The life story of Rihanna is truly one for the ages. In her teens, she was cutting demos and signing to Jay-Z’s Def Jam Recordings when most of us were still learning geometry in high school. While churning out hit songs, she found herself in several supporting acting roles, starting from the age-old classic Bring It On: All or Nothing to Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets and the more recent Ocean’s 8. But it's her Fenty Beauty and Savage X Fenty lingerie brand that added her name to the billionaire’s club. When asked how she felt about being congratulated on the exclusive status, Rihanna surprisingly had a very humbled response.
It's surprising because, well, it's Rihanna. She made Mads Mikkelsen her bitch in the “Bitch Better Have My Money” music video. Her Savage X Fenty performance art shows on Amazon are also wildly extravagant, to put it mildly. But apparently, all of that doesn't really matter when one is thrown into the surreal circumstances of friends and colleagues congratulating for becoming a billionaire at age 33. Rihanna told Access Hollywood:
You know, it was real weird getting congratulations texts from people for money? You know, I was just like, ‘How?’ I never got congratulated for money before. That shit is crazy.
Rihanna has been an entertainer for nearly two decades now, with the Grammy wins to prove it. But her rise to billionaire status has been like lightning. Fenty Beauty was only just launched in 2017 and has been widely heralded for including a diverse skin palette in its line of products. Rihanna has since expanded the brand into fashion, lingerie, and a skin care line that launched last year. In the naming of her as a billionaire, Forbes noted that Rihanna’s net worth is now at $1.7 billion and is only second to Oprah Winfrey.
The "Umbrella" singer jokingly told Access Hollywood that, despite her billionaire business, no one should come around her house asking for $20. But in all seriousness, Rihanna can see why there's so much excitement over her achievement. She said,
It made sense when I realized that it was inspiring to people that they felt like this is something that they could achieve knowing where I've come from. Knowing my humble beginnings, they see the possibility, and it gives them hope. That made me feel really happy.
The billionaire brand has been greatly assisted in recent years by Rihanna's celeb-infused fashion shows doubling as documentaries. The past two Savage X Fenty volumes on Amazon Prime featured the likes of Halsey, Migos, and Miguel, among others to perform, while models included her former co-star Cara Delevingne, Paris Hilton, Willow Smith and Lizzo. The new volume has appearances by Nas, Ricky Martin and even Erykah Badu.
Savage X Fenty Vol. 3 is out today on Amazon Prime. And a bitch better be prepared because Rihanna The Billionaire says what they’ve created this go-around is a “bomb” and “grandiose show.”
