Rihanna is officially a billionaire, Forbes says – and the world’s richest female musician

Newfound financial status comes as star has been on hiatus from the music that made her name

Rihanna is officially a billionaire, and subsequently the wealthiest female musician in the world.

According to Forbes, Rihanna is now worth $1.7 billion (£1.2 billion), primarily thanks to the value of her industry-shaking cosmetics brand Fenty Beauty, which is estimated to be worth $1.4 billion.

Rihanna has also earned the rest of her fortune from her lingerie company, Savage x Fenty, which is reportedly valued at $270m (£193m), and from her earnings as a musician and actor.

The mogul’s fortune comes at an interesting time, however, with Rihanna having largely retreated from the industry that made her name.

It has been five years since Rihanna released an album, and despite fans endlessly calling on Rihanna to unveil new music, she has been largely focused on her non-music businesses.

In 2019, Rihanna told The New York Times Style Magazine that she did not name her brand after herself – Fenty is in fact her surname – as she did not want to become “oversaturated”.

“Every collaboration I did outside of music, I used Fenty so that you didn’t have to hear the word ‘Rihanna’ every time you saw something that I did,” she explained. “So Rihanna stayed the music, the person. But these other brands are called Fenty.”

Rihanna has yet to comment on her billionaire status.