how to say this

other than to just say it.

You're amazing.

- And it honestly
looks like they're like

recreating her sex tape.

Like they're on
top of each other.

She's making a lot of innuendos.

- The best I've ever had,

but things just
aren't working out.

Well, that's not
completely true.

- And then it cuts away and
it's a Sketcher's commercial.

- It's something else.

- But the way they did it

really made you
think that they were

playing off of her sex tape

and capitalising on that
whole thing once again.

- [Narrator] In 2012,

building on what would become

a new business direction
for the family,

Kim decided to launch
her latest perfume.

But getting noticed in
the crowded marketplace

would require an
unorthodox PR technique.

- So you're launching a
perfume, okay, amazing.

But guess what? We want
the news to talk about it.

Do journalists care?

No, they're not there to
make you rich and to promote.

So I'm saying, "Okay,
then it's very simple.

Then we have to
disrupt this event."

- Kim was at her perfume launch

and Kim walked the red carpet.

(dramatic music)

Got flour bombed and obviously
this made a lot of press.

(dramatic music)

- It's very convenient that
at a launch for a perfume

and while you're
filming for your show

you get flour bombed.

And this is where
sometimes the viewers,

or us as the viewers,

we kinda like tilt our
head like, "Is this real?

Did you really do this?"

But you'll never know.
(dramatic music)

- I'm launching a
fragrance. Guess what we do?

You are willing to
get flour bombed.

We have our discussions.

Kim, team, "Okay, this
is what's gonna happen.

You're gonna be fine.

You're gonna be safe,

but we're gonna create
a media moment."

If we create media gold, then
guess what's gonna happen?

Everyone's gonna talk
about your perfume.

Everyone's gonna buy it.

Are the team on it?

Of course they're in on it.

(dramatic music)
(paparazzi chatter)

- [Narrator]
Despite their talent

for capturing the
public's attention,

it would take another decade

for the Kardashians to
become billionaires.

All thanks to the
family's true genius.

- I can tell you the reason why

Kim Kardashian is one of
the most famous people

in the world today is because

she had a woman right beside her

who will do whatever it takes.

Kris Jenner is a beast.

This is a woman that,

a real definition
of a media beast,

that's behind a daughter
who is all about business.

(paparazzi chatter)

(dramatic piano music)

- [Ted] Kris is one of
the best negotiators

I've ever met in my life.

I frankly didn't
expect this mom of many

with no legal training
at all to end up being

such a powerful negotiator.

- [Narrator] So confident
was Kris Jenner's vision

of her family's
earning potential.

She made sure from the start

there would be no unnecessary
sharing of the spoils.

- The most interesting
part about Kris Jenner is

she was already part
of the biggest TV shows

in maybe the history
of the world,

which was the OJ Simpson trial.

- [Reporter] Word has been
out throughout the whole

southern California community,

all kind of bulletins saying
that OJ Simpson is wanted.

That he's been charged
in the two murders

that took place Sunday night.
(dramatic music)

- Robert Kardashian was
this American attorney

who came to fame because he was
best friends with OJ Simpson

and he also was a part
of that legal team.

- [Narrator] America's
most famous murder trial

catapulted the Kardashian
name into the limelight

as well as getting OJ
Simpson off a double murder.

Robert Kardashian
was married to Kris.

- The whole OJ Simpson
situation took place

and I recognised right
away the name Kardashian.

(dramatic music)

I'm Leslie Johnson Leach.

I was dating Kris
Jenner's father

and Kris was 17 years
old at the time.

Kris came from a family that
was not a very wealthy family.

She was very beautiful
and she was very social.

I don't think I've
ever known anybody who

started out the way someone
like Kris started out

and then rose up the
way she rose up and now.

(ambient music)

- [Narrator] It was 1973
when Kris first met the rich

and well connected LA
lawyer Robert Kardashian.

(ambient music)

- I started as a
photojournalist in Los Angeles.

My name's Larry Schiller.

And somewhere is in the '70s

I met Robert Kardashian

who was married to
this knockout chick.

And it wasn't long, Kris
had they're first baby.

And Kris, she was
almost a perfect mother.

She was so devoted to the
girls, it was just unbelievable.

- [Robert] You'd think the
queen just had a new baby.

- [Narrator] In
this rare home movie

shared on Kim's
social media channel.

It's clear how keen
the couple were

to have their family on film.

- [Reporter] Oh what
a great picture.

- [Woman] That's a good one.

- When Chris was about ready
to turn 30, Robert said to me,

"I wanna make a video for her."

And what we did is we took Kris

and we went all around LA.

And she was singing
to the music track.

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] With the
taste for the high life,

Kris set her sights
on becoming more than

just a glamorous housewife and
the couple divorced in 1991.

- When the divorce came about,

Kris was pretty much
on her own financially.

That's when Kris starts to
emerge as this businesswoman.

(ambient music)

- [Narrator] She married
American sports hero

and Olympic champion
Bruce, now Caitlyn Jenner,

who was down on his luck
with just $200 in the bank.

(ambient music)

- Kris is really what
kind of pushed Bruce

back into prominence.

I always looked at Kris as being

the much more savvy
marketing person

and business person
than Bruce was.

Him and Kris were doing
infomercials on TV

and selling fitness products.

- We've got the machine

that's about to revolutionise
the way America walks.

- Here you had to
treadmill without a motor

and you had to do
all the things.

So instead of making it like

we couldn't afford to
put a motor in this,

it's like, "Boy you
should have this

without a motor
because it's better."

- If you want to go slow,
you can slow it down.

If you want to go faster,
you could pick it up.

- They sold a lot
of those units.

I think it really
just opened her up

so that she could see that

she could really be
anything she wanted.

And she had within her,
you know, all the tools.

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] Chris even
got her new husband

on the motivational
speaker circuit

and experimented with
a TV fitness channel.

- When the show started and
they start endorsing things

and popping up everywhere,

that is really Kris Jenner

putting into practise
what she did for Caitlyn,

when Caitlyn was kind
of down on her luck,

I think she just
took that experience

and implied it to her girls.

