JESSICA Alba has lost out on mega millions as her lifestyle company struggles with plunging stock value and crippling legal woes, The U.S. Sun can exclusively reveal.

The Hollywood actress 42, co-founded wellness brand The Honest Company in 2011 and it quickly became a global success story that saw her tipped for billionaire status.

But in recent times the firm – which sells baby, beauty, and cleaning products that are marketed as eco-friendly – has seen its value fall off a cliff from those heady early days.

Public records show it went from being valued at $1.7 billion when the company went public back in 2021 to $228 million at the time of writing.

This has hit the Fantastic Four actress-turned entrepreneur heavily in the pocket, even though she still has a sizable net worth valued at $100 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

Back in 2016, Forbes had her personal fortune at $340 million, while other published reports cited an even higher figure closer to $400 million.

An insider close to mom-of-three Jessica, who is married to producer Cash Warren, 44, revealed: “It’s a tough situation because even though Jessica’s still got enough money to live well for the rest of her life, four or five years ago people were bracing for her to become a billionaire from this company, and generally blown away with the business savvy she displayed growing it.

“Now, looking back, Jessica probably could have made the same kind of money she made from The Honest Company devoting herself full time to acting, especially if she found her way into some big hits.

“She and Cash are both at tough ages to have to reset and rethink everything because the last ten years have been about building out this company and it simply hasn’t performed well at all on the public market.

“What happened here is that Jessica took on the giants in the industry and got beat, handily.”

Asked to respond to the insider’s view of the company, a spokesman for Jessica pointed to its statement last month proclaiming that it recorded record revenue in the third fiscal quarter of the year.

Chief Executive Officer Carla Vernón said in the statement “Revenue in the third quarter was an all-time record and we delivered our highest gross margin in the last two years, contributing to another
quarter of positive operating cash flow.

“These results demonstrate the power of the Honest brand and our commitment to driving shareholder value.”

Alba was inspired to co-found Honest with entrepreneurs Christopher Gavigan and Brian Lee by the 2008 birth of her first child Honest Marie Warren. 

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She said her own history of childhood illnesses made her want to start a company to provide an alternative to baby products that use no petrochemicals and synthetic fragrances.  

She and her partners took Honest public back in May 2021, with the firm briefing investors that the brand’s success depended on her involvement.

She continues to work as the firm’s chief creative officer, according to Honest’s website, and last year joined the board of tech company Yahoo!

LAWSUITS

Regulatory findings showed that as the company went public she owned over 5.6 million shares, including 1.4 million in stock options, initially valued at nearly $130 million.

Yet the impact of a strained global economy – as well as increased competition from other wellness ventures – has seen the company’s fortunes plummet. 

Its share price is currently floating just above the $2 range, with a year-on-year drop of 20 percent at the time of writing.

Additionally, it has been hit with numerous lawsuits, being accused of deceptive marketing in 2016 as well as a class action claim last year that alleged the company’s wipes – marketed as being plant-based – were sold deceptively because they were in fact made from synthetic ingredients.

In 2021, Honest was also sued for an alleged fraud after shareholders complained that they bought a ton of stock when it went public – only for the company to admit that they lost $20 million in 2021’s second quarter amid the Covid pandemic.

A California federal judge ordered that case to be sent for private arbitration.

The U.S. Sun’s insider added: “It’s understood in Jessica’s circle that barring a miracle, she’s not going to experience a windfall from the value of her shares in the company because the stock has dropped so far since its initial offering.

“Jessica was able to clear tens of millions of dollars during the company’s run-up as a private entity but she also still owns shares that have lost much of their value since their peak during the pandemic.

“Some experts think lawsuits against The Honest Company over misleading product claims had a strong downward impact on the company’s value.

“But I think the real issue is the massively scaled competition, even if this company has become a target for endless lawsuits.”