Singer and businesswoman, Rihanna has for the first time in her career appeared on the Forbes’ annual billionaires list.
Rihanna, aged 34 attained a billionaire status in 2021. She has an estimated networty of $1.7 billion. She is believed to be the first billionaire from Barbados.
Forbes attributed Rihanna’s wealth not to her music outputs, but to her wildly successful ventures into fashion and beauty.
In its latest report, Forbes indicated that Rihanna’s stake in her Fenty Beauty — the fastest-growing cosmetics line — makes up the majority of her wealth.
She co-owns Fenty Beauty with luxury conglomerate LVMH. Fenty Beauty reportedly generated over $550 million in revenue in 2020.
Additionally, Rihanna owns a 30 percent share in her Savage x Fenty lingerie collection. The collection reportedly raised about $115 million in series B funding at a $1 billion valuation in early 2021.
Other celebrities who made the Forbes list for this year include Kanye West (No. 1,513 with $2 billion); Kim Kardashian (No. 1,645, $1.8 billion); Jay-Z (No. 2,076, $1.4 billion); and Tyler Perry (No. 2,578, $1 billion); Steven Spielberg (No. 801, $3.7 billion); and Oprah Winfrey (No. 1,196, $2.6 billion.
Total number of billionaires in the world
Forbes reported that the world now has 2,668 billionaires with a collective net worth of $12.7 trillion. (Rihanna was ranked No. 1,729.)
The 2021 list had 2,755 billionaires with a total estimated net worth of $13.1 trillion. The publication reports the decline—the largest drop since the 2009 financial crisis—was due to sanctions on Russia, which lost one-third of its fortune following the collapse of the ruble.
French tech mogul Elon Musk topped this year’s list with an estimated net worth of $219 billion.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos slid to the No. 2 spot with $171 billion; LVMH owner Bernard Arnault followed with $158 billion; while Bill Gates and Warren Buffet rounded out the top five with $129 billion and $118 billion, respectively.