Benzinga | Aug 4, 2021 05:56PM EDT

Rihanna Becomes A Billionaire: Here's How She Did It

Musician and actress Rihanna is now a billionaire according to new valuation rankings from Forbes.

While her music helped Rihanna get to this significant milestone, it was her entrepreneurship and beauty companies that really catapulted her.

What Happened: Born Robyn Fenty, Rihanna has created several businesses to expand her operations outside of her music business.

Fenty Beauty was launched in 2017 as a cosmetics company where "women everywhere (feel) included."

Forbes estimates Fenty Beauty to be valued at $2.8 billion. Rihanna owns 50% valued at $1.4 billion making up the majority of her net worth. Fenty Beauty is a joint venture with LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA (OTC:LVMUY). Fenty Beauty products are sold online and in Sephora stores, a brand owned by LVMH.

Fenty Beauty became a quick hit, with sales of $550 million in 2018 outpacing many other celebrity-founded brands.

Rihanna also launched Savage x Fenty, a lingerie business. Savage x Fenty was valued at $1 billion in a recent funding round. The company has a joint venture with TechStyle Fashion Group. Rihanna owns 30% of Savage x Fenty.

Plans call for Savage x Fenty to introduce new products and expand the retail presence of the brand.

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Why It's Important: The latest estimate from Forbes values Rihanna's net worth at $1.7 billion. This makes Rihanna the highest valued female musician.

Rihanna has the second-highest net worth of female entertainers, trailing only Oprah Winfrey.

With 101 million Instagram followers and 102.5 million followers on Twitter, Rihanna is one of the most followed celebrities across social media.

The only downside of Rihanna focusing on beauty and her businesses is fans of her music wanting more. After releasing an album almost every year, Rihanna's last album was "Anti," released in 2016.

Photo by Charisse Kenion on Unsplash.