- Once upon a time,
was a little girl

and she was happy.

- [Narrator] As this
intimate moment reveals,

Kim was already perfectly at
ease in front of the camera.

- Being in front of
cameras really started

when they were little girls

and every part of
those girls' lives

was being documented
on a camera.

So it really, their childhood
was a training ground

for what was to come.

- The idea of as
a family sharing

everything that happens
is a huge decision

and I think very difficult.

I've tried to think
would I ever do that?

No, there's things I would
not want the world to see.

Kris got it.
(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] By season four

of "Keeping up with
the Kardashians,"

it would seem that
there was nothing left

for this family to share.

But once again,
they would deliver.

(ambient music)

- Kourtney's pregnancy
was a big deal

'cause she's the first person
to get pregnant in the family.

It's the first grandkid.

It's like the first
time you got to see

that much intimate moment
of someone's pregnancy.

(ambient music)

- It wasn't just a 20 minute
story for the audience

to be engaged in.

It's a nine month
long narrative.

So it really stretched
out their storyline

throughout the family.

- And back to like how
authentic the Kardashians are.

They're even showing the
birth in the delivery room.

A baby is coming out
of a, you know what,

you know, so that's like
they put it all on camera.

- Kourtney's acting
like nothing is wrong.

She just is so calm.

She's isn't even
crying. I'm crying.

- Oh my gosh.
(light music)

- You want to grab him?

- [Scott] Oh my god.

- Oh my gosh. Can
I pull him put?

- Yeah, go ahead.

There he goes.

There we go. It's a boy.

Oh my gosh.

- I mean, that's
real TV right there.

- Yeah, not give a damn, like,

"Yeah, I'll pull this kid
outta my vagina on national TV.

I don't care," right?

No shame, they don't care.

(paparazzi chatter)

- [Narrator] The
episode would prove

to be their highest rated yet,

leading some viewers to question

if the pregnancy was
a deliberate strategy.

- What was apparent
with our show

and any show is to
keep viewers hooked,

you need to keep bigger stories

and that's why on "The Hills"

it got to the point
where they have us doing

all these fake fights

because it needs
to be more dramatic

'cause people just
want more, more, more.

So with the Kardashians to
maintain as far as they have,

they always need a
bigger story arc.

(dramatic music)
(paparazzi chatter)

- I think Kris uses
her family's ups

and downs as great selling
points for the show.

That's a great way to
explain exploitation.

(Natalie laughs)

- [Narrator] The
Kardashians had given more

than any reality
family before them,

but their public
were about to turn.

- I think some people felt bad.

Other people loved
watching her crumble.

(dramatic music)

(cameras click)
(dramatic music)

- Kim was heading
into her thirties

and she wanted to have children.

She wanted to have what
her mother has had.

She wanted to find her man

and then she did something
that many people do.

She projected her fantasy of
married life onto somebody

and tried to will it to happen.

- [Narrator] Season
six introduced

self-conscious looking
basketball star Chris Humphries

and saw him sharing a carefully
staged marriage proposal

with over 3 million viewers.

- Oh my God.
(romantic music)

This is like the moment

that every girl has dreamed
of their entire life.

You're crazy.
- I love you.

Will you marry me?
(romantic music)

- Oh my god, yes.

- By the way you're
getting married.

What does that mean? Media gold.

Sign that piece of paper.

This has now become a show.
(dramatic music)

- Kim, getting married
to Chris Humphries

was the biggest thing
in entertainment news.

That was the biggest wedding.

I mean, falling short
of like a royal wedding.

(dramatic music)

- One thing that
people know on TV

that rates high are weddings.

There's a lot of money to
be made on the backside.

Viewers are interested and
it's great for tabloid.

So I definitely think Kim knew

there was nothing to
lose with this wedding,

only lots of money to gain.

- That is one of the
reasons why we had

multiple weddings on television.

(dramatic music)

- You had E involved, the press.

You had like Vera Wang involved
making all your dresses.

It was a production.

Like it was a big wedding on
top of a actual TV production.

(dramatic music)

- Every detail
about this wedding

we were covering stories on

because that was the only
thing people wanted to read.

- [Paparazzi] Kim, are
you ready to try the knot?

Kim, have you picked out
your wedding dress yet?

- One of the things
that was our stock

and trade at People
Magazine was having wedding

and baby photos.

We'd had Julia Roberts's kids.

We'd had Britney's wedding.

We'd had Brad and
Angelina's kids.

It was something that we did.

- [Paparazzi] Wow. You
look beautiful, Kim.

- I entered into negotiations
with Kris Jenner about

the wedding pictures for Kim.

- [Paparazzi] Hi Kris.
- I'm okay, how are you?

- [Paparazzi] Good.
- I mean, it's a card game.

She was, you know, carving me
up with a smile on her face.

(piano music)

That, I think, was one
of those indicators where

she started to realise
how famous they were.

At this point in time,

I wasn't gonna say
no to these pictures.

(upbeat piano music)

- [Narrator] Exclusive photos

of the quintessential
blushing bride

were sold to the magazine
for a reported $1.5 million.

They put her on the cover
with a knowing smile.

- I dedicated like two
days to this wedding

'cause I think it was
like a two day special

and I was like all in.

Like I remember
before it even aired,

I woke up the day Kim was
marrying Chris Humphries

and I was like, "Kim's
getting married today."

Like that's how
invested I was in it.

(crowd applauds)

- Friends and family,
it's a delight to present

for the very first time Mr.
and Mrs. Chris Humphries.

(crowd applauds)

- [Narrator] On the
9th of October, 2011,

10.5 million people would tune
in to a well choreographed

picture perfect
fairytale wedding,

breaking all the
network's records.

- Baby, you're my wife.

- How weird is that?

- Now you're stuck
with me forever.

- Perfect.

- In reality, the
couple had married

seven weeks before
the broadcast,

during which time an
unexpected storyline

had been developing.

- And everyone's
scratching their heads.

Everyone's hearing
rumours around the family

that Chris and Kim
aren't getting on.

(dramatic music)

- During that period of time,

I had got her millions of
dollars to come to Dubai

as an appearance
and I said to Kim,

"Bring your husband.
Come. You know, it's okay.

