- Paris Hilton shot to fame as a reality TV star — now, she has 19 product lines, including a perfume collection that has amassed sales of more than $2.5 billion. Recently, she's turned her attention to social causes and the male-dominated world of venture capital.
- She was, in many ways, a precursor to the influencers you see on Instagram today, but she built her reputation without a stylist, manager, or agent.
- In an interview with Business Insider at June 2020's Collision conference, she gave advice to those who want to be a full-time influencer, and shared her thoughts on building a brand.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
It's almost 20 years since Paris Hilton first appeared on our screens in reality series "The Simple Life"— one of the first shows of its kind. We came to know her as that hotel heiress who was lost on a farm and had never heard of Walmart.
"I was just playing up to a character," she tells Business Insider.
In many ways, she was a precursor to the influencers you see on Instagram today. Her reality TV show thrust her into the spotlight, and an infamous Vanity Fair pictorial, shot by famed photographer David LaChapelle, put her on the map as a party girl, she says. She had no agent, or manager, or stylist, and yet she appeared in newspapers and magazines worldwide, building her brand through the paparazzi and via selfies she snapped on her phone.
Nowadays, PR agencies from New York to Shanghai have entire departments dedicated to managing influencers. Some agencies do nothing but with fewer barriers to becoming famous and a growing list of perks for growing an audience, many young women are tempted by the idea of becoming full-time influencers. Hilton says that, to succeed, they should "find your focus and figure out what you want to do with your brand, it's so important to be real, people can tell when you're not."
She is the great-granddaughter of Conrad Hilton, founder of Hilton Hotels, and tells Business Insider that his success "inspired me to make something of myself." Her family's industry is all about customer experience, and she lives by a similar philosophy with her fans. She's known to send voice notes to them, and even invite them to her home.
"My fans are like my little brothers and sisters, they are everything and whether I am DJing or responding to a message on social media, I just want to make them happy". In a world where fame can have a short shelf life, retaining the support of a loyal base makes a lot of sense.
And her fan base just keeps growing. Far from just a reality star, Hilton now has 19 different product lines, and has just released her 27th bottle of perfume (in December, she said her collection has amassed sales of $2.5 billion, and she's released two bottles since). As a DJ, she'd paid anything from $200,000 to $1 million dollars a night, making her one of the best-paid female DJs in the world.
She remains hands-on with anything that has her name on it. "I'm involved every step of the way with my products and learned how to DJ from the best in the business", she says.
Her next project is to "make the world a better place" through social causes, she says — as well as prove there's a place for women in the male-dominated world of venture capital. No small asks. "I want to devote more time to charity work and support the companies that will make the world a better place", she says, citing plant-based meal delivery service Daily Harvest and Good Catch, which makes plant-based fish products, as her latest investments.
She has already invested in Glam app, which she likens to Uber for beauty services, and Roxi, a portal of service professionals you need to host a party.
The COVID-19 pandemic has created deep uncertainty for many young people, and companies need to keep spending tight. Hilton doesn't need to worry about money, but she hasn't been entirely untouched by the crisis — it has delayed the release of her tell all documentary "This is Paris". The documentary, when it comes out, will let the public "finally see the real me," she says.
"I hope my story will show young people what has gone into building my brand, the ups and downs of what looks like a 24/7 glamorous life, and the importance of hard work."
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