Rihanna Becomes a Billionaire and the Richest Female Musician
No one work, work, work, work, work, works as hard as Bad Gal RiRi.
Rihanna meant it when she sang, “Bitch, better have my money.” She is now a billionaire and has not only been named the richest female musician, but also the second-richest female entertainer, behind Oprah Winfrey, according to Forbes.
Although she hasn’t released music since her last album ANTI in 2016, she’s been hard at work as a businesswoman and entrepreneur, and at 33, the “Needed Me” singer has conquered the business world through her brands. Born Robyn Fenty, Rihanna has been a successful musician since the early 2000s, but what gives her billionaire status is Fenty Beauty, the cosmetics company that she launched in 2017, accounting for $1.4 billion of her $1.7 billion net worth. In fact, Forbes estimates that Fenty Beauty is worth $2.8 billion overall. She owns 50% of Fenty Beauty as well as a stake in Savage x Fenty, her lingerie company, which is worth an estimated $270 million.
While RiRi does a fantastic job of marketing Fenty on social media—she most recently has announced the new Fenty Perfume—her companies have been successful because she focuses on one principle: inclusivity. The other half of Fenty Beauty is owned by LVMH, the French luxury goods company, and together, they launched a series of cosmetic products for people of every size, shape, and skin tone, including darker shades for women of color that were historically harder to find. The Fenty Beauty cosmetics line made $550 million after just one year, dominating other celebrity cosmetic brands such as Kylie Cosmetics by Kylie Jenner and KKW Beauty by Kim Kardashian.
“A lot of women felt there were no lines out there that catered to their skin tone. It was light, medium, medium-dark, dark,” Shannon Coyne, co-founder of consumer products consultancy Bluestock Advisors, told Forbes. “We all know that’s not reality. She was one of the first brands that came out and said, ‘I want to speak to all of those different people.’”
Additionally, in her fashion shows, Rihanna has made sure to include a diverse selection of models with all different body types to promote body positivity. At her 2020 Savage x Fenty fashion show, Rihanna commented that inclusivity has always been “second nature” to her, and something that comes naturally.
“When I imagine something, I imagine everyone that I know and love being a part of it. I want to make stuff that I can see on the people that I know and they come in all different shapes, sizes, races, religions.”
Congrats, RiRi…but can we get a new album now?
