Msinger Rihanna became a billionaire in the summer. Now she has made it onto the list of the richest people in the world, which the American “Forbes” magazine compiles every year – as the first citizen of her home country of Barbados and as the second richest musician in the world, behind the rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West.
However, Rihanna did not earn her estimated $1.7 billion primarily with Spotify streams and concert tickets, but with make-up: Fenty Beauty, the cosmetics company that she owns together with the French luxury group LVMH, has more than in 2020 Generated $550 million in sales. It also has a 30 percent stake in lingerie brand Savage X Fenty, which is valued at $270 million. So it makes sense that Forbes wouldn’t list Rihanna in the “Media & Entertainment” category like other artists, but instead in the “Fashion & Retail” category. The 34-year-old released her last album six years ago.
Third richest musician Jay-Z
In addition to the publicity of its founder (126 million followers on Instagram), Fenty Beauty owes its popularity to the large selection of products for darker skin tones. These were often neglected or poorly made by other makeup brands. Rihanna and LVMH have recognized a gap in the market.
Among music-making billionaires, Rihanna is no exception: the man who beats her in the rankings, Ye, has become known as a rapper, and he’s been in the headlines most recently as Kim Kardashian’s ex-husband. But he earns his money mainly with sneakers. His sneaker brand Yeezy, a cooperation with the German sporting goods manufacturer Adidas, makes up the lion’s share of his fortune, which is estimated at two billion dollars.
The third richest musician, Jay-Z, also fits into this pattern. Among other things, he earned millions last year selling his own champagne and cognacs. According to Forbes, his net worth is $1.4 billion.
The three rap and R&B artists show that you can make a lot more money with entrepreneurial skills than just with music – and they have long since passed the veterans in the rankings, who have been in the business decades longer than them, but just before make music to everything. For example, the website Celebritynetworth estimates Madonna’s fortune at $850 million, while Mick Jagger’s is “only” $500 million. Neither of them made it onto the Forbes list. The 78-year-old Rolling Stones frontman won’t care. He has not yet announced his own make-up line.