Big Business: Kim Kardashian reportedly profits $18 million from her wedding
In case you haven’t heard, Kim Kardashian got married to Kris Humphries this weekend! (CLICK HERE to see the Photoshop fun we had with the comparisons between this and The Royal Wedding.) But it looks like this incredibly blast wasn’t just a dream wedding spun from the fantasy’s of a billion over-Disneyed school girls, it was a huge windfall for the Kardashian clan.
Most people go into massive debt when they get married, or scrimp and save until they’re living off of Ramen in their parent’s basement beforehand, but Kim Kardashian got almost all of her extravagant wedding details sponsored for free, or at deep discount in exchange for the incredible publicity this event is generating. That includes a $2 million ring, three $20,000 Vera Wang dresses, a $15,000 10-tier wedding cake, $400,000 worth of Champagne, $750,000 worth of food, $10,000 invitations, $2 million for Mark Gardens floral arrangements, etc. and on and on. (Minus the freebies and discounts, the wedding was estimated to have cost $500,000.)
Not only that, but with all the deals of selling engagement and wedding pictures to People, and selling advertisements during the two-part, four-hour Wedding Special on E! The New York Post estimates that Kim Kardashian and fam will net $17.9 million profit.
They are set to receiver $15 million plus extra profit for ad spots sold during the televised wedding specials, received $2.5 million from People for exclusive photos, $300,000 for exclusive engagement announcement in People, $100,000 for exclusive bridal shower pics to Britain’s OK! magazine, and $50,000 to host the bachelorette party at Tao nightclub in Las Vegas. It looks like with the E! deal flexible on top of $15 million, the Kardashians could make well over $18 million for this wedding ceremony.
The Hollywood Reporter listed her deal with E! a bit lower: $13 million, but says that part of the deal is that E doesn’t receive any profit from the special. (WTF?) The advertising rates are reportedly going for $100,000 for spots that are usually $5,000.
On a visceral, jealous, level, this whole thing seems entirely egregious and unfair, but on the other hand, this is one of the savviest business/life moves of all time. It also puts a whole new spin on “marrying for money.”
UPDATE: Kim has since divorced Kris after only 72 days, and claimed that she didn’t profit off of her wedding. Here’s a sentence from her statement: “There are also reports that I made millions of dollars off of the wedding. These reports are simply not true and it makes me so sad to have to even clarify this.” Kim’s mom Kris Jenner also clarified, saying that Kim has not “netted” any money from the wedding. She did receive fees from selling photos and the TV show, but Kris claimed she put all of the money back into the wedding, and still owed some money. Still, it should be noted that with royalty deals from the network, Kim may be receiving checks for some time to come, many of the lavish details of her wedding were highly discounted, and she is keeping all of the luxurious gifts she received (instead of giving them back, she’s making a reported $200,000 donation to The Dream Foundation.)
Here’s a video inside look of Kim’s big day. The special Kim’s Fairytale Wedding: A Kardashian Event airs Oct. 9 and 10, 2011:
PHOTO: E!
