It’s often said that the devil works hard, but Kris Jenner works harder. And who knows this better than anyone? Her daughters/clients.
Credited for building what is now the multi-billion-dollar Kardashian empire—a last name she has promptly trademarked—Kris landed her family an E! reality TV show that changed life as we know it. And fifteen years later, the “momager” is still getting her 10 percent of her kids’ 15 businesses.
Yes, Kris is in a league of her own, so much so that her second youngest child, Kendall Jenner, has admitted she sometimes forgets that she’s also her mother.
Speaking to Forbes after being named in its 30 Under 30 list, the model and 818 Tequila founder opened up about how navigating business and family doesn’t flow as smoothly for her as it does for her mother.
“My mum is my mum, but she’s also my manager,” Kendall explained. “We have moments when we’re talking on the phone, and we’re talking about business, maybe having a heated conversation about something, and then all of a sudden, she’s like ‘OK I love you. How are you feeling today?’ and I’m like, ‘Oh my god, yeah, you’re my mum, too!’”
Kris, who is an investor in her daughter’s tequila brand, praised Kendall’s business acumen.
“Kendall has been very independent about this process and really shown me that she’s not only an amazing businesswoman, but super-smart, super-focused, [has an] amazing work ethic,” she said. “She has every single part of what it takes to be in her position, and she’s nailing it.”
Of course, being a manager to one of the most famous people in the world is a big enough task in itself, let alone when you multiply that task by five. Complications and conflicts arising from this dynamic have been well-documented on the show.
In the second episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Kim Kardashian interviewed other candidates to be her manager after Kris double-booked her for two jobs. The issue resolved itself, but again, in season three of the show, Kourtney Kardashian Barker was frustrated when her mother forgot to be on set for a big photoshoot and went to Comic-Con with Kim instead.
In their new Hulu series, The Kardashians, Khloé Kardashian was left stressed after seeing her clothing brand Good American‘s first retail space was “nowhere near being opened” despite already being delayed.
When Kris then suggested her third eldest child start a podcast on top of her other work, Khloé was hesitant, to say the least.
“I can’t take other responsibilities like that, starting something completely new, because I don’t have a team to lean on,” Khloé said to her mum. “I don’t have a management team. You are only there until the contract is signed, and then you dissipate until you want to bring me the next contract.”
She assured her that she understood why she was so busy but that it left a lot to slip through the cracks.“You’re in your 60s, you’ve managed your ass off for all of us, and you got us all to where we are—I’m not complaining about that,” she voiced. “One of my frustrations with you is there’s not a lot of follow-through after something is done, and this is me talking to you as my manager.”
“You don’t give enough to each one because you physically can’t,” she continued.
Later, in the show’s confessional, the 39-year-old reflected on the complicated nature of mixing business and family.
“There are issues that I have with my manager—not my mum, my manager,” she said. “When I try to address those issues, I get a lot of pushback, and it’s a guilt trip, things that a mum would do, and those lines get really blurred. They’re very grey.”
