Bitch better have her money! As the founder of not one but two multi-billion-dollar companies, it’s understandable why fans want to know more about Rihanna’s net worth and how much she makes from her music career and businesses.
Rihanna, whose full name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty, was born on February 20, 1988, in Saint Michael, Barbados. She was discovered in 2003 after she formed a trio with two of her classmates and auditioned for music producer Evan Rogers, who was vacationing in Barbados with his wife at the time. The minute Rihanna walked into the room, it was like the other two girls didn’t exist,” Rogers told Entertainment Weekly in 2007.
”She carried herself like a star even when she was 15. But the killer was when she opened her mouth to sing [Destiny’s Child’s cover of ‘Emotion’]. She was a little rough around the edges, but she had this edge to her voice.” Rihanna auditioned for Rogers solo, performing Destiny’s Child’s “Emotion” and Mariah Carey’s “Hero.”
After the audition, Rogers met with Rihanna’s mother and recorded two demos with Rihanna, “Pon de Replay” and “The Last Time.” Less than a year later, Rihanna was signed to Rogers’ production company, Syndicated Rhythm Productions. “I was very shy at one point. I knew what I was about and what I stood for, but I was not very vocal. In the Barbadian culture, there’s this thing we say: ‘Speak when you’re spoken to.’ It’s polite not to blabber. It took me a couple of years to come out of my shell,” Rihanna told InStyle in a past interview about her humble beginnings.
Rihanna released her first single “Pon de Replay” from her debut album, Music of the Sun, in 2005. The song reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and led to the release of seven more albums: 2006’s A Girl Like Me; 2007’s Good Girl Gone Bad; 2009’s Rated R; 2010’s Loud; 2011’s Talk That Talk; 2012’s Unapologetic; and 2016’s Anti. In 2017, Rihanna launched her cosmetics brand, Fenty Beauty, which is now valued at $2.8 billion.
In 2019, she launched her lingerie brand, Savage X Fenty, which is now valued at $1 billion. “I pray a lot. A lot. And I try to just look at every situation like there’s some reason behind it,” Rihanna told The Cut in 2017 about how she deals with career setbacks. “Even if I can’t feel it in that moment, I just thank God anyway, because I know that there’s something better coming, and he’s doing it for my good.”
With two multi-billion-dollar companies, there’s no doubt Rihanna is worth a lot. But what is Rihanna’s net worth? Read on for what we know about Rihanna’s net worth and how much she makes from Fenty Beauty, Savage X Fenty and other business ventures.
Rihanna’s Super Bowl performance wasn’t lucrative
How much did Rihanna make from her Super Bowl Halftime Show performance? Rihanna was the Halftime Show performer at the Super Bowl LVII between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles. Attracting more than 121 million viewers, it was one of the most-watched Super Bowl Half-Time shows ever.
So…how much did Rihanna make for her 2022 Super Bowl Halftime Show performance? The answer is nothing. According to National Football League spokesperson Joanna Hunter, Super Bowl Halftime Show performers aren’t paid but the NFL does cover the expenses for their performance. “We do not pay the artists,” Hunter told Forbes in 2016. “We cover expenses and production costs.” However, there is a limit to how much the NFL will pay. The Weeknd’s manager Wassim “Sal” Slaiby told Billboard in 2021 that the “Starboy” singer contributed $7 million of his own money to “make this halftime show be what he envisioned” when he performed at the Super Bowl LV.
Forbes reported in 2013 that the total production cost for Beyoncé’s Super Bowl Halftime Show performance was $600,000, though some reports claim that the number was $10 million. So why aren’t Super Bowl Halftime Show performers paid? With more than 100 million people who tune into the Super Bowl each year, the Halftime Show often serves as a free promotion for its performers.
According to Forbes, Bruno Mars’ 2012 album, Unorthodox Jukebox, soared from number seven to number three on the Billboard 200 after he performed at the Super Bowl in 2014. The magazine also reported that sales for Unorthodox Jukebox spiked by 92 percent to 81,000 after his Super Bowl Halftime Show performance. Beyoncé’s 4 also saw a similar spike of 59 percent after she performed the Super Bowl Halftime Show in 2013.
