Inside the Kardashians' explosive succession battle as Kris' ‘anointed heir' set to steal momager crown from ‘dull' Kim

The Sun

03-05-2025

THEY'RE America's answer to the royal family, so it's no surprise that - when it comes to the Kardashians - the order of succession is very important.
After all, as the reigning matriarch, momager and queen bee of the billionaire brood, Kris Jenner, 69, has big and expensive high heels to fill.
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But while, for a long time, it looked like Kim Kardashian, 44, was primed to take over when Kris eventually retires - it now seems she's being pipped to the post.
Yes, according to sources, Khloe Kardashian is a shoo-in to take the crown and become the one that rules them all - and she seems to have been quietly anointed by Kris, who has praised their special "bond".
'Khloe's always been the one with Kris' big personality,' an insider close to the famous family exclusively tells The Sun. 'She's got a lot to say for herself.'
As it stands, the 40-year-old is bossing her way to the top of the pile, career-wise.
As well as starring on her family's fly-on-the-wall Hulu series and recently launching her own health snack, Khloud protein popcorn, she also fronts her own podcast, Khloe in Wonder Land.
And now, it seems she's branching out again, with the announcement of her upcoming TV project, Calabasas Behind The Gates.
The Hulu show is still in the early stages of development but, according to Disney executive Rob Mills, it will shine a spotlight on 'people in the extended lives of the Kardashians', with Khloe inviting us behind the gates to get to know the very wealthy enclave where she and her family live.
Not bad for a reality star who, for years, was cruelly branded the 'ugly sister' of the family, living in the shadows of her uber glamorous siblings.
These days, it's Khloe leading the charge, and she's leaving everyone else in the shade.
'Khloe's the one being groomed as the successor to the Kardashian brand,' says our insider, who's watched Khloe climb the ranks since first finding fame on her family's reality show, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, in 2007.
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'She's really in her element doing her podcast. She loves letting rip and tapping into her creative entrepreneurial energy. It's unleashed all her Kris-inspired girl boss ambitions.'
Since first launching her family into the spotlight almost two decades ago, momager Kris has continued to oversee all Kardashian-Jenner dealings, as head of Jenner Communications.
As well as being co-producer of their eponymous reality series, The Kardashians, she also manages all six of her children's careers, and has a stake in their personal and joint businesses.
That means she gets 10 per cent of gross revenue from every product, modelling job, and TV show concerning her daughters.
She also has some equity in their massively successful enterprises, including a 1 per cent stake in Kim's shapewear brand Skims (valued at $3.2billion), 5 percent of Kylie's $900m make-up brand Kylie Cosmetics, and 10 per cent of Khloe's fashion firm Good American.
All that means Kris is sitting atop a very pretty pay packet - making her heir apparent very powerful in the process.
All Kardashians and Jenners are, obviously, incredibly high earners, but Kris ultimately has power over the purse strings.
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But she's not just the manager, she's the mum too, so general consensus is that it will take a savvy, yet nurturing person to claim her spot. That's where Khloe comes in.
Appearing on Khloe's podcast last month, it was Kris herself who highlighted her third daughter's maternal nature - and how she'd been so helpful in her teenage years, when Kris and her then husband, Caitlyn Jenner, welcomed Kendall, now 29, and Kylie, now 27.
Older sisters Kourtney, 46, and Kim had already moved out, leaving Khloe and younger brother, Rob, 38, the eldest siblings at home.
And according to Kris, it was Khloe who stepped up.
'My relationship with you changed the minute I had Kendall,' she told her daughter. 'You really grew up and came to bat for me - you were like my little helper…You knew I could use the help.
"That not only made your bond with them so strong, but it made our bond so strong.'
Almost 30 years later, that bond is still incredibly tight - linking Khloe both to her mum, and her older and younger siblings.
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As the middle child, she probably spent the most time with all siblings in the early stages of their lives, and it's clear through her social media posts and their time on screen that she still loves spending time with all five of them.
Even Rob, who's infamously reclusive and sometimes distant from the family, is known to rely heavily on Khloe; he even lived with her and her ex-husband, Lamar Odom, after they got married in 2009.
