Rihanna’s rise from global music superstar to beauty-industry billionaire offers one of the most notable celebrity business stories of the modern era. When she launched Fenty Beauty in 2017, the goal was not simply to attach a famous name to another cosmetics line. Rihanna wanted to create products that made a much broader range of consumers feel represented, particularly people who had historically struggled to find suitable makeup shades. Four years later, Forbes reported that Fenty Beauty had become the central asset behind Rihanna’s billionaire status, estimating the company’s value at $2.8 billion and confirming that Rihanna owned 50% of the business. Forbes estimated her overall fortune at $1.7 billion in 2021, with approximately $1.4 billion attributed to her stake in Fenty Beauty.
The foundation for that success was a business partnership with French luxury giant LVMH, the parent company of brands across fashion, cosmetics and retail. Fenty Beauty operated as a 50-50 joint venture between Rihanna and LVMH, giving the singer creative influence while providing the company with the infrastructure and global expertise of one of the world’s largest luxury groups. The partnership had been developed before the product launch, with LVMH and Rihanna agreeing in 2016 to create the cosmetics business. When Fenty Beauty reached consumers in 2017, it entered a highly competitive beauty market but differentiated itself through an unusually broad approach to shade selection and representation.
