Rihanna Revealed the First Thing She Did When She Became a Billionaire
In 2021, Rihanna shattered records and became the wealthiest female musician in the world. She is now a billionaire. Despite her towering financial success, Rihanna reacted incredibly calmly to the news of billionaire status. She revealed the surprisingly normal first thing she did after learning her net worth passed the lucrative mark.
Rihanna started Fenty Beauty in 2017
Rihanna’s financial success is primarily because of her work outside of music. In 2017, the musician started Fenty Beauty. The combination of Rihanna’s celebrity status, the brand’s inclusivity, and the high-end but budget-friendly products lifted it to swift success. The Fenty website explains that Rihanna has always loved makeup and wanted to fill a hole she saw in the industry.
“[Rihanna was] still seeing a void in the industry for products that performed across all skin types and tones,” the site explains. “She launched a makeup line ‘so that people everywhere would be included,’ focusing on a wide range of traditionally hard-to-match skin tones, creating formulas that work for all skin types, and pinpointing universal shades.”
Rihanna also has her lingerie brand, Savage x Fenty, which emphasizes inclusivity for all body types. Combined, these businesses were incredibly lucrative for the singer.
Rihanna’s net worth skyrocketed, and she reacted calmly
According to Forbes, Rihanna’s net worth was valued at $1.7 billion as of August 2021. Of that, an estimated $1.4 billion comes from Fenty Beauty. She owns 50% of the company. She also rakes in $270 million from Savage x Fenty. The rest of the money comes from her music and film work.
The star works incredibly hard, and many fans were thrilled to see her reach the exclusive billionaire ranks. For her part, though, Rihanna reacted calmly.
In a conversation with The Cut, Rihanna explained that she did something very normal when she surpassed the $1 billion mark: order Chinese food. Her order? Fried wings and chicken fried rice.
“I usually do pork fried rice, but that day was chicken fried rice,” she explained. After this, she got back to business as usual.
Her subdued reaction makes sense, given that Rihanna was slightly uncomfortable by her high net worth. In an interview with Extra, she explained that it was somewhat scary.
“I do think about it all the time,” she explained. “I make it a point to think about it, because I… get scared when, you know, the pedestal comes into play and we’ll put you up there and they keep wanting to put you up there… I’m like, ‘No, I want to be on the ground.'”
She did add that she’s happy she can “share her inspiration” with fans, however.
She’s now the richest female musician in the world
Though Rihanna didn’t make too big a deal out of the distinction, her move to billionaire status was historic. She became the richest female musician in the world by a great deal.
She’s second only to Oprah Winfrey as the richest female entertainer. Oprah, who has an estimated net worth of $2.6 billion according to Forbes, is quite a bit wealthier than the musician. Still, Rihanna is part of the same highly exclusive group as the legendary host.