I'll add it to the
roster. No problem."

She said, "No, Sheeraz."

I said, "Why not?"

She said, "Well,
he holds me back."

(dramatic music)

- I think Chris Humphries got
into the family and was like,

looked around and said,

"I don't know if this
is the situation for me.

I'm not sure I can handle this."

(dramatic violin music)

And as I recall,

they were married for
about an hour and a half

and then they got divorced.

that she's splitting from
her soon-to-be ex hubby,

Chris Humphries after only
72 days of wedded bliss.

(foreboding music)

- The world went wild

when they saw Kim had
filed for divorce.

You had to wrap your
head around the shock

and awe of did they really just
go through this big wedding

to then file for divorce?

It almost didn't make any sense.

- [Narrator] Kim's marriage
lasted less than three months.

It has estimated the
family made $18 million

from the deals
associated with it.

(dramatic music)

- I think that people
probably thought,

"Oh, this is all for reality TV.

This wasn't real"

Because how can you leave
a marriage that quickly?

You didn't even give it 90 days.

You know, most jobs
you get like a 90 day,

you know, before
you get evaluated

or before you get your benefits.

He didn't even get a chance

to get his health
benefits, you know.

(cameras click)
(paparazzi chatter)

- After the divorce was filed,

Chris then tried to
say, "No, no, no,

I want this marriage annulled
under the basis of fraud."

(dramatic music)

And the second he threw
out the word fraud,

everyone attached to it.
(dramatic music)

And then a lot of people
pointed to Kim Kardashian said,

"You just use the world

and you used this marriage
as a publicity stunt."

(foreboding music)

- We have so much going
on in our lives right now

that we don't need
to make up things

or fabricate issues to
create a television show.

That is just ridiculous.

It's not like, you know, for
any kind of financial gain.

(foreboding music)

- [Narrator] The Kardashians
ratings plummeted.

(dramatic music)

- And the press just ate her up.

They just called the
family like scammers

and they just did
this for money.

At this point, there's
nothing you can do

to keep the interest
of the audience.

They don't trust you anymore.

Their reputation
took a huge hit it.

(dramatic music)

But I thought for sure like,

"Oh, this might be the
beginning of the end for them."

- This was a failing moment
that people wanted to spotlight

and highlight and say,

"See, you shouldn't be
paying this much attention

to the Kardashians."
(dramatic music)

- But then Kim
pulls a great move

and she doubles back to this guy

who's always liked her,
called her Kim Karadashon,

and his name was
Kanye Omari West.

(dramatic music)
(paparazzi chatter)

- Kim-Ye wasn't just a
cute celebrity nickname.

Like that was an enterprise.

A huge one.

(dramatic music)

- What they did is they
fed the beast of Instagram.

- That deal valued her
business at $1.2 billion.

(dramatic music)

- Together with Kim Kardashian,
we broke the internet.

(dramatic music)

- This is clearly
a black girl look

that you've co-opted.

- Kim Kardashian-West.
(audience applauds)

- Fame got Kim Kardashian
into the Oval Office.

(dramatic music)

(dramatic violin music)

(dramatic violin music)

- Everything we see of
the Kardashians today

has been planned.

- [Interviewer] World
domination next?

- Maybe.

- Everything is a strategy.

These are master marketers.

- You guys!

The whole fam is here.

- Kim takes her photo
and, boom, on the network.

Like a pro.

- [Narrator] This is a
story of how one family,

obsessed with fame,

conquered the
world of celebrity.

- They get made fun of, derided,

looked down on, but like...

They monetized the thing that
people ridicule them for.

It's ingenious.

- Modern American
celebrity is our equivalent

of the gods on Mount Olympus,

and the Kardashians,

consciously or not,
exploited that.

- [Narrator] But their
journey to the top has been

fraught with
accusations and scandal.

- Here is the road map.

Put out a sex tape, the
world will know your name.

- So you're launching a perfume

and we have to
disrupt this event.

Are the team on it?

Of course they're in on it.

- When Kim and Kris got married,
it was a 72-day marriage.

- [Paparazzi] Kim!

Kim, how do you feel?

- And the press just ate her up.

I thought for sure,
like, oh, this might be

the beginning of
the end for them.

(paparazzi shouting
indistinctly)

- [Paparazzi] Kim!

To your left, to your left!

Kim!

- I definitely think after
the 72-day marriage scandal,

that she was like,
the next move I make

has got to be important
and it's gotta stick.

- The whole world knows.

One of the most
famous people now.

So famous.

So successful.

So rich.

And she's single.

Kanye West was turned on
by Kim Kardashian's power.

It was a power trip that
made him fall in love.

(dramatic music)

- Kimye wasn't just a
cute celebrity nickname.

That was an enterprise.

A huge one.

(paparazzi shouting
indistinctly)

When Kim Kardashian ended
that 72-day marriage,

Kanye wasted zero time swooping
in there and wooing her.

And the way that he
did it was very public.

He released like a mix tape
and said, something like,

"I fell in love with Kim, as
she fell in love with him."

And everyone was like is Kanye
talking about Kim Kardashian?

(gentle music)

- [Narrator] The couple are
seen out in public together,

when Kanye invites
Kim to see his show

at Paris Fashion Week.

- [Paparrazi] Kim,
how was the show?

Did you enjoy it?

- Once they became a couple,

everyone wanted to
know everything.

Everything.

- [Narrator] With
the public intrigued

by the latest celebrity couple,

it wasn't long before their
relationship became reality.

In this telling moment from
the Kardashian's TV show,

viewers got a hint of
how Kim was willing

for Kanye to take the lead.

- [Kanye] Oh, hell no.

- Oh, yes.

Yes.

But shouldn't I
just keep this for,

like, my daughter one day.

- He was, like,
"You're beautiful,

but your clothes are not."

So, he went through her closet

and got rid of,
like, all her stuff

and Kim used to wear,
like, girly stuff,

pink little dresses
and these shoes

and these, like, horrid,
gaudy, Louis Vuitton bags.

