Rihanna is one of the most successful pop stars in the music industry, topping charts and dominating airwaves with hits such as “Umbrella,” “Pon De Replay,” “Take A Bow,” and “We Found Love.”
Even though she hasn’t released an album since 2016, she’s still an influential figure beyond music, now thanks to the business empire that she’s built.
In 2017, Rihanna launched her cosmetics brand, Fenty Beauty, through LVMH’s Kendo division. The brand’s first collection was released in September of that year, and it received acclaim for how it catered to all skin tones. Fenty Beauty’s tentpole product, its Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation, debuted with 40 shades (which have since expanded to 50), truly serving all skin tones.
This bold move to release a wide range of shades was widely praised, and Fenty Beauty is credited for setting a new beauty industry standard for diversity and inclusion. It even sparked what became known as the “Fenty Effect,” pushing cosmetic companies across the beauty industry to expand their shade ranges to better cater to various skin tones.
“Fenty Beauty was created for everyone: for women of all shades, personalities, attitudes, cultures, and races,” Rihanna shared her vision behind the brand’s inclusive range of shades. “I wanted everyone to feel included.”
Fenty Beauty was an immediate success, with shades selling out from beauty retailer Sephora soon after its launch, and being hailed by Time as one of “The Best Inventions of 2017.”
But Rihanna didn’t stop there.
In 2018, she launched Savage X Fenty, a joint venture with TechStyle Fashion Group. With Savage X Fenty, she empowered people of all sizes to feel desirable, offering lingerie in a wide range of sizes. Once again, the brand was praised for its diversity, featuring plus-size models in its Savage X Fenty Shows.
Initially an online-only retailer, Savage X Fenty expanded into opening physical shops. In 2022, the company reached a valuation of up to $3 Billion, and has since maintained its status as a high-value business in the apparel industry.
Rihanna’s self-made journey to becoming a business mogul and billionaire didn’t happen overnight. With music being her primary career, she didn’t magically know how to build and grow business empires.
Instead, she started small and learned about business and brands while she was still pursuing music full-time.
Her first foray into business was actually related to music. In 2005, she registered the company Westbury Road Entertainment, which eventually became her record label. By 2016, Westbury Road Entertainment released her album Anