Rihanna Net Worth 2024: How She Built a $2.6 Billion Fashion Empire

Everyone knows that Rihanna is a popular singer, songwriter, and actress but few also recognize her incredible success as an entrepreneur in the fashion industry.

Rihanna’s net worth in 2024 is estimated to be $2.8 billion, making her the wealthiest female musician globally.

Along with her successful recording career, Rihanna has been a brilliant business founder and leader for various ventures in the beauty and clothing worlds. She’s brought inclusivity to the makeup and fashion industries that was only on the fringes previously.

Here, we’ll delve into how Rihanna became a global music and style icon of the 21st Century.

Rihanna’s Net Worth: Full Breakdown

Since Rihanna’s business empire is held privately and not through a publicly traded company, no one knows her exact net worth.

However, we were able to collect plenty of public information about her various sources of income, investments, assets, and business ventures, which we break down here for you.

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She has been rumored to expand her Fenty brand with a children’s product line, “Fenty Kids.” As of August 2024, rumors are swirling that Rihanna is preparing for a new music release in late 2024, though no official announcement has been made yet.

6 Fun Facts about Rihanna

1. Early life: Born in Saint Michael, Barbados on February 20, 1988.
2. Education: Attended Charles F Broome Memorial Primary School in Barbados.
3. First major break: Discovered by Evan Rogers during an audition in Barbados.
4. Record label: Launched her own record label, Roc Nation.
5. Super Bowl: Her Super Bowl LVII halftime show in 2023 was the most-watched halftime show of all time.
6. Acting career: Appeared in movies such as “Battleship” and “Ocean’s 8”.

Rihanna’s Early Life

Robyn Rihanna Fenty was born in Saint Michael, Barbados on February 20, 1988.

Her mother Monica (née Braithwaite) is an accountant and her father Ronald Fenty was a warehouse supervisor. While Rihanna’s father is a Barbadian of African, English, Irish, and Scottish lineage, her mother is an Afro-Guyanese.

Rihanna got her early education from Charles F Broome Memorial Primary School in Barbados  Her father suffered from an alcohol and cocaine addiction and was sued for abusing her mother physically. Rihanna’s parents divorced when she was 14.

In January 2005, when she was only 16, Rihanna moved to the US with her mother. She later said:

I wanted to do what I had to do, even if it meant moving to America

Rihanna Net Worth: The Birth of an Iconic Music Career

Rihanna’s music career began when Evan Rogers discovered her during an audition in Barbados where he was on a vacation.

Rihanna performed renditions of Destiny’s Child’s Emotion and Mariah Carey’s Hero in Rogers’ hotel room, leaving the American record producer in awe of her singing. He invited Rihanna and her mother to the US to record demo tracks.

These demos were then sent to Def Jam Recordings and Jay-Z, who had then recently been appointed as the company’s CEO, invited her for an audition. After the successful audition, Rihanna accepted a six-album record deal.

In 2005, Rihanna released her debut studio album Music of the Sun which was a hit and sold over two million copies globally, including 600,000 in the USA. The next year, she released her second studio album, A Girl Like Me, featuring hit songs like Unfaithful and We Ride.

In 2007, with the album Good Girl Gone Bad, she sought to transform her image as a teen singer and many see the album as a turning point in her career. The move paid off well as the anthemic lead single, Umbrella was among the biggest hits of that year.

2008 was another milestone year for Rihanna and after getting four Grammy nominations, she won the Grammy award for Best Rap/Sung Performance award along with Jay Z.

In 2022, she released Lift Me Up from the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack, which was her first solo musical release since Anti in 2016.

Rihanna launched her own record label named Roc Nation, and according to its website, “With over 11.8 billion views and 21 Vevo certified videos she is the most viewed female artist on Vevo/YouTube and is one of the biggest artists on Facebook with over 81 million likes.”

Her Super Bowl LVII halftime show in 2023 was the most-watched halftime of all time, which goes to show her popularity. The video which was uploaded on NFL’s YouTube channel has over 207 million views currently.
Even since her debut album, Rihanna’s music career has helped fuel her popularity and she used the fame from her singing to branch out to other venues, including acting.

Rihanna’s Acting Career

Rihanna’s life revolved mostly around music and fashion but she dabbled in acting a bit early in her career.

The first movie in which Rihanna appeared was Bring It On: All or Nothing in 2006, where she appeared as herself. However, she made her acting debut with Battleship in 2012. In 2018, she started in Ocean’s 8 as a hacker and added to the cast of all female criminals in the movie.

In 2019, she played the lead character of Kofi Novia in the Amazon Prime film Guava Island. Her next venture would be The Smurfs Musical – an upcoming movie from Paramount Animation set for a 2025 release, where she would voice the role of Smurfette.

The Path to Becoming a Fashion Mogul

Along with being among the most popular pop stars with a global following, Rihanna has also been tremendously successful as an entrepreneur.