And he got rid of it all.

- [Paparazzi] You
look beautiful, Kim.

- I think that Kanye also
really taught Kim Kardashian

how to be an uber-celebrity too.

All of a sudden, Kim
is sitting front row

at New York Fashion Week which,
you know, is a coveted seat.

I mean, she's sitting right
there next to Anna Wintour.

Like, it was colossal.

(upbeat string music)

- Always from the beginning,

there were people who thought
that embracing the Kardashians

was a sign of the downfall of
the golden age of magazines.

It was, like, the peasants
storming the Bastille.

But, Kanye wasn't like
the average celebrity

who came to shows.

When he came to Fashion Week,
he would go to every show.

He would go to small,
young designers.

So he really, I
think, was accepted.

We considered him part
of the fashion world,

because the same hundred people
go from New York to London

to Milan to Paris.

We share cars.

We sit next to each other.

You really got to know him.

- [Narrator] Kim's acceptance
into the fashion elite

marked a turning point
for the whole family.

Their influence could
no longer be ignored.

- People realised that
if Kim shared something

on Twitter or on Instagram,

that it had a huge
impact and that became

more and more important
to magazines and...

Nobody does that
like the Kardashians.

- My name is Larry Hackett.

I was the editor-in-chief
of People magazine

from 2006 until 2014.

And I recall, in the
last couple of years,

the growth of the telephone
just becoming something

we didn't know what to do about.

Once the telephone
became something

where all of your news
could be in your hand,

you didn't have to
go to your desktop

and you're gonna be getting
fundamentally the same news

on the website that you
are on the magazine...

It's just a death
knell for the industry.

What's amazing about
the Kardashians,

is that with each development
they always kind of

seem to sit at the intersection
of some new technology.

The resistance to the notion
that they don't have any talent

starts to fall away because
they're just feeding

these beasts of coverage
that people wanna see.

(crowd cheering)

- The number one thing that I
used to get, all the time...

The Kardashians have no talent.

They can't act.

They can't sing.

They can't model.

They can't do anything.

If the Kardashians
had the power to say

change your toothpaste
from Colgate to Crest,

of course that's talent.

For at least 10 years,

I was working extremely
close with Kim.

At the time, the number
one social media platform

was Twitter.

It was the power of real time.

If you can give content
to your followers,

you can speak to your followers,

have a direct communication
with your followers,

now I know who's watching me.

Now I know who my fans are.

Then all I have to do is,

if I want to sell
something to my fans,

who I speak to every single day,

they're gonna end up buying it.

- [Narrator] While the
full value of social media

was being discovered,

Kim was solidifying
a partnership

that would help her
popularity soar.

- [Reporter] Preparations are
under way in Florence, Italy,

for Saturday's wedding of Kim
Kardashian and Kanye West.

The couple, known as Kimye,

rented the 16th-century
Belvedere Fort.

- I think that they both
fed into each other.

I think they both realised the
power of their partnership.

I think it's fair
to say that Kim

added some stability
to Kanye's life,

probably at a time
that he needed it.

- He brought his star power.

He brought a totally
new audience to her.

And that fanbase is
huge and powerful.

- [Narrator] Having created
a story that people were

once again willing to invest in,

Kim was primed to make her
biggest cash-in to date.

- If you're Kim Kardashian
and the whole world

is obsessed with the
fact that you're famous

for being famous,

why not make a whole game
about trying to become famous?

Glu Mobile, they were
this small tech company

based in Silicon Valley.

They made these,
kind of, mobile games

that were free to play and
then had in-app purchases.

And they had this idea
to turbo-charge a game

that they already saw
as having traction.

They quickly realised
that the, kind of,

main motivation of fans
was to become famous

and that's exactly what
Kim Kardashian symbolises.

Kim Kardashian Hollywood
launched in 2014.

In about two years, it was
downloaded 45 million times

and Forbes estimated
that Kim took home

about 45 million dollars
in that same time-frame.

- [Narrator] Having
fully realised the power

of their following,

the Kardashians were about to
take the value of celebrity

to a level never seen before.

- Kim started to realise, like,

huh, I can really
monetize my fanbase.

But the person who, I think,

really realised that
even better than Kim,

was Kylie.

- [Speaker] So help me God.

- So help me God.

- You could look at the
presidency of a guy like Obama

as being the old
notion of celebrity.

Right?

He accomplished something.

He was famous for doing things.

You went to a guy like
Trump and Trump was...

I wouldn't say he was
famous for being famous,

but let's remember,
a celebrity...

A reality television
show is what cemented

his fame outside of New York.

We here in New York
knew he was ridiculous.

We've been covering
him for 30 years.

But because reality TV made
him into this kind of, like,

strutting,
helicopter-riding mogul,

people out there, you
know, believed it.

Why?

'Cause we told them
that's what it was.

And he's been riding
on that ever since.

- People realised that
just because you've been on

a reality show,

that doesn't mean
that you can't be

President of the United States.

And I think that certainly
had some knock-on effect

in making people take Kim
Kardashian more seriously.

If a reality star
from "The Apprentice"

can end up in the White House,

Kim Kardashian can
be a businesswoman.

- Instagram was
the, let's call it,

the bank for the Kardashians.

They had all of their
training ground on Twitter.

All of a sudden now, you've
gone from, literally,

120 characters on Twitter
to showing your lifestyle.

Showing glam.

What they did is, they fed
the beast of Instagram.

And what did they do?

They generated so
many followers.

So many followers.

And, at that time,
they built an ecosystem

of the Kardashians that,

it doesn't matter what
I sell my fanbase,

they're gonna buy it.

(dramatic music)

- I think the Kardashians
were such a hit on Instagram

because they're over-sharers.

They need to share
parts of their lives.

Their lives are for
public consumption.

So, on Instagram, they can
do all that in real time.

They don't have to push
you to their website

or get you to click here,

it's right there,
all in one app.

You can see Kim in a bikini.

You can see, you know,
anything you need to see

they can show you in real time.

And not many celebrities
do stuff like that.

- At the time, we were
sending offers for Kim.

One million dollars.

One post.

