Forbes Has Named Rihanna The Richest Woman In Music
Rihanna may currently be focusing all her energy on being a makeup mogul and a luxury clothing designer, but first and foremost, Rihanna is a singer. “If that’s so, then WHERE’S THE NEW MUSIC????” screams her fans every second of every day. But Rihanna is still technically a singer-slash-everything else she does, which would be why she recently found herself being crowned the richest woman in music by Forbes. And when they say rich, they aren’t kidding. These are some “Celine Dion, who?” numbers.
I mention Celine Dion because that’s exactly who I think of when I think of female musicians with big fat bank accounts. Celine made millions and millions in Las Vegas over more than a decade. Celine might as well be wearing last season’s flip flops and cruising around in a used Pontiac Sunfire, because she’s practically broke compared to what Rihanna is sitting on.
According to Forbes, Rihanna is the wealthiest woman in music with a net worth of $600 million. The majority of Rihanna’s earnings weren’t in music, but her other business ventures. So basically, she’s the richest woman in music, but only because of her side-gigs. Kind of like how Jay-Z became hip-hop’s first billionaire. Forbes says that Fenty Beauty, her makeup line, made an estimated $570 million in sales last year (the brand is reportedly worth more than $3 billion). Fenty Beauty is partly owned by LVMH, who also launched her FENTY luxury fashion line.
Forbes has yet to release their annual list of the top-earning women in music (that usually happens in November). We have this news about Rihanna thanks to Forbes’ recently released list of America’s Richest Self-Made Women. Rihanna happens to be the richest woman in music on that list (she cracked the #37 spot), with Madonna following behind at the #39 spot with $570 million, and Celine Dion at #46 with $450 million.
Rihanna just launched her fancy FENTY clothing line, so I’m sure she’ll be up another $500 million by next year (if only because it’s all so damn expensive). But let’s put it all in perspective with other rich female musicians. Last year the highest-earning woman in music was Katy Perry with $83 million, and the year before it was Beyoncé with $105 million. That’s a huge leap from the $100 million mark to $600 million. But it’s even funnier when you realize that last year, Rihanna’s number was $37.5 million. $37.5 million to $600 million? That’s the bank account version of a glow-up. I’m sure “glow up” is the technical term financial analysts would use to describe it.
Pic: Wenn.com