Yahoo Finance How did Rihanna become the world’s RICHEST female artist?
Born in Barbados and famous worldwide, singer, businesswoman and fashion designer, Rihanna has made her way onto Forbes’ 2019 Richest Self-Made Women list, sitting at number 37 with a whopping US$600 million (AU$857.9 million) under her belt.
Her insane fortune has seen her now snap up the title of world’s richest female musician.
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This puts the singer, age 31, above the likes of Madonna (US$570 million), Celine Dion (US$450 million), Beyonce (US$400 million) and Taylor Swift (US$360 million).
And, while she was initially famous for her hit songs, the majority comes for her partnership with LVMH, the French luxury goods giant, which owns brands like Sephora, Fendi and Givenchy.
Fenty Beauty: A US$3 billion empire
LVMH and Rihanna co-own the singer’s makeup brand, Fenty Beauty, which racked up a reported US$100 million in sales in its first few weeks, according to Forbes.
Last year, sales for Fenty Beauty generated an estimated US$570 million in revenue last year, after just 15 months in business.
The entire operation is worth a whopping US$ billion, and, according to Forbes, LVMH owns an estimated 50 per cent of it, while Rihanna owns around 15 per cent.
Savage x Fenty
After makeup, her next venture was lingerie.
Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty lingerie brand is co-owned by TechStyle Fashion Group, and it’s consistently sold out.
Music, of course
Before there was Fenty Beauty, Savage x Fenty or Fenty, Rihanna was just that: Rihanna.
In 2013, her Diamonds world tour raked in $137 million, according to Refinery29, and in 2016 she earned $22.3 million from streaming, sales and touring.
She’s also a part owner of Jay-Z’s Tidal.
There’s more to come
Rihanna’s empire will keep growing, with LVMH extending the singer another partnership opportunity - this time, for clothing brand, Fenty.
The fashion line launched online in May, but if Fenty Beauty is anything to go by, the results will be astronomical.
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