As of right now, Rihanna is the youngest self-made billionaire woman in the US, surpassing Kim Kardashian to take over the top spot with a $1.4 billion net worth before the age of 34.
The 34-year-old pop singer placed 21st overall on Forbes’ annual list of America’s wealthiest self-made women, making the list for the third year in a row. On the list, she is the only billionaire who is under 40.
Kardashian, 41, the second-youngest billionaire on the Forbes list, with a net worth of $1.8 billion.
The cosmetics company, which she co-owns with French luxury retailer LVMH and “produced more than $550m in revenue in 2020,” is what made the Barbados native a billionaire, according to Forbes.
Even while the majority of Rihanna’s wealth comes from Fenty Beauty, the nine-time Grammy winner also derives a sizeable portion of her income from her music career and her lingerie line, Savage x Fenty, which “raised money at a $1bn valuation in February 2021,” according to the publication. At the moment, Rihanna owns 30% of the business.
As for her status as a self-made billionaire, Forbes has given Rihanna a “self-made score” of 10, a ranking the outlet explains ranges from one to 10 and indicates how much of one’s fortune they have inherited or built on their own.
According to Forbes, a ranking of one through five indicates “someone who inherited some or all of his or her fortune,” while scores six through 10 “are for those who built their company or established a fortune on his or her own”.
The entrepreneur, who is the only billionaire under 40 on this year’s list, is likely to continue building her empire, as she previously told The New York Times that a “number is not going to stop” her from continuing to work.
“I never thought I’d make this much money, so a number is not going to stop me from working,” Rihanna told the outlet in 2019.
According to a March Bloomberg article, the Savage X Fenty lingerie brand was collaborating with consultants on a potential $3 billion or more initial public offering. That business is 30% owned by Rihanna. She also owns 50% of Fenty Beauty, which debuted in 2017 and generated $550 million in sales in 2020. The nine-time Grammy Award winner also owns other companies. The other half of the company is owned by the French luxury fashion behemoth LVMH.
