Business — or at least talking about it — pays.
A source tells Page Six that SKIMS founder Kim Kardashian got paid around $1 million for her appearance at a conference during Miami’s so-called “Hedge Fund Week,” though some attendees smugly felt they were too good to go see her talk.
Kardashian spoke at the iConnections Global Alts conference at the Fountainbleu hotel on Tuesday about her newly launched private-equity firm SKKY Partners with her co-founder, industry vet Jay Sammons.
iConnections CEO Ron Biscardi told us, “We don’t comment publicly on [monetary] arrangements with speakers.”
Another source tells us that Kardashian’s fee was less than half a million.
Despite the fact the the 42-year-old KKW Beauty founder and reality star has created her own business empire — making the Forbes billionaire list in 2021 — we’re told some snooty hedgies turned up their noses at attending her panel, instead opting for a boat ride.
In 2016, Page Six exclusively reported that Kardashian made $700,000 to take selfies with Instagram stars at an event for Revolve in the Hamptons.
One source tells us they heard an attendee smugly state, “Yeah, she’s hot, but I came in from London to do business. What am I going to learn from her?”
Probably a lot. Despite a few naysayers, we hear Kardashian’s talk was so packed they needed two overflow rooms.
Biscardi tells us, “She received huge applause when she walked out onto the stage. It was standing room only in the room where she spoke, with people spilling into the hallway. We had even more people in overflow rooms where the video was streamed to accommodate the sell out crowd.”
Biscardi added, “I was happy to see so much support for a female fund manager in an industry dominated by men.”
Other speakers at this year’s conference included entrepreneur Mark Cuban, Galaxy CEO Mike Novogratz, Anthony “The Mooch” Scaramucci, and more bold faced financiers.
We hear tickets to the event cost $10,000.
Kardashian announced the launch of her private equity firm in September 2022. It will focus on investments in consumer products, hospitality, luxury, digital commerce and media, “as well as consumer-media and entertainment businesses,” reported the Wall Street Journal.
“Hedge Fund Week,” is described by organizers as “a festival of alternative finance and investment… a series of events for hedge funds, family offices and institutional investors taking place in Q1 of 2023.”
It also offered attendees “networking occasions in venues around the city” and on the AYU Yacht, a 92-foot yacht in Miami Beach, outside the Eden Roc and Fontainbleu hotels.
Bloomberg described it all by saying, “The financial glitterati will all be there.”
Reps for Kardashian did not comment.