Emma Grede is a powerhouse. The serial entrepreneur, who traded east London for Los Angeles and became one of America’s richest self-made women, now counts the Kardashian-Jenner family as her business partners, has joined forces with the Obamas on their philanthropic endeavours and has quizzed the likes of the Duchess of Sussex on her podcast, Aspire with Emma Grede.
When she speaks to HELLO!, it’s in the wake of the “most poorly planned four days”, spanning San Francisco, Dublin, New York and Maui. “I think we only had two nights that weren’t on a plane,” she laughs.
But it’s typical of Emma’s voracious appetite for life (she gets up at 5am every day), showing how she has achieved such an incredible amount.
In 2016, Good American – the denim brand that she co-founded with Khloé Kardashian; Emma serves as chief executive officer – made $1m on its first day of sales.
Skims, the shapewear brand she launched with her husband, Jens Grede, and Kim Kardashian in 2019, was valued at £2.93bn last November. Now, Emma herself has an estimated net worth of over £280 million.
Although there were rumours that Khloé unfollowed Emma on social media in February, the entrepreneur insists that her relationship with the famous family is a “regular business-partner relationship where you’re in regular contact”. She declines to confirm whether they are working on anything new together.
Her life in Southern California is a long way from her childhood in Plaistow, east London, where Emma dropped out of school at 15 before breaking into the fashion industry. By 26, she had founded her own talent management and marketing agency, ITB Worldwide, connecting high-fashion brands with celebrities.
Emma’s business activities led her to meet the Kardashians’ matriarch, Kris Jenner, and she eventually went on to pitch her the idea for Good American. “I spent 15 years building an agency that sat at the intersection of brand and entertainment,” she says. “When you’re in that business, you can’t not be doing business with the [Kardashian-Jenner] family.
“I was lucky that I’d built a reputation and a set of clients that enabled me to be somebody good to go into business with. It’s been an incredible working and professional relationship.”
Fabulous forties
In 2017, she moved to Los Angeles. Now 43 and a mother of four, she wants to share how she got here. Every decade, Emma sets a list for herself.
“In my twenties, I just worked so hard. In my thirties, I got more choice – is this a client I want to work with?” she says. “Now I’m in my forties, it’s about choosing where to put my energy. And I think that one of the reasons I love doing my podcast is because I’m in an era where I know I have a lot to offer. You should be able to learn something from it.”
The Duchess of Sussex is among the many high-profile guests who have joined Emma in her podcast studio; Meghan’s episode debuted last June, a few months after she had launched her lifestyle brand, As Ever.
© Variety via Getty Images“I love getting under the skin of anyone who’s started a business, regardless of who they are,” Emma says. “I’ve had Gwyneth Paltrow, Michelle Obama and the youngest self-made billionaire [Lucy Guo]. I think what’s impactful is hearing about different journeys.
“When I had Meghan on the podcast, it was interesting to hear from a first-time founder who was coming from a different point of view. I try to make sure that in this podcast, I’m taking a broad view of what it means to be a woman in business.
“I was super-happy to have her there. I’m very mindful about who gets to come on, and it’s always extremely purposeful.”
Emma lives with Jens, a fellow entrepreneur and her husband of 13 years, and their children – Grey, 11, Lola, nine, and three-year-old twins Lake and Rafferty – in Bel Air, although the family also own a clifftop home in Malibu.
Emma’s new book, Start with Yourself: A New Vision for Work & Life is out now, published by Simon & Schuster, priced £25
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