According to Spotify, Shakira’s streams spiked by 230 percent, while Jennifer Lopez’s streams went up by 335 percent after they performed at the Super Bowl Halftime Show in 2020. Justin Timberlake’s sales also rose by 534 percent after his performance at the Super Bowl Halftime Show in 2018, according to Billboard. Katy Perry’s manager, Steven Jensen, told Forbes in 2015 that her Super Bowl Halftime Show performance “took her from being a big star to the stratosphere.” Perry’s manager also told the magazine that, as a result of her Super Bowl Halftime Show performance, Perry’s endorsement deals doubled.
Rihanna wore a red latex suit that conformed to every curve, leading fans to speculate that she’s pregnant with baby number two with partner ASAP Rocky. WHAT A REVEAL! Many had guessed Jay-Z would make an appearance, but even better than that, Rihanna rocked the largest stage in the world solo with her new baby bump.
Rihanna makes BANK from Fenty Beauty
How much does Rihanna make from Fenty Beauty? Rihanna launched her cosmetics brand, Fenty Beauty, in 2017. The brand became an immediate success, especially for its Pro Filt’R foundation, which launched with 40 shades and has since expanded to 50 shades and into concealers.
Before the launch of Fenty Beauty, Women’s Wear Daily reported in 2016 that Rihanna signed a $10 million deal with Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessey’s Kendo division—which also produces Marc Jacobs Beauty and Kat Von D Beauty—to create her own cosmetics brand and sell it at Sephora, another LVMH subsidiary. “Everything with her is off the charts,” an industry source told Women’s Wear Daily at the time.
In its first month, Fenty Beauty reported $72 million in earned media value—above companies like Nyx Professional Makeup, Benefit Cosmetics and Urban Decay—ranking third on Tribe Dynamics’ earned media value report at the time. Fenty Beauty’s earned media value came primarily from Instagram, where it reported $45.2 million, and YouTube, where it reported $10.6 million.
In 2018, Forbes reported that Fenty Beauty had made more than $570 million in revenue and was worth more than $2.8 billion, 50 percent of which belonged to Rihanna, who serves as the Chief Executive Officer for the brand. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Fenty Beauty generates more than $100 million in revenue each year. The Guardian reported in 2017 that Fenty Beauty was so successful in its launch year that its sales equated to selling one bottle of foundation every minute and one lip gloss every three minutes.
Rihanna told Vogue in 2017 about what the success of Fenty Beauty means to her. “We have this amazing emotional connection with customers who’ve never been able to find their shade of foundation before—women crying at the [makeup] counter—it’s crazy to even think about,” Rihanna said. “The first woman I saw put makeup on her face was a black woman—my mom—and when I think of my customers, I want everyone to feel like they can find their color, that they are represented as part of this new generation.”
In an interview with TIME that same year, she explained why it was important to launch with so many shades of foundation: “I’ve had my makeup done thousands of time, and when it comes to foundation, you just never know how it’s going to turn out. I think foundation should look like great skin, so it was important to me that the Pro Filt’r foundation had a soft matte finish because you want a dewy look, but never shiny! It was also important that every woman felt included in this brand. We are all so different, with our own unique skin tones, so we started with the 40 foundation shades out the gate.”
How much does Rihanna make from Savage X Fenty?
How much does Rihanna make from Savage X Fenty? Rihanna launched her lingerie brand Savage X Fenty, in 2018. Rihanna reported at the time that the brand sold out within a month of its launch. Along with lingerie, the brand has since expanded into bras, underwear, sleepwear, loungewear as well as offers an optional membership programed, Xtra VIP, which offers exclusive discounts and early access to product releases. In 2020, Fast Money named Fenty X Savage one of the “10 most innovative style companies” of that year. In 2021, Forbes reported that the brand was worth more than $1 billion, 30 percent of which is owned by Rihanna.
