Kim Kardashian launches her own private equity firm SKKY Partners to invest in consumer & luxury startups

Kim Kardashian is known for her reality TV appearances, strong social media presence, and huge business empire. But now the celebrity millionaire has just set her sights on a new venture: private equity investing. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that reality star and entrepreneur is launching her own private equity with the former partner at Carlyle Group Jay Sammons.

The new firm, named SKKY Partners, will focus on investing in consumer and media businesses, according to a joint statement. The firm will also target startups in sectors including consumer products, hospitality, luxury, digital commerce, and media, and plans to make both control and minority investments.

Kim Kardashian becomes the latest in a series of celebrities entering the private equity space. Tennis star Serena Williams recently raised $111 million for her new early-stage venture capital firm Serena Ventures in March. Her firm has invested in more than 50 companies with a total market value of $14 billion, including the online learning platform MasterClass and tech company Propel.

In a news release, the firm said, “Kim Kardashian and private equity veteran Jay Sammons are pleased to announce the founding of private equity firm SKKY Partners. Capitalizing on the Founders’ collective experience investing in and building large-scale consumer and media businesses, along with Kardashian’s global reach and unrivaled social influence, the firm will make both control and minority investments in growth-oriented, market-leading consumer and media companies.”

According to the announcement, Kim Kardashian and Jay Sammons will serve as Co-Founders and Co-Managing Partners, while Kris Jenner will serve as a Partner at the firm. The Founders’ understanding of the power of great brands, social influence, globalization, and the importance of environmental, social, and governance excellence will enable SKKY Partners to elevate and leave each company in which it invests better than it was before.

“I’m excited to launch SKKY Partners to invest in the next generation of consumer brands, leveraging my experience founding and building global businesses and partnering with innovative companies to help them grow,” stated Kim Kardashian, SKKY Partners Co-Founder and Co-Managing Partner. “I look forward to working closely with Jay and our team to identify distinctive investment opportunities and build the firm’s portfolio of world-class companies for our investors.”

“I have been privileged to spend my career partnering with the founders and leaders of some of the most influential and culturally groundbreaking consumer brands of our time,” said SKKY Partners Co-Founder and Co-Managing Partner Jay Sammons. “Now, in partnership with Kim and Kris, I look forward to building SKKY into the leading private equity firm that backs the next generation of innovative, disruptive consumer businesses and brands.”

Founded in 2022, SKKY Partners will utilize the unique and complementary backgrounds of its Founders to accelerate value creation in a portfolio of high-growth consumer and media businesses. As the founder of multiple businesses valued at over $1 billion and one of the most recognized and followed women in the world, Kim Kardashian has established herself as a highly accomplished, influential business leader with an unmatched ability to identify and define culture, and she will leverage these experiences to drive the origination of SKKY’s investment opportunities, develop the team and create value in the portfolio.

Jay Sammons has spent the last two decades investing in many of the world’s most well-known consumer brands, including over 16 years at Carlyle. In his most recent role as Carlyle’s Global Head of Consumer, Media, and Retail, Jay developed a reputation for his ability to partner with founders and business builders in high-growth consumer and media companies to create lasting value, often through exits to market-leading strategic acquirers.

He will lead the day-to-day operations of the firm, including originating investment opportunities, managing the team, and driving performance in the portfolio. Kris Jenner, who has overseen the development of her family’s multi-billion-dollar collection of businesses, will also partner with the team to identify and pursue differentiated investment opportunities and to drive strategy, impact, and value.