One million dollars,
brands are willing to pay.

Why?

Because when they push out a
message on their social media,

guaranteed sell-out.

Guaranteed to create a trend.

It's the best million
dollars you're spending.

- Even me, I have
1.6 million followers

and on one post I can
make, like, $25,000.

It's just an insane
amount of money

for the least amount of work.

But that's just how the
world works today, like,

that's the power of
the Kardashian's reach

and their engagement.

It's that valuable.

(slow melodic music)

- Kim Kardashian
was the cash cow.

Right?

I got no offers
for Kylie Jenner.

None.

Zero.

I would offer brands,
"Why don't you take Kylie?

Let's bring Kylie with Kim."

Every brand couldn't even
spot sparkling Kylie Jenner.

Nobody.

- And then Bruce and I together

have Kendall and Kylie Jenner.

- [Narrator] The youngest
of the sisters, Kylie,

was just 10 years
old when "Keeping Up
With The Kardashians"

started airing.

- Look what I can do!

- [Narrator] In this
contentious clip,

Kylie shocked some
viewers who felt

she appeared over-sexualized.

- I can't imagine being
on national television.

Having the world see you through
those awkward kid phases.

No-one's really supposed
to be able to see

that part of your life.

One day Kylie was the
awkward little girl,

and the next day,
it was very obvious

that she had some things done.

- Kylie denied it
for the longest.

And how she would
say she got her,

the fullness look is she
would over-line her lips.

Finally, she tells people,
actually, I got my lips done.

- Kylie was the sleeper cell

when it came to the Kardashians.

She was just the little sister.

And then, she now was hitting
the younger demographic

of young girls who
wanted to get dressed up

and put make up on.

And I remember the
fascination with her body.

- The obsession with Kylie
Jenner's lips was so profound

that teenagers were
even doing, like,

the Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge,

which is where you got a
shot glass and kind of, like,

inhaled on it in some
way to sort of, like,

artificially plump your lips.

- Big lips.

Oh, my goodness,
doctors are saying,

"Don't do that!"

More than 400,000 tweets
about this in the last week

and you're also
Facebooking this.

- [Narrator] While the public
were mocking Kylie's looks,

plans were unfolding
in the Kardashian camp

plans were unfolding
in the Kardashian camp

to turn this to their advantage.

- What better business
to start than lipstick,

if the whole world is
obsessed with your lips?

- [Narrator] Kylie's
uncurated Snapchat posts

gave her growing
army of followers

a glimpse of her
carefree lifestyle.

- She posted a few
cryptic snaps of like,

oh, working on something new!

That kind of thing.

And then, November 2015,

she launched these
three Kylie lip kits.

- [Kylie] I just
posted it on Twitter.

- Go get it, honey!

- There's a clip where Kylie...

It's the day of the
launch, and she's kind of,

on her website looking
at the Shopify counter

that shows how many people are
live on the store right then.

- [Narrator] The
emotional reaction shows

how genuinely overwhelmed
they were by its success.

- [Natalie] And, they
all sold out instantly.

- Kylie, I think you've
just launched an empire.

- [Narrator] Kylie
was quickly following

in her older sister's footsteps.

Aged just 21, Kylie's rapidly
growing cosmetics enterprise

drew the attention of America's
top business magazine.

- Don't film the
trash in my car.

(Natalie laughing)

All of a sudden, there's
this direct-to-consumer brand

that's doing 330
million dollars in sales

without barely any overhead.

And a huge profit margin,
like, this is amazing.

Forbes asked for documentation.

Something that you
can see and know

that this isn't bullshit.

This is actually legitimate.

In 2017, I had a meeting with
Kris Jenner in Calabasas.

And they were telling me that
the full year figures for 2016

were something like 307
million dollars in revenue

for Kylie Cosmetics.

And that was just out of
this world, unbelievable.

I saw a copy of her tax
returns for the year

that showed those figures
and the tax returns

all looked very legit.

- [Narrator] Kylie was forecast
to become a billionaire.

A nice scoop for
Forbes magazine,

and a PR jackpot
for the Kardashians.

- My impression of Kris is
that she is incredibly smart

and incredibly shrewd.

If you're building a business
and you're seeking investment

or seeking to, say, sell
a stake of your business,

one of the greatest ways
to raise your profile

and do that is with a
great splashy article

in Forbes magazine
and a great cover.

This is the Kylie Jenner cover.

Spine date is August 2018.

And it calls her the 900
million dollar cosmetics queen.

"The 60 richest
self-made women."

Immediately, it got
a lot of backlash.

- Was she grinding?

And did she, like,
come from the hood

and have to scrape
together her pennies?

No, not really.

But, she still had to
come up with this concept.

Whether it's self-made or not,

there's an element of, like,

wow, that's a pretty
incredible thing

you did at such a young age.

- [Narrator] Whether or
not Kylie was self-made

soon became overshadowed
by the accusation

she had lied about her profits.

- In November 2019, it
was announced that Coty,

one of the biggest, kind
of, make up brands out there

was going to acquire a majority
stake in Kylie Cosmetics,

in a deal that valued the
company at 1.2 billion dollars.

But, some of the figures
from Kylie Cosmetics

started to become public.

And that proved to
be a little problem.

Forbes published a story
alleging that Kylie had lied

and that the numbers
on her tax return

didn't match up to the numbers
that Coty had reported.

- They called her the
youngest self-made billionaire

to make the Forbes list.

And now, Forbes is
accusing Kylie Jenner

of lying about her net worth
and forging tax returns.

Forbes claims her company,
that would be Kylie Cosmetics,

is much smaller and
less profitable than
Jenner led onto...

- It's worth noting
that the Kardashians

explicitly deny ever
forging any tax return.

"The accusations that
the Jenners, and/or
their accountants,

falsified tax
returns and then lied

about their 2016 revenues
for the last four years

are absolutely false."

The letter read.

So, they flatly denied that.

(indistinct paparazzi shouting)

- [Narrator] The Kardashians
were never charged

with forging tax returns,

and the lip kits
continued to sell.

Kylie's net worth has
since been estimated

to be far lower
than first thought.