Here’s a rundown of her business ventures:

Fenty Beauty

In September 2017, Rihanna launched her cosmetics company Fenty Beauty in collaboration with French luxury retailer LVMH, which owns many of the most popular luxury brands like Louis Vuitton and Dior. The group is owned by Bernard Arnault who briefly surpassed Elon Musk to become the world’s richest person in 2022.

When Rihanna partnered with LVMH for Fenty Beauty, the megacorporation invested around $35 million for just over 50% stake, which made the French conglomerate the majority shareholder.

Rihanna invested a similar amount but it was, “in kind” including her efforts in building the Fenty brand, instead of hard cash.

In an interview with T Magazine, Rihanna said that she had no fear while collaborating with LVMH and Arnault. “I got this pressure to not let Arnault down. I felt like this is a moment in history that I have to live up to. This is my one shot and I only get one time to do it and it can’t be wrong,” said Rihanna.

The brand name Fenty is her family name, and its use has caused family divisions.

In 2019, Rihanna filed a lawsuit suing her father for “false advertising and invasion of privacy”, but dropped the case in 2021 just weeks before the father and daughter were due to meet in court.

In 2021, Forbes “conservatively” estimated the value of Fenty Beauty at $2.8 billion which implies that Rihanna’s stake in the company was worth at least $1.4 billion. Meanwhile, we estimate that the valuation of Fenty Beauty has since risen significantly as it continues to grow in popularity.

Forbes reported that the business generated revenues of $550 million in 2018, which was its first full year of operation. While clear cut numbers of Fenty Beauty sales are nowhere to be found in the financial reports of LVMH, the company has said on multiple occasions that the business is growing at a fast pace.

In its 2023 earnings report, LVMH said, “Fenty Beauty posted robust growth, driven in particular by one of its latest innovations in mascara.”

In the previous year’s filings, the company said, “Fenty Beauty doubled its revenue thanks to the expansion of its distribution network and the success of its launches.”

We estimate Fenty Beauty’s annual sales to be over $2 billion looking at the strong growth that LVMH has touted over the years.

Even if we assume that Fenty Beauty’s valuation multiples are similar to that of LVMH which trades at around 4.5x its revenues, we arrive at a valuation of $9 billion for Fenty Beauty which could mean that Rihanna’s stake is worth around $4.5 billion.

The valuation could be much higher for the simple fact that Fenty Beauty’s sales are growing at a much faster rate than LVMH, which saw organic sales rise 13% YoY last year.

Secondly, given the brand’s association with a celebrity like Rihanna, it should command a valuation premium. However, even the most conservative estimates should put the value of her stake at around $2 billion.

While Rihanna officially became a billionaire in 2021, she owes most of her wealth to Fenty Beauty as her stake in the company accounts for the bulk of her net worth.

She launched another high-end fashion and accessories house also called Fenty with LVMH but in February 2021 Rihanna confirmed that the venture had been shut down as the business suffered in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rihanna’s success in the business world has many parallels to other celebrities like Ryan Reynolds and the YouTuber KSI who both used their tremendous fame to build gargantuan fortunes in the business world. They each learned how to put their personal brands to great use as a strong foundation for megalithic businesses to spring from.

After the spectacular success of Fenty Beauty, Rihanna launched Fenty Skin in 2020 which promises products for all skin tones and the brand focuses on the inclusion of all women.

Savage X Fenty

Rihanna also owns a 30% stake in the smash hit intimate wear maker Savage X Fenty. According to her, “We want to make people look good and feel good.”

The company’s website says, “Savage X Fenty embodies fearlessness, confidence and inclusivity. With a team assembled from the industry’s elite, the label has disrupted and redefined the marketplace with its accessible price points.”

Rihanna was closely associated with the lingerie brand but in 2023, she appointed Hillary Supper as the CEO. Savage X Fenty was previously said to be contemplating an IPO in 2022 at a whopping $3 billion valuation. While the company never officially confirmed that it was planning to go public, the capital market condition for new listings has soured over the last couple of years and it could be among the reasons the company delayed the IPO plans.

That said, at a valuation of $3 billion, Rihanna’s stake in Savage X Fenty alone could be around $1 billion. The company was valued at around $1 billion in a 2021 funding round which would put Rihanna’s stake in the company at around $300 million. However, since the valuations of startups have plunged over the last couple of years, her current stake in the company could be around $500 million.

Meanwhile, just like Fenty Beauty, Savage X Fenty is connected to LVMH and Bernard Arnault. L Catterton, a private equity firm part-owned by LVMH, is heavily invested in the company.

The Barbadian singer might also be looking to launch a product line for kids and last year she reportedly filed a trademark for Fenty Kids. Notably, she had previously filed a trademark for her surname Fenty which helped her launch various products under the brand name so there may be more brands on the way.

