Reaching for the SKKY

After founding Skims, the apparel brand now worth $4 billion, Kim Kardashian wants to make the unlikely leap from celebrity startup founder to private equity titan. Big names from finance and retail are jumping on board.

- EMMA HINCHLIFFE

THE SUPERRETURN private equity conference is usually a staid affair. It's an event where people in conservative suits talk in small groups and in hushed tones, raising funds and sourcing deals. But at this year's event in Berlin this June, hundreds clamored to find a seat for a 30-minute panel. The room quickly reached capacity well before the session, titled "The Next Generation of Consumer Brands," was scheduled to begin. Some investors banged on the hotel conference room doors, pleading for a spot inside. One locked-out man got into a physical skirmish with a security guard.

The conference attendees were fighting to hear from a familiar face-Jay Sammons, a 16-year veteran of Carlyle, a top private equity firm-and one new to them: Kim Kardashian, the entrepreneur, influencer, and now private equity investor.

A year ago, Kardashian and Sammons announced their plans to launch SKKY Partners, a private equity firm reportedly aiming to raise a $1 billion fund to invest in consumer businesses. (The pair declined to confirm that figure.) The industry was intrigued by Sammons's decision to leave behind a well-respected career to partner with a member of reality TV's most famous family-and by Kardashian's interest in this usually stuffy corner of the financial world.

The Berlin crowd was enthralled with what the SKKY founders had to say. Now the whole industry is waiting to see what, exactly, this unexpected pairing will do.