‘Shining Bright Like a Diamond’: Rihanna becomes a billionaire, wealthiest female musician in world
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 22: Rihanna accepts the President’s Award onstage during the 51st NAACP Image Awards, Presented by BET, at Pasadena Civic Auditorium on February 22, 2020 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET)
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NEW YORK (NewsNation Now) — Rihanna, the award-winning, chart-topping artist, just added another title to her repertoire: Billionaire.
Forbes estimates she is now the wealthiest female musician in the world with a fortune worth $1.7 billion. That makes her second only to Oprah Winfrey for the world’s richest female entertainer.
How did she achieve that milestone? It all started with her desire to create a more inclusive makeup brand.
Fenty Beauty, which launched in 2017, aimed to include products reflecting the diverse skin tones of women, especially those with darker complexions.
It launched in partnership with French fashion company LVMH in Sephora and the U.K. department store Harvey Nichols.
LVMH reported that in its first year, Fenty Beauty grossed $500 million in sales and Forbes estimated the company is now worth $2.8 billion itself.
“Makeup is there for you to play with. It’s there for you to have fun with. It should never feel like pressure, and it should never feel like a uniform,” Rihanna said in a quote on the Fenty Beauty website.
Since then, she has launched a skincare line, lingerie brand and a high-end fashion division, all with the goals of creating more inclusive product lines.
While all these brands also contain other partners, Rihanna still owns a significant enough percentage to profit handsomely off their success. Forbes estimates $1.4 billion of her fortune comes from the beauty brands alone.
Rihanna was able to add the profits from her successful beauty brands to her fortunes earned from her chart-topping music career and acting roles.
She earned 14 number-ones and 31 top-10 singles in the U.S. alone. Her iconic songs include “Diamonds”, “Umbrella” and “We Found Love”
Rihanna has earned nine Grammys over the course of her career, though the singer has not released a new album since “Anti” in 2016.
For now, she is continuing to prioritize her beauty and fashion brands. Her Twitter teased the launch of a Fenty Perfume line which would bring her full circle to some of her first forays into beauty products.
