The Kardashian Origin Story: Keeping Up With The Infamy
Part 1: A dumpster dive into the 20th century Kardashian empire
There was a an era before the Kardashians were known as the KarTRASHians and Kim Kardashian was shilling Beyond Meat.1 Their vast extended family rose to prominence throughout the 20th century, they rubbed shoulders with everyone from U.S. Presidents to Andy Warhol. Perhaps this explains why Kim Kardashian feels compelled to stand at the center of our collective psyche.
As this Substack series progresses it will become clear how the Kardashian story is embedded into the lives of Britney Spears and Irving Azoff. The public needs to understand this prehistory to how power is a virus that over time both replicates itself and lays dormant. These seemingly disparate family trees are bound through a constellation of high profile events and their consequence will become clearer as we proceed.
The Kardashians are well known across the world for being tied to scandals, yet their chronicity will only become clear once you know their history. Scandals have been endemic to the Kardashians for over half a century. This includes the family meatpacking and trash disposal businesses. These two industries have always had an enduring relationship with organized crime.
Skandalized
Contemporary Kardashian scandals have diversified into many industries: Kim has paid $1.26 million fine for violating SEC rules2 and faced allegations of labor exploitation,3 while Kris Jenner âfoundedâ a dubious business school4 and has been accused of setting up a church to act as a tax shelter.5
These scandals are of significantly more societal consequence than their interpersonal drama curated for reality TV. Who does it benefit to have the Kardashian name synonymous with failures in personal lives rather than scamming consumers and taxpayers?
Many people think they only began to cavort with the rich and powerful once Kris Jenner married Caitlyn in 1991 or because of the OJ Simpson trial. To the contrary, they were already embedded in the upper echelons of society long before Kim was a ka-ching to her motherâs ears.
Yet, it was Robert Kardashianâs involvement in the 1970s entertainment industry that set off a series of events that led to their omnipresence today. We will get to that, but for now we will stick to exploring an earlier era of their infamy.
Robert Kardashian was a Player
Many jokes have been made about Kris Jenner sounding like the boss of a mafia family, yet that isnât a scurrilous leap of logical.67 Their social network taps into a rather common mixture of players in Hollywood, politics and organized crime. Much of what is said these days about the Kardashiansâ origin story seems to exclusively start at the OJ Simpson murders. Caitlyn Jenner became a household name in 1976 when she won the Olympic gold in the decathlon, but she wasnât recognized for much else.
The public often conflates fame with power - although they are often are mutually exclusive. Some powerful people are desperate to be famous, while others abhor the spotlight. Shoot, in the 1970s Robert Kardashian was a well known music industry executive who even dated Priscilla Presley after she divorced Elvis. While Caitlynâs ex-wife Linda Thompson dated Elvis. People in this upper echelon of society like to âkeep it in the familyâ.
You can see how connected the Kardashians were connected in 1984 by perusing their name from a charity program that includes Cary Grant, Mo Ostin, Quincy Jones and Diana Ross.8 Who wouldnât want to be on a list like that, especially because business deals often flow from the company you keep.
Does it seem odd that the Kardashians arenât considered nepo babies by blood? They donât want you to look too far back because they want you to look past some thingsâŚ
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