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How Rihanna Created A $600 Million Fortune—And Became The World’s Richest Female Musician


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Work, work, work, work, work, work.”

That’s the opening line of Rihanna’s 2016 dance hall anthem titled, appropriately, Work. It could also serve as her personal motto.

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.

The entire personal care industry in America has grown huge in recent years. According to Grand View Research, it could swell to more than $200 billion in sales by 2025, up from closer to $130 billion in 2016. The market saw a record 134 M&A deals last year, including P&G's $250 million purchase of 10-year-old First Aid Beauty. Perhaps the most telling data point: 11 of the 80 women on Forbes' list of the Richest Self-Made Women made their money in beauty or skin care products. Many did what Rihanna did, turn to the low-cost marketing opportunity presented by social media. That works best for existing celebrities, as Kylie Jenner and her Kylie Cosmetics proved out, who can push their new products at their existing followers.

Fenty Beauty has differentiated itself in another way, releasing 40 shades of foundation, far more than the handful of hues sold by other brands. “It challenged the standard convention that you only needed a very defined set of shades to satisfy a market,” says Stephanie Wissink, a research analyst at Jefferies. “Not only did [Fenty Beauty] achieve meaningful sales, but it potentially changed the industry permanently.” 

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.

Forbes

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55 minutes ago, Lenzo88 said:

Yeah she can be done with music officially! She had a VERY iconic run for 11 years but make money where money is coming the most, child! 😫😭😭😭

Completely agree.  I would't blame her a bit if she completely focuses on the fashion/beauty business.  That's where she is most successful and is going to get her the most money and legacy.

Treat music as her hobby or only do a musical project shes super passionate about.

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I love Rihanna and I love hearing this. She made a product for Black women and it's very successful. She will become a billionaire eventually. The Beyhive is seething and coming up with excuses and even saying stupid shit like Bey's networth hasn't been updated lol. Anyway I wonder what Janet's is? She should be over $200 million 

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Janet doesn't discuss money, it's really hard to determine Janet's net worth, but I do go by one thing and that's what these artists are doing in terms of work. If an artist isn't working much or endorsing a ton of products their paper is probably pretty good. It's when I see Beyonce endorse cell phones I start to think she's building and acquiring wealth. Same with Rihanna, she isnt making much music, and that's fine the money isnt there, but if she has business ventures in other avenues that are lucrative she may get the last laugh. As for Janet she's still out her booking cruise ships and doing Vegas or the Black Gama, or Nutrisystem ...those moves made me think Janet needed to bring in some income because her main source, music, wasn't doing enough. Problem here for those of you that will question this, is when will (private as hell) Janet update her own net worth ? It's part of the game now, just like how many followers on your socials you got....because to let Google tell it Janet poorer than all these bitches :umm:

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21 hours ago, Bailey said:

Janet doesn't discuss money, it's really hard to determine Janet's net worth, but I do go by one thing and that's what these artists are doing in terms of work. If an artist isn't working much or endorsing a ton of products their paper is probably pretty good. It's when I see Beyonce endorse cell phones I start to think she's building and acquiring wealth. Same with Rihanna, she isnt making much music, and that's fine the money isnt there, but if she has business ventures in other avenues that are lucrative she may get the last laugh. As for Janet she's still out her booking cruise ships and doing Vegas or the Black Gama, or Nutrisystem ...those moves made me think Janet needed to bring in some income because her main source, music, wasn't doing enough. Problem here for those of you that will question this, is when will (private as hell) Janet update her own net worth ? It's part of the game now, just like how many followers on your socials you got....because to let Google tell it Janet poorer than all these bitches :umm:

Boy Janet doesnt think nor cares about that and thats what separates her from the typical basic thirsty bitches/artists who do. Everybody doesnt need to boast about themselves to feel like they are somebody. Only the insecure.

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2 hours ago, janetDAYZ said:

Boy Janet doesnt think nor cares about that and thats what separates her from the typical basic thirsty bitches/artists who do. Everybody doesnt need to boast about themselves to feel like they are somebody. Only the insecure.

I totally agree with that, the issue I was getting at also includes social media, Janet didnt care about that, and her team basically had to get her on board like look in this new age it's just how its done. I know Janet doesnt care, and in some ways I agree, that's her business. BUT in this game she knows how its played and how the rules have changed now people boast a lot of shit

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