The unexpected success of her cosmetics line Fenty Beauty, launched in 2017, has turned singer Rihanna into a successful entrepreneur.

With an estimated net worth of $1.7 billion, Robyn Rihanna Fenty is the richest female singer and songwriter in the world. She is second only to American media queen Oprah Winfrey on the list of richest female celebrities in the entertainment industry.

Stylemaker

Although famous for her singing career, Rihanna mainly makes money from business. Her $1.4 billion fortune comes from her beauty brand Fenty Beauty. The singer founded the company in 2017 and currently owns about 50% of its shares. Rihanna’s lingerie brand Savage x Fenty also helps her earn about $270 million. The rest of her fortune comes from her salary and profits from music and film projects.

Singer Rihanna. Photo: Economic Times.

When Robyn Fenty, better known to the world as Rihanna, launched Fenty Beauty in 2017, her goal was simply to create a cosmetics company that would make “women everywhere (feel) cared for.” She probably didn’t expect that her makeup line would catapult her into billionaire status.

Fenty Beauty’s makeup products, such as powders, highlighters, and bronzers, are designed in sturdy, impressive, and eye-catching hexagonal shapes. In particular, Fenty’s Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation is considered one of the most matte foundations – a “powerful weapon” for those with oily skin.

Forbes believes that Fenty Beauty’s success is not only due to its famous founder, but also due to the unique diversity of its beauty products, with the foundation alone available in 50 different skin tones for women of color.

In addition, girls are also crazy about Uncensored – a classic red lipstick that looks good on any skin tone. After just one month of launching, Fenty Beauty has earned nearly 72 million USD (about 1,679 billion VND). When sold online and at Sephora stores, also owned by LVMH, the product was an immediate success. Just one year after launching, this product line has brought in more than 550 million USD in revenue, surpassing many other emerging cosmetic brands such as Kim Kardashian’s KKW Beauty, Kylie Jenner’s Kylie Cosmetics…

Rihanna is not the only celebrity to take advantage of her social media presence (101 million followers on Instagram and 102.5 million on Twitter) to build a beauty brand. However, she is the most successful beauty entrepreneur in doing so. On average, a Fenty Beauty customer can spend up to 471 USD per year just to buy the brand’s products. That’s an impressive number for a relatively new player in the market. Even Kylie Cosmetics customers only “hit the mark” of $181 per person.

Forbes attributes Fenty Beauty’s success not only to its famous founder, but also to the unique diversity of its beauty products, with the foundation alone available in 50 different skin tones for women of color.

Fenty Beauty isn’t Rihanna’s only billion-dollar brand. In February, her Savage x Fenty lingerie line raised $115 million in funding at a $1 billion valuation. The company launched in 2018 as a joint venture with TechStyle Fashion Group, which counts investors like Jay Z’s Marcy Venture Partners and private equity firm L. Catterton (with Bernard Arnault as an investor) as shareholders. Rihanna still owns a 30% stake, Forbes estimates. The latest round of funding will be used to buy and expand retail.

However, Rihanna’s work as a fashion and beauty mogul has kept her busy. The singer, who used to release an album almost every year, hasn’t released a new album since 2016.

But from a financial perspective, Rihanna is creating a brand outside of her name. “Even if you don’t like Rihanna’s music, you have to admit that she has created a real style in the fashion and beauty space,” financial consultant Coyne told Forbes.

4 Lessons on Financial Management

Born into a family with a famous accountant mother, Rihanna learned lessons about money and finance from an early age.

Rihanna’s independent streak seems to have been formed from her early years. Born and raised in an unhappy family because her father was an addict, since she was young, her mother entrusted her with taking care of her younger siblings, while she also had to work many jobs to support the family.

When sold online and in Sephora stores, also owned by LVMH, Fenty cosmetics were an instant success.

Rihanna once revealed to The Guardian that having to care for her younger siblings like a second mother forced her to grow up quickly and become financially independent. During her early teenage years, Rihanna and two classmates formed a girl group and released their first album at the age of 17.

According to Rihanna, earning money early will help you understand the value of money as well as the connection between work and money. Adopting good financial habits from an early age is one of the foundations for future success.

After the impressive success of selling more than 10 million copies of her third album Good Girl Gone Bad in 2007, Rihanna became the face of many fashion brands such as CoverGirl, Gucci and Dior. By 2011, she also launched her first perfume called Reb’l Fleur.

All of these successes have had great support and backing from rapper and businessman Jay-Z – Rihanna’s CEO. After hearing Rihanna’s voice at Def Jam Recordings when she was 15 years old, Jay-Z put his trust in her and always followed and supported her. The two have collaborated to release 6 albums.

According to this billionaire, you don’t always need a financial investor, sometimes, friends and fans, people you trust and believe in you can also open the door to success in many different ways. They can bring you business opportunities, or can also act as career advisors, … all of which are very helpful, helping you reach success soon.

Rihanna was born and raised in Barbados, but after signing with Def Jam, she moved to the US for work convenience. Moving abroad is an opportunity for Rihanna to broaden her horizons, as well as seek new business opportunities.

One thing is for sure, jobs and opportunities will not come to you by themselves, instead, you need to be alert to know which area and which country is suitable for what.

For example, if you want to be a singer, you can easily succeed in New York or Los Angeles; but if you want to build a food brand, the bigger opportunities will be in Dubai and Riyadh, not in the US.

The fourth thing is to create a source of passive income

According to Rolling Stone, the first year sales of Rihanna’s Reb’l Fleur perfume reached more than $80 million. This success is a testament to the idea of ​​passive income that will generate recurring revenue over time.

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Over the years, Rihanna has created 11 fragrances. Now, she is confident that she can consult on fragrance, testing and marketing, with long-term profits in royalties and sales profits.

The singer advises to think about finding different jobs, opportunities for money to flow into the account in many different ways.