While the rumors of Rihanna launching products for kids have never been confirmed, in 2022 she hinted in an interview with Vogue that she might

“We didn’t get there yet but it’s something that I might do. We’ll see.” said Rihanna. She added, “I would have so much fun with that. Anything in miniature is just so cute.”

Tidal

Rihanna also owns a minority stake in the high-fidelity music streaming company Tidal which was launched by Swedish public company Aspiro in 2014.

The next year, Jay Z bought the then-obscure company for $56 million and rebranded it as a company owned by artists. He onboarded several other top artists including Beyonce, Rihanna, Madonna, Daft Punk, and Kanye West as owners in a bid to position the platform as a competitor to Spotify.

However, the business didn’t perform as expected and in 2021, Jay Z sold his stake to Block (formerly Square) in a deal worth $297 million. Rihanna likely still holds her stake in Tidal as the other co-owners did not sell their stake to Block when the deal was initially announced.

Creative director at PUMA

Rihanna is also a creative director at sports brand PUMA and oversees the brand’s women’s line. Last year, the two brands launched a new franchise named FENTY x PUMA Avanti.

According to PUMA, “The FENTY x PUMA Avanti, the first footwear franchise of the partnership, is an unconventional mix of two PUMA icons blending the high-quality leather design of the King football boot with the outsole of the heritage running shoe, Easy Rider. ”

While we don’t have public information about Rihanna’s income from the partnership, it helped PUMA increase its earnings so she is likely paid quite well in some way or another.

In 2016, Puma CEO Björn Gulden stated, “[Rihanna] can sell sneakers and Puma is onto something here which we haven’t seen yet in the women’s area.”

Rihanna’s Real Estate Investments

Rihanna has also invested in several properties and her real estate portfolio is worth around $90 million. These include two neighboring mansions in Beverly Hills that she purchased in 2021, which she offered for rent.

She also owns a penthouse in Century City, Los Angeles. The richest female musician also owns a villa in Barbados whose value is pegged upwards of $22 million.

Real estate as an asset class is quite popular among celebrities and billionaires. However, while most celebrities have real estate as part of their portfolio, for some like Arnold Schwarzenegger the bulk of their net worth is parked in properties.

Rihanna’s Stock and Cryptocurrency Investments

Rihanna doesn’t reveal much of her stock or crypto investments but she has let a few things slip.  For instance, Jamil “Deputy” Pierre, the producer of Rihanna’s hit song Bitch Better Have My Money, last year partnered with AnotherBlock to sell his royalties for the song as NFTs and minted around $63,000 from the deal.

Rihanna has also ventured into the metaverse and last year Fenty Beauty debuted on the metaverse after previously launching an experiential campaign on Roblox.

Companies like Nike also have a presence on Metaverse and Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg sees Metaverse as the key driver for the company’s long-term success.

BREAKING: Rihanna appears to be taking her Fenty empire to the metaverse, per @JoshGerben.

This comes days after a report that Savage X Fenty is eyeing an IPO at a $3 billion valuation.https://t.co/SIwwtPhjfX

— Boardroom (@boardroom) March 15, 2022

Rihanna has also ventured into the metaverse and last year Fenty Beauty debuted on the metaverse after previously launching an experiential campaign on Roblox. Companies like Nike also have a presence on Metaverse and Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg sees Metaverse as the key driver for the company’s long-term success.

According to Crunchbase, Rihanna has also invested in start-ups. These include participating in a $4.8 million investment round in Partake, which makes allergen-free cookies, and an undisclosed sum in medical devices company Therabody which makes the massaging device Theragun.

What Can We Learn from Rihanna’s Life?

As the richest female musician and one of the most successful fashion moguls in the world, Rihanna is an inspiration for many. There are innumerable life lessons that we can learn from her and her career.

To begin with, she is famously ambitious and became the first black female designer to head a LVMH fashion house.

Rihanna has never been apologetic about her skin color and said that she loves being black. She has said in reference to her partnership with LVMH:

But the reason I’m here is not because I’m black. It’s because of what I have to offer. That’s what they’re invested in. And the fact that I’m black is just that: a fact.

While Rihanna’s net worth makes him the richest female singer, she says that she is guided by her passion rather than money.

“I’m not being driven by money right now. Money is happening along the way, but I’m working out of what I love to do, what I’m passionate about,” said Rihanna in an interview with the New York Times.

Rihanna’s ability to take criticism in her stride is another skill we all need to learn. After some dismissed her as a one-hit wonder after the success of her first single Pon De Replay, she decided to work harder and she became ludicrously successful.

“The one-hit-wonder comment came straight out of the gate and that put a fire under my ass, and I just never stopped working,” said Rihanna.

It’s not uncommon for celebrities to get hate and criticism and instead of getting bogged down or distracted by them, Rihanna has taken them as a motivation. This is a great lesson that everyone should learn as in the era of social media one has to be thick-skinned as unhelpful criticism and hate comments are only increasing by the day.