Singer Rihanna has officially been identified as a billionaire and world’s wealthiest female musician, according to Forbes.
The money magazine announced on Wednesday (August 4) that, by its calculations, the singer-come-beauty mogul is now worth $1.7 billion (£1.2 bn).
This net worth makes the 33-year-old the wealthiest female musician in the world and the second richest female entertainer in the world, one place behind Oprah Winfrey.
However, despite the eight albums Riri has put out over the years (and the in-progress R9 that fans are desperately waiting for), it’s not music that’s responsible for her fortune.
Forbes estimates that a vast majority of her earnings ($1.4 billion) comes from her 50% ownership stake of make-up, hair and skincare line, Fenty Beauty and attributes a large part of the brand’s success to its core value of inclusivity. The other half of Fenty Beauty is owned by the luxury consumer group LVMH, which is run by the second richest person in the world, Bernard Arnault.
Other sources of income come from her music and acting career, as well as her stake in lingerie line Savage X Fenty which Forbes estimate contributes 30%.
Over the last few years, as Rihanna’s business empire has broadened from music into beauty and fashion, there have been many indications that the star was heading for monumental financial success.
In 2020, while residing in London, the Sunday Times listed her as the richest female musician in the UK and third overall behind Sirs, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Paul McCartney.
Throughout her ascent to fame and fortune the Barbadian star has regularly donated huge amounts of her earnings to charity and in 2012 established the Clara Lionel Foundation which funds education initiatives and natural disaster relief response.
During the Coronavirus pandemic, charitable gestures by Rihanna hit the press. Clara Lionel donated $5 million (£3.6m) to organisations like Feeding America and the World Health Organisation while Rihanna also donated £1.67 million to a Los Angeles fund supporting victims of domestic violence during the pandemic and $1 million to a New York fund supporting vulnerable communities in the city during Covid-19 outbreaks.
(ELLE)