Singer Rihanna has officially cemented her role as the richest female artist after reaching a fortune of $600 million.
Rihanna jumped ahead of other artists including Madonna ($570 million), Céline Dion ($450 million) and Beyoncé ($400 million), according to a report published Tuesday by Forbes. However, the majority of the singer’s wealth doesn’t come from her music.
Instead, Rihanna’s co-owned beauty brand has brought in much of the singer’s fortune. Rihanna and LVMH, the French luxury goods brand behind Givenchy and Fendi, launched the Fenty Beauty line in September of 2017.
The beauty line reportedly saw $100 million in sales in the first weeks due to Rihanna’s fame and social media reach.
Rihanna’s success with her beauty line mirrors Kylie Jenner’s success with beauty products. One key thing the two have in common: social media. Both used their existing followers and fans to promote their new products, effectively achieving a low-cost marketing platform. (RELATED: Here’s Why Rihanna Is Suing Her Own Father)
Fenty Beauty’s 40 different foundation shades marked the line as the most inclusive beauty brand on the market.
“It challenged the standard convention that you only needed a very defined set of shades to satisfy a market,” Stephanie Wissink, a research analyst at Jefferies, told Forbes. “Not only did [Fenty Beauty] achieve meaningful sales, but it potentially changed the industry permanently.”
For the year 2018, Fenty Beauty generated $570 million in revenue and the entire brand is worth a reported $3 billion.
Rihanna has continued to expand her Fenty empire creating a luxury fashion line that launched in May.
They extended the offer to me and it was a no-brainer because LVMH is a machine,” Rihanna told T Magazine. “Bernard Arnault was so enthusiastic; he trusted me and my vision.”