A mere 600 million dollars.

- There's an old adage
in PR and entertainment.

I don't care what
you write about me,

just spell my name right.

And that's kind of what
the Kardashians are about.

Kylie and Kendall
are millionaires.

No, they're billionaires.

No, they're making all
this information up.

And then you have legitimate
business magazines

writing stories about
how they're piping

all this information about
whether they're billionaires.

It's like, you don't understand.

You've already
bought the notion.

They've won.

That's exactly what they want.

Just mention their name.

(paparazzi shouting
indistinctly)

(paparazzi shouting
indistinctly)

- The Kardashians learnt
and mastered the ability

how to become rich
when you're famous,

without being in a
movie or a music career

that every other traditional
actor and artist has to do.

Now, do you think
Brad Pitt was happy?

Do you think Angelina
Jolie was happy?

Of course it created beef.

But everyone else
then had to realise

we have to embrace social media.

- What changed is,
because of the internet,

there were people rising
and becoming more important

because of their
following on social media.

So that was really
the perfect moment

for the Kardashians
to rise to the top.

I'm Mickey Boardman
from Paper magazine

and together with Kim Kardashian

we broke the internet in 2014.

The name Break The
Internet came about

by accident, actually.

Drew Elliot, who was
the creative director

of Paper at the time,

was coming back and giving a
whole new redesign to Paper

to, sort of, take
it into the future.

And Drew said to me, "If
we have Kim Kardashian

on the cover, it will
break the internet."

And I said, "Break The Internet?

That's such a crazy name."

So I said, "Well, yeah,
let's do a whole issue

called Break The
Internet and just be open

about what we're trying to do

instead of pretending
we're putting someone on

who we think is cool,

let's show that we want to
really get amazing traffic

and make people go crazy."

We knew that we wanted
Jean-Paul Goude to do the cover,

so we just reached
out to him and said,

"We want to do Kim, what
would you like to do?"

It was absolutely his idea.

She came around the
corner to the studio

on the outskirts of Paris
like Princess Diana,

chased by paparazzi
on motorcycles.

There were a million
fans outside the studio.

I don't know, I didn't tell.

I didn't know how people
knew she was gonna be there.

And she came, and she just said,

"You know, I'm so
excited about this.

Whatever you want to
do, I'm happy to do.

I'll stay all night.

Let's really, if we're gonna
do this, let's really do it."

There were no problems.

There were no arguments.

One of the few times in 30
years of shooting celebrities

that it was literally a dream.

Jean-Paul had the
idea to, sort of,

do a little strip
tease with the dress.

He said, "Well,
what if we, sort of,

do like you're peeling back
the dress a little bit?"

And she said,
"Sure, let's do it."

We posted the Break
The Internet cover

at about 7pm Eastern
time in the Paper offices

which are here in New York City.

In those times, for us, you
could measure how many people

were on your
website, and for us,

a few hundred people
was a good moment.

We would think oh, look, we
have 300 people on our site

right at the same time.

That's really good.

Quickly...

Not immediately,
but sort of, like,

by the next morning we had
70,000 people on our site.

All day long.

Like, I mean, for
days and weeks.

- There was very mixed reactions
inside the TMZ newsroom.

Some people, kind of, got
the joking sense of it.

Other people were like,
"What the hell is happening?

Why do people care?"

And I think that was
a real turning moment

for Kim in fashion,

and I think that the
love-hate of that magazine

fueled just more curiosity.

(dramatic music)

- [Paparazzi] Kim!

Do you regret doing that spread?

- [Paparazzi] With
you being a mother,

do you care about the criticism?

- [Paparazzi] Kim, are you happy

with your picture of your butt?

(intense music)

- For starters, people
were really surprised

to see Kim do that sexy
of a photoshoot and...

And I think people
were surprised by that

because it felt like she was
trying to distance herself

from how we met her
in the first place.

She was trying to distance
herself from the sex tape.

She tried to distance
herself, even,

probably, from Playboy magazine.

But, instead, she does this
high fashion, full nude,

nothing left to the
imagination photoshoot

and people had a lot
to say about that.

And then you add in,

it was like a duplication
of a photoshoot

that a black model did as well,

and people thought that that
was culturally appropriating.

- The opening of the
champagne was an old photo

that Jean-Paul Goude had
done in the seventies

with a model named
Caroline Beaumont.

Cultural appropriation is wrong

and we weren't intending to do
it and if it insulted people,

I apologise, and...

Yeah, so, I mean, it's...

Those conversations
do need to be had.

I certainly recognise that.

- It broke the internet.

But probably not for the
reasons that they thought

it was going to
break the internet.

(paparazzi shouting
indistinctly)

(gentle music)

I started doing a lot of work,

primarily in African-American
publications.

And I think that the
African-American community

definitely felt a
certain kind of way

of the Kardashian's success,

because, by and large,
I think the through-line

is that they felt
that the success

that this family was getting

was off of the backs
of black women.

You know, black women
have had plump lips

and big butts and curvy bodies

and darker skin since eternity.

- In the old days,
when things happened,

they happened and
you wrote about them.

You never then wrote
about what people said

about what you wrote about.

That never happened.

But now, a fundamental
beat in every story

is the social media
outrage to the story.

(gentle music)

So Kendall did an ad for Pepsi.

And it was this ghastly,
faux-protest march.

And it was trying to
appropriate, you know,

the zeitgeist at the
time and social protest.

And it was a total clanger.

I mean, it was just awful.

- [Narrator] Pepsi did apologise

but not before it
made world news.

- I remember getting called on
an American morning talk show

to talk about this and,
again, you could say,

this is victory for
the Kardashians.

I'm on a show where
I'm tut-tutting

what a terrible idea
it was for Pepsi

to have done this
ad with Kendall.

Did Kendall suffer any
lasting consequences?

Well, maybe by lunchtime
they were done.

But because it was a Kardashian,

it was worthy of some
kind of commentary.

- For me, the braids
were the tipping point.

It was a blatant, like, this
is clearly a black girl look

that you've co-opted and
then when she called them

Bo Derek braids I was
like, "Oh, Jesus."