All siblings have different relationships and dynamics, but the one consistent is Khloe - making her 'momagerial' prospects all the more promising.
As for her biggest rival, Kim, there's no denying that the latter is a shrewd and savvy businesswoman. Alongside Kris, she capitalised on her 15 minutes of fame - as Paris Hilton's friend and sometimes assistant - to become a pop culture icon.
Kim is famous for her discipline and razor-sharp ambition, which she's put to use across the board: from repeatedly changing her look to garner the most attention on red carpets, to studying law in her spare time and campaigning for jail reform.
Her brand, SKIMS, is going from strength to strength while her own children, North, 11, Saint, nine, Chicago, seven, and Psalm, five - who she shares with ex-husband Kanye West - are all shaping up to be viable members of the Kardashian money-making machine.
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In this sense, she too could be a worthy replacement when Kris hangs up her work boots for good.
But, as our insider explains, Kim's more focused on her own nuclear family, as well as her personal projects.
She's also lacking that 'wild card' that makes Khloe such an exciting option.
Between the two of them, it's Khloe who would take big risks in the hope of big rewards - just like Kris did when she first put her entire family in front of the cameras 18 years ago.
'A lot of people always thought it would naturally be Kim to take over the family empire,' says our source. 'But the truth is she's just too 'straight' - read: dull.
"She's also too busy with her own career, and North's. Khloe stepped out of the limelight for a while as she dealt with her personal life and just wanted to be present for the kids.
"But Kris knew that, when she got a taste of doing the podcast, she'd be back in the driving seat.'
There's no denying that Khloe's had her setbacks over the years - especially in her personal life.
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When the family first found fame, Khloe was labelled the 'wild child' of the family.
She was arrested for driving under the influence in 2007; she was then jailed the following year for violating her probation, but only ended up serving three hours of her three-week sentence due to prison overcrowding.
She later reflected on how her father's death, Robert Kardashian Sr, following a battle with oesophageal cancer had left a lasting effect on her and had caused her to lash out.
Still, she overcame those demons - but was faced with further turmoil thanks to bad luck in toxic relationships.
First, there was Lamar, who's admitted he cheated on Khloe throughout their marriage and struggled with drink and drug addiction.
They first split in 2013 but after the former basketball player was found unconscious in a Nevada brothel following an overdose, Khloe delayed proceedings. The divorce was finally finalised in 2016.
Then, following a few other flings, Khloe met and fell in love with NBA player Tristan Thompson.
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She became pregnant the following year before finding out, a day before she gave birth to her daughter, True, now seven, that he'd been repeatedly cheating on her.
The pair took a second stab at their relationship but split at the end of 2021 - before welcoming their son, Tatum, now two, via surrogate.
These days, Khloe's also overcome her romantic demons. She and Tristan have a very healthy and happy co-parenting relationship, but she's kept any other romances largely out of the spotlight.
While her priority remains her children, they're now at a stage when she can take on bigger projects in the public eye, which is why her new show couldn't come at a better time.
And, as our source tells us, that's only the beginning for this matriarch-in-training.
'With the new TV show, I understand it's a very new vibe,' says our source. 'This is Khloe stepping into her 'media mogul era' and taking up the ropes.
'Her family show is dull, and she now wants to do a much more spontaneous and authentic style of TV, showing life behind the gates of their Hidden Hills community.
'Khloe has always said it would be amazing to do a show there, doorstepping the most famous faces for their input into debates, going inside their houses, chatting about whatever: what they had for breakfast, the news of the day, what they are wearing…Khloe is the woman to do it.'
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Obviously, Kris isn't going anywhere at the moment. Why would she?
As the most famous momager in the world, who Interview magazine called the '21st century's preeminent female pop-cultural brand-builder', she's as committed as ever to the family brand and is constantly cooking up new ideas.
But, in the meantime, Khloe's shaping up to be a worthy deputy, primed to step into the main role when the time calls for it.
We can just hear her now, moulding the next gen of mini Kardashians with all the money-hungry glory of her momager predecessor, cooing excitedly, 'You're doing amazing, sweetie!'