In an interview with InStyle in 2022, Rihanna explained that she wanted each item of Savage X Fenty to represent one word: sexy. “If we’re gonna start as a lingerie company and we want to expand, everything needs to come from that template,” Rihanna said. “And we wanted to apply some of our details to the sport silhouettes, to the tech fabrics, and have it snatch you in all the right places. I knew a snapback was on the way so I had to make sure the leggings were giving what they’re supposed to give.”
What is Rihanna’s net worth?
What is Rihanna’s net worth? Rihanna’s net worth is $1.4 billion according to Forbes, which reports that Rihanna is the wealthiest female musician in the world and she’s among the 11 richest self-made women under 40.
Along with what she makes from Fenty Beauty and Savage X Fenty, Rihanna’s net worth also includes her earnings from her music career, which includes eight albums—2005’s Music of the Sun; 2006’s A Girl Like Me; 2007’s Good Girl Gone Bad; 2009’s Rated R; 2010’s Loud; 2011’s Talk That Talk; 2012’s Unapologetic; and 2016’s Anti—as well as six headlining tours: the Rihanna: Live in Concert Tour in 2016; the Good Girl Gone Bad Tour from 2007 to 2009; the Last Girl on Earth Tour from 2010 to 2011; the Loud Tour in 2011; the Diamonds World Tour in 2013; and the Anti World Tour in 2016. Rihanna also co-headlined The Monster Tour with Eminem in 2014.
In a 2016 interview with Vogue, Rihanna explained the story behind her song, “Bitch Better Have My Money.” “‘Bitch Better Have My Money’ just felt like something everybody can relate to, whether it’s in regards to money or not,” she said. “There’s something about that attitude or that confidence, that level of discarding something. Because it’s also just very final. It’s a very final statement. That song can be taken in so many ways. You know? And hardly ever is it actually money. I mean, money’s pretty much the obvious thing. The nonobvious thing is somebody who’s just jocking you. You’re not paying them any attention. You’re minding your own business. And everything that comes out of them is targeted toward you.”
She continued, “You feel like at the end of the day, you might as well get paid for this shit. You know what I’m saying? It’s just a way to describe a situation. It’s a way to be in charge, to let people know that you’re all about your business.”
She also told Vogue about how a lot of her income comes from music streaming. “Streaming is a really big market for me. We’ve been doing great in the streaming market, so it’s not something I want to alienate at all. Streaming counts now,” she said. “They’re treating artists the way we deserve to be treated. So it’s not blindly—it’s not invisible sales or invisible streams or invisible listens or downloads.” She continued, “Before it was just—it was robbing us. Before streaming, it was robbing artists. Robbing us of our sales. It’s free music. So now the free music counts. It is definitely going to make a big difference in the music industry. For a fact.”
Rihanna also explained to the magazine about why she doesn’t feel competitive to other artists and hates when fans and haters pit her against others. “They just get so excited to feast on something that’s negative. Something that’s competitive. Something that’s, you know, a rivalry. And that’s just not what I wake up to. Because I can only do me. And nobody else is going to be able to do that,” she said.
She continued, “Especially with Anti. I went through so many emotions and roller coasters of feeling good, loving it, hating it, doubting myself, hating myself. ‘This is awful.’ ‘I lost it.’ ‘Wait, but I do love it still.’ ‘But then—’ And it’s like, no. Eventually you just need to know who you are. You know when something is you. You know when you love it and that’s the only thing that matters. When it comes to everybody else’s thing and their lane and their timing, I’m never doing anything intentional to, like, come after somebody. That will always be my biggest mistake or anybody’s biggest mistake if that’s their intention. So I just focus on my little project. That’s all I can handle. That’s a lot to handle. I can barely handle all of that.”
Image: Phaidon Press.
For more about Rihanna, check out The Rihanna Book. The book, which Rihanna described as a visual autobiography, takes readers through Rihanna’s life and career, from her childhood in Barbados to her worldwide tours with more than 500 pages of never-before-published private images. “It’s a piece of art that I am really proud of,” Rihanna said, according to the publisher’s description. The book, which includes more than 1,000 color images as well as a removable poster and other bonuses, is Rihanna like fans have never seen her before. “A rare and intimate look into her journey, chronicled in family pictures, captivating tour shots, and even rare handwritten letters,” Billboard described the book.
