image via Rihanna Instagram
Following word on Monday that Jay Z has become Hip Hop’s first billionaire, now Forbes has announced that his protege–Rihanna has become the world’s richest female musician with a mind blowing $600 million fortune to her name.
This is Riri’s first time topping the list and she follows the like of her peers such as Jay’s wife, Beyonce.
Famous first as a singer, Robyn Rihanna Fenty, age 31, has since evolved into a style icon and makeup entrepreneur—and soon she’ll be the first black woman in charge of a major luxury fashion house. All those efforts add up to a $600 million fortune, making her the wealthiest female musician in the world, ahead of the likes of Madonna ($570 million), Céline Dion ($450 million) and Beyoncé ($400 million).
Most of that comes not from music but from her partnership with LVMH, the French luxury goods giant run by billionaire Bernard Arnault. Rihanna (pronounced Ri-Ann-ah, not Ri-Ah-nah as she recently clarified) and LVMH co-own the makeup brand Fenty Beauty. It launched in September 2017 at Sephora, another LVMH brand, and online at FentyBeauty.com, quickly becoming a viral success. Fenty Beauty racked up a reported $100 million in sales in its first few weeks, propelled by Rihanna’s fame and 71 million Instagram followers.
Sales continue to soar. Fenty Beauty generated an estimated $570 million in revenue last year, after only 15 months in business. The entire operation is worth, conservatively, more than $3 billion. Forbes estimates that LVMH owns an estimated 50% of it, while Rihanna has about 15%, a figure a spokesperson for the artist disputed but wouldn’t clarify further.
Kudos to Rihanna and her fans (The Navy). Fans are still patiently waiting her her new album tentatively titled R9 which is set for release this year.