She later came back
and corrected herself,

and was like, "I understand
why everyone's upset

because I called it
Bo Derek braids."

But that when I was, like,
"Okay, this is a little more

than just dating black
men or tanning your skin."

- They're Armenian
and very strong

and proud in that identity.

So while Kim sort of did
apologise for the accusations

of, kind of, almost blackface.

So, blackfishing.

They haven't apologised
for various instances.

Wearing corn rows, like,
different traditionally black

hairstyles that they've sported.

Like, Kim has black kids and
was married to Kanye for years,

I think they just have
a very complicated

relationship to race.

(gentle music)

- Their father,
Robert Kardashian,

is from Inglewood, California.

Inglewood, California is
predominantly black area

in Los Angeles.

For the Kardashian
kids, their uncles...

You know, their play uncles,

we have play uncles
in the States.

Their play uncles
were all black men.

And so, they grew up always
adjacent to black culture

and black community.

It wasn't that they woke
up one day and said,

"Oh, you know what,
hip-hop is cool

and it's cool to be black.

So, damn it, we're
all gonna, you know,

try and present as
black women in a way

and that's gonna be
our road to fame."

I don't think that that's
actually what happened.

I think, as they became famous,

they took that embrace
of that culture

and made a lot of
money off of it.

- One of the things
that's always gonna go on

with anybody like
the Kardashians,

you're always looking
for them to trip up.

Right?

You're always waiting.

So, there's always
gonna be that tension.

It's always there.

It's always just, kind of,
maybe, a tiny flesh wound.

Right?

Or just a little pin prick.

But people are always
waiting to take them down.

(paparazzi shouting
indistinctly)

But we really don't want
to get them, either.

We might want to
trip them up a bit,

but we don't want to fully take
them down, 'cause then what?

What happens if that happens?

Then who are we gonna
pay attention to?

(upbeat music)

- [Narrator] In 2016,
the family headed off

to Paris Fashion Week.

Kim posted live
updates on Snapchat,

revealing their glamorous
locations and outfits.

- [Kourtney] A leather jacket.

- Givenchy.

With Kourtney!

- I think everyone's learnt now.

I know we post in real time.

I know we're obsessed
with social media.

We want to feed
our fans everything

but there's also
a negative side.

You're letting the
world know I'm rich.

I'm famous.

Here's my gold.

Here's my jewellery.

Here's everything, and I'm here.

- [Narrator] After dinner with
sisters Kourtney and Kendall,

Kim decided to call it a night.

Shortly before 3AM, she
was robbed at gunpoint.

(sirens wailing)

- [Reporter] Kim Kardashian
has been attacked

by masked, armed men inside
this exclusive Paris address.

Bound up before £8 million
of her jewellery was stolen.

- They kept on saying,
"The ring, the ring."

And I was like,
you know, "What?"

Like, it didn't compute
to me for a minute.

And then the guy
goes, "The ring."

And I had put it up
by the side of my bed,

so I handed him my ring.

And then he grabs me and
I was wearing a robe...

- [Narrator] Though some
people assumed it was

another Kardashian
publicity stunt,

Kim gave an emotional account

to the chat show
host David Letterman.

- And he grabbed me and
pulled me towards him.

But, I wasn't wearing
anything underneath,

so I was like, "Okay,
this is like the time,

I'm gonna get raped.

Like, just deal, like...

It's gonna happen.

Just prepare yourself."

- Kim!
- Kim!

- Kim, how're you doing?
- Kim!

- Are you okay?
- Kim!

- Are you okay Kim?
- Kim!

- [Narrator] The events in
Paris were played out once again

in a gloomily filmed
and sombre episode

of the Kardashian's
reality show,

which included a clearly
shaken looking Kanye.

- I just like, don't wanna
cry in front of the kids.

Or like, let them think
anything's wrong, you know?

- [Speaker] Okay, yeah,
so we won't talk about it

in front of the kids.

- It was interesting for it
to be such a scary moment,

but it's even weirder,
and I do mean weird,

that you have this reality
show that has to document it.

So it's like reliving
it all over again.

It just felt like
the Paris robbery

was definitely affecting Kanye

'cause he was already
going through his, kind of,

own mental breakdown and...

That might've been
the thing that kind of

pushed him over the edge.

"Did he smoke something
before he came out h

The answer is, yes, I rolled
up a little something...

- [Narrator] During
the 2015 VMAs,

a pumped up Kanye
accepted an award,

then made an unexpected
announcement.

- I have decided in 2020
to run for President.

(crowd cheering)

(slow intense music)

It's a cycle.

It's the same thing.

We are trapped in a loop.

- [Narrator] Kanye's reputation
for erratic appearances

reached a climax during
his presidential campaign.

- In the bible, it says,
"Thou shalt not kill."

- I thought that the whole Kanye

running for President
thing was a joke.

I didn't realise that he
was serious about this.

- My dad wanted to abort me.

My mom saved my life.

There would've
been no Kanye West,

because my dad was too busy.

- Once he started going
out on a campaign trail,

he opened up and talked
about his stance on abortion

and that he and Kim at
one point, you know,

I guess had had a
conversation about that

when they discovered
that she was pregnant.

- I almost killed my daughter!

(crowd shouting indistinctly)

- I'm going to guess that
Kim probably did not love

Kanye sharing something
like with a public audience.

I think that musicians,

in particular ones that
we classify as geniuses,

there often is something
that they're dealing with

that probably makes them a
musical genius in a way that,

you know, it would end
a lot of other people.

When the relationship was
really starting to crumble

and dissolve,

it made me think that
maybe there's always been

something that's been
challenging for him

with regards to mental wellness.

(camera shutters clicking)

- [Paparazzi] Hey, Kim!

Are you really upset at Kanye?

Is he really embarrassing you?

- [Narrator] In February
2021, Kim filed for divorce

and an ongoing feud has since
played out on social media.

At one point, Kanye
accuses the Kardashians

of attempting to take
control of his assets

with a legal order
known as a 5150.

