Rihanna joins Forbes billionaire list for the first time
(Picture: @badgalriri)Rihanna has been featured on Forbes’ billionaire list for the first time in her career due to her wildly successful ventures into fashion and beauty.
The latest list of international billionaires, released by the US business magazine on Tuesday, ranks the singer at 1,729.
The 36-year-old, who is currently expecting her first child with rapper ASAP Rocky, is Barbados’ first billionaire.
Her $1.7 billion dollar (£1.3 billion) net worth is owed to the success of her cosmetic brand Fenty Beauty, which she co-owns with French luxury retailer LVMH.
According to Forbes, the beauty product empire generated more than $550 million (£420 million) in revenue in 2020.
The singer also owns a 30% stake in the Savage x Fenty lingerie line, which raised money at a $1 billion (£765 million) valuation in February 2021.
In an interview with The New York Times, the singer and businesswoman, who has been declared the world’s richest female musician, said that she is still getting used to her new financial status.
“It’s tricky because it’s hard to even accept that’s where you’re at because I know where I’ve come from,” she said.
“At the same time, it feels good to be able to inspire young women and boys, who like me, come from humble beginnings, who come from parents who are immigrants or who are immigrants themselves, to be able to do this.”
Lord Of The Rings director Peter Jackson is another Forbes’ list first timer, who earned billionaire status in November after selling part of his Weta digital film effects shop to Unity Software for $1.6 billion (£1.2 billion) in cash and stock.
His net worth of $1.5 billion (£1.2 billion) has earned him a rank of 1,929.
The Forbes list was also full of returning billionaires such as Kim Kardashian, Kanye West and Jay-Z.
After becoming a billionaire last year, Kardashian, 41, landed at 1,645 on the Forbes’ billionaires list, with a net worth of $1.8 billion (£1.4 billion).
Her ex-husband Ye, formely known as Kanye West, 44, ranked at 1,513 with a net worth of $2 billion (£1.5 billion), and his industry mentor, rapper Jay-Z, ranked at 2,076 with $1.4 billion (£1 billion).
This year’s list was topped by tech mogul Elon Musk with an estimated net worth of $219 billion (£167 billion).
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos slid to the No. 2 spot with $171 billion (£131 billion), followed by LVMH owner Bernard Arnault with $158 billion (£121 billion).
Bill Gates and Warren Buffet rounded out the top five with net worths of $129 billion (£99 billion) and $118 billion (£90 billion), respectively.
