According to Forbes, Rihanna is now a billionaire and the world’s wealthiest female musician. The pop artist is worth $1.7 billion (£1.2 billion). Her Fenty Beauty cosmetics firm is accounting for $1.4 billion of that. The majority of her wealth comes from her lingerie brand, Savage x Fenty, which is worth an estimated $270 million. Also, her music and acting revenues.
She is the richest female artist in the world, second only to Oprah Winfrey. Fenty Beauty was established in 2017 by Rihanna. The real name is Robyn Fenty, in collaboration with luxury goods giant LVMH. She said the line’s goal was to appeal to “any sort of woman” at the time. It debuted 40 different foundation tones, which was largely unusual at the time. As a result of the so-called “Fenty Effect,” competing firms expanded their make-up color offerings.
“A lot of women felt there were no lines out there that catered to their skin tone. It was light, medium, medium-dark, dark,” says Shannon Coyne, co-founder of consumer products consultancy Bluestock Advisors. “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.”
More about Rihanna and her ventures
According to LVMH, the line generated more than $550 million in yearly revenue in its first year. However, not all of Rihanna’s business initiatives have been successful. The 33-year-old agreed with LVMH earlier this year to close her Fenty fashion company after less than two years in production.
Fenty Beauty has a value of conservative $2.8 billion, according to Forbes. Thanks to the outstanding multiples at which beauty firms are trading. Despite selling more than 250 million records, the Barbadian artist has not released a studio album since 2016’s Anti. Also, pictures of her and her boyfriend, musician A$AP Rocky, was recently out in which they were filming a music video.
From a financial perspective, that may be just fine: “She is creating a brand outside of herself. It’s not just about Rihanna,” also says consultant Coyne. “Even if you don’t like her music, she’s created a real style in the fashion and beauty space.”