The Barbadian singer and mogul is second only to Oprah as richest female entertainer in the world.
While it’s been half a decade since she dropped an album, Rihanna is not doing too shabby these days. Far from it. According to Forbes, the singer, designer, and beauty mogul is now a billionaire, with an estimated worth of $1.7 billion.
This makes the 33-year-old second richest female entertainer in the world, behind Oprah Winfrey’s $2.7. Rihanna is also now the richest female singer in the world with this latest valuation.
Born Robyn Rihanna Fenty in Saint Michaels, Barbados in 1988, the musical artist was discovered by record producer Evan Rogers. She became a breakout star after her third album Good Girl Gone Bad, with its lead single “Umbrella” topping the charts in 13 countries and her being dubbed “Diva of the Year” by Entertainment Weekly.
Business shift
After releasing Anti, her eighth album, in 2016, Rihanna decided to focus on Fenty Beauty, her cosmetics label under LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton’s Kendo Brands. The young beauty brand was a commercially- and critically-loved, with its success founded on inclusivity.
While the vision of other makeup brands were limited, Rihanna’s brand would cater to a wider range of skin tones. “To say that Fenty Beauty completely changed the beauty industry is no exaggeration,” writes Funmi Fetto of Vogue in 2020, adding that describing it as just another celebrity beauty brand diminishes its impact.
“The messaging—essentially that “if you don’t fit an age-old Eurocentric ideal of beauty, you are not welcome”—was the white elephant in the room of a tone-deaf business. Fenty Beauty didn’t just address this, it blew the conversation wide open,” Fetto continues.
Room for growth
Today, the Fenty name has grown from just mascaras, bronzers, and highlighters. Rihanna launched Savage x Fenty, a lingerie brand that bannered that same ethos of diversity, in New York Fashion Week 2018. In 2019, Fenty, a fashion label under LVMH, was born. (Although, because of the pandemic, it was shut down last November.)
Forbes estimates that Fenty Beauty, which Rihanna has a 50 percent stake in, at about $1.4 billion. This makes up the bulk of the celebrity’s fortunes. (Savage x Fenty is also reached a $1 billion valuation last February.)
And there are more room for growth, even in the middle of a pandemic. Just last year, the world was also introduced to skincare line Fenty Skin, which was one of LVMH’s brands that showed encouraging numbers despite the current global situation.
Banner Photo from @badgalriri on IG
