All that work paid off massively for Rihanna, who has seen her net worth explode. On Wednesday, Forbes announced that Rihanna is officially a billionaire.
The little girl from the Caribbean, who came to America to fulfill her dream of being a megastar, is now worth $1.7 billion.
Rihanna’s net worth now makes her the wealthiest female musician in the world and the second-richest woman in entertainment behind Oprah Winfrey.
While Rihanna has a long list of massive hit songs under her belt, she did not hit billionaire status with her music.
Rihanna’s passion for giving women the perfect makeup no matter their skin tone propelled her to the billion-dollar club.
After dropping her critically-acclaimed album Anti in 2016, the 33-year-old entertainer shifted her focus on building a massive empire.
Rihanna launched her Fenty Beauty makeup line and her Savage x Fenty lingerie line. According to Forbes, Fenty Beauty is valued at $2.8 billion and brings in half of a billion annually.
Rihanna’s makeup brand topped Kim Kardashian West‘s KKW Beauty, Kylie Jenner‘s Kylie Cosmetics, and Jessica Alba‘s Honest Company in revenue in the past years.
The Fenty Beauty cosmetics line taps into a previously unexplored market, according to Shannon Coyne, co-founder of Bluestock Advisors, a consumer products consultancy.
Coyne told Forbes: “She was one of the first brands that came out and said I want to speak to all of those different people. A lot of women felt there were no lines out there that catered to their skin tone. It was light, medium, medium-dark, dark. We all know that’s not reality.”
Rihanna’s lingerie company also caters to women of all shapes and sizes. JAY Z is also a principal investor in the lingerie brand.
Forbes editor Kerry Dolan told GMA: “The majority of her $1.7 billion estimated net worth is not from singing but from cosmetics. From a super-successful cosmetics line which, when it was launched, drew lots of praise because there was something, like, more than 40 shades for all range of skin tones, which was something that at the time, not very many cosmetics lines had been that inclusive.”
Many have taken to social media to congratulate Rihanna on her astonishing accomplishment, including Nicki Minaj, who told young entrepreneurs to be inspired and forge ahead.
Fans of Rihanna have officially given up on the hope that she will release new music in the future.