- If the Kardashian family
wanted to put Kanye under 5150,

that is huge because, you know,

we're now really
seeing the effects

of what being under that
did for Britney Spears.

You know, she had no
control over her assets.

No control over
day-to-day decisions.

No control over her body.

Like, no control, period.

- Kim tried to navigate
through the drama.

"I have a husband who
clearly is mentally ill.

And I'm trying to
figure this out.

And at a certain point
the show takes a back seat

to the health of my family
and the health of my kids."

Which I think is what
led to the divorce.

Yes, all of that was
a drama, and yes,

we all paid attention
to it breathlessly.

But I think she managed
to kind of navigate that,

as a celebrity, but also
as someone fundamentally

who also is a mother and
taking care of her kids

and needed to find a way out.

- [Narrator] While her
marriage to Kanye unravelled,

Kim kept herself busy
with new ventures.

- Soon she'll be one of the
most successful lawyers,

I hate to tell all my
lawyers back there.

(crowd laughing)

Kim Kardashian-West.

(crowd cheering and applauding)

- In recent years, it's
been widely publicised

that Kim has been studying
to become a lawyer.

- [Natalie] It really is
such an honour to be here.

- [Narrator] First time
offender Alice Marie Johnson

was 20 years into
a life sentence

for a nonviolent drug offence,

until Kim persuaded President
Trump to pardon her.

- I just wanna thank all of
the organisations that are,

you know, partnering with
everything that's going on

and really being supportive

because it really does mean
a lot to so many people

that I've had the
pleasure to speak to.

- I think it's two
things at once.

You know, I think it's
a real genuine interest

that she has in trying to, like,

understand the law and
understand how people got there

in the first place.

Or you can look at it cynically
and be like ah, it's PR.

Like, it's just her trying
to do some good work

to make up for all
of these allegations

of appropriation over the years.

And, you know, maybe the
truth is somewhere in-between.

- So, thank you.

- [Narrator] While
still working towards

becoming a qualified lawyer,

Kim and family signed
a deal with Disney,

worth over a hundred
million dollars.

(dramatic music)

An explosive title sequence
punctuated the arrival

in April 2022 of their
glossy, revamped reality show.

- I think I want regular fries.

- [Narrator] It had the
same banality as always.

- I'll have regular fries too.
- Just a little fries, yeah.

Thank you.

- [Narrator] And,
incredibly, a key narrative

revolved around the same
topic as the family's

first ever show.

- And then, my lawyer
calls about the threats

that there's more
footage from the sex tape

that's been out there.

- [Lawyer] Our legal rights
are that she could sue.

- [Ray J] Let me see you
shake that thang for 23.

Shake that thang for 23.

- [Narrator] The low-quality
tape made in 2003

starred Kim and
R&B singer Ray J,

performing various sexual acts
while on holiday in Mexico.

- (bleep) party man...

- Wait, film me to
see what I look like.

- [Narrator] The sex
tape had been good

for the original
TV show's ratings

and the Kardashians
appeared to believe

it could be a
blessing once again.

- Didn't we deal with this the
first season of Keeping Up?

This is a good omen, you guys.

- What's a good omen?

- Talking about your sex
tape in the first season,

I feel like we're
back to day one.

- [Narrator] Viewers
may have been pulled in,

but it also reignited the
uncomfortable question

over who engineered the
tape's initial publication.

- Over the years there was a
lot of rumours going around

of who was truly behind the
Kim Kardashian sex tape.

Was it Ray J?

Was it Kim?

Was it Paris?

Was it Kris Jenner?

Just to put her
daughter's name out there.

- [Narrator] In this
cunningly produced skit,

from James Corden's chat show,

Kris attempts to
shake off the rumours

with the help of a lie detector.

- Did you help Kim
release her sex tape?

- It's okay.

No.

No.

- True.

- [James] Of course it's true.

- Thank you!

- Of course it's true!

- Aight, when we was young,

and y'all manipulated
us to do this shit.

I take full responsibility
for the act...

I was lit.

We made a (bleep) lot
of money, I get it.

- [Narrator] Kris's
denial prompted this

highly-charged social media
response from Kim's ex, Ray J,

claiming she was
very much involved.

- Her momma made us go
shoot it for safety.

She watched the
(bleep) and said,

"Hey, we're gonna go
with the first one

'cause the first one is better.

It gives my daughter
a better look."

- [Narrator] The
Kardashians continue to deny

their complicity to this day.

- You don't come
from a place of being

Paris Hilton's assistant
to a billionaire

unless you have a
master negotiator.

So, whatever happened
with the sex tape,

I'm sure Kris Jenner
handled it correctly

and got the maximum dollar.

(dramatic string music)

- [Narrator] While navigating
the storms of controversy,

the Kardashians continued
to expand their influence.

The combined
Kardashian-Jenner net worth

is approaching 3
billion dollars,

with a pathway being laid
for the next generation.

- I won't say groomed, but
I think Kris might have...

Keeps her eye on them.

And is like, who'll be next
to, kinda, carry the torch?

- [Narrator] Nine-year-old
North is rapidly following

in Mum Kim's footsteps.

Posts like this playful montage
of a hair and beauty demo

has helped amass over ten
million followers on TikTok.

- For a family that is
so famous on social media

it's, like, not
surprising to see North

taking it to the newest,
coolest platform.

- Like a weird,
American royal family,

there are princes
and princelings

that are gonna become
rising up and, you know,

suddenly we're gonna be reading
about one of the grandkids,

and the empire will continue.

- I think for about 19
years we've been thinking

we've reached peak Kardashian

and we keep reaching new peaks.

So, every peak is a new peak.

- I would not say
that the Kardashians

are a Hollywood dream story.

The Kardashians have created
something wildly different.

It remains to be
seen how that changes

the landscape of
everything that we know

to be true about celebrity
and excess of wealth.

- I can tell you one thing,

having been very close
with the Kardashians,

if you think you've
had enough of them

in the physical world,

they are about to dominate
the Metaverse and Web3

like you have no idea.

(paparazzi shouting
indistinctly)

(dramatic upbeat music)

(dramatic upbeat
music continues)

(dramatic upbeat
music continues)