Singer Rihanna. Photo: Fenty Beauty.
By ABU MUBARIK
Robyn Rihanna Fenty, 33, is considered one of the greatest musicians worldwide. The Barbados singer was recently certified by Forbes as the richest female musician globally with a net worth of $600 million. Rihanna built her wealth in and outside the studio. Besides being a top-class musician, the ‘Work’ singer is also an entrepreneur with stakes in so many businesses, in addition to the ones she is the sole owner of.
Rihanna is the founder of the makeup brand, Fenty Beauty. It was launched in 2017 in partnership with LVMH, the French luxury goods giant run by billionaire Bernard Arnault. The cosmetic line initially sold foundation shades and later expanded to include lipstick, lip gloss, body glitter,
and more.
In its first few weeks, Fenty Beauty reportedly made a record $100 million sales and propelled her Instagram following to 71 million and counting. In 2018, Fenty reportedly made $570 million in sales after operating for just 15 months. According to Forbes, the entire operations of the firm is worth $3 billion, revealing that LVMH has a 50% stake in the company while Rihanna has a disputed 15% in the company.
In 2019, Rihanna became the first Black woman to create a clothing brand for LVMH called Fenty and also announced new high-end clothing, shoes, and accessories. This year, it was reported that the luxury fashion brand and the singer are putting production on hold for her fashion line after barely two years of its launch in anticipation of better conditions. However, the LVMH’s investment fund will continue to support the Savage x Fenty lingerie brand and the Fenty Beauty cosmetics line.
Her Savage X Fenty lingerie line has an annual revenue of about $150 million. Additionally, she earns millions of dollars from endorsement deals from brands and companies like River Island, Mac, Armani, and Balmain. In 2014, she signed a $1 million endorsement deal to work as Puma’s creative director.
Aside from music and cosmetics, another big money-making move for Rihanna is her real estate business. She buys properties and resells for a profit. She reportedly acquired a mansion in LA at $6.8 million and resold it for $7.4 million. Four months ago, she acquired a Beverly Hill mansion for $13 million. Also, she recently acquired a $10 million home next to her Beverly Hill mansion. The Barbadian’s latest acquisition features a family-size house with four bedrooms. The property, which was originally built in the 1930s, also comes with 4.5 baths and just over 3,500 square feet of living space.
The property sits on a half-acre estate and was first sold for $5.1 million to a non-famous couple in 2015. Selling the property a price of $10 million means that the owners nearly made twice the amount they initially acquired the property for.
The singer also owns other luxury properties, including a mansion in her native Barbados, a $6.8 million villa in the Hollywood Hills, and a high-floor flat in L.A.’s Wilshire Corridor. Her main residence, however, remains a $5.2 million condo unit at Century City’s exclusive The Century condo complex, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Rihanna is regarded as one of the most publicly charitable celebrities. She was named Harvard Humanitarian of the Year in 2017 for her work supporting education and health care in the Caribbean and developing countries.
She recently donated $5 million to various organizations assisting with coronavirus relief efforts. Other charitable works by her include giving $1 million to New York’s needy, $2.1 million to abuse victims in L.A., and $5 million to other charities through the Clara Lionel Foundation.
Source: Face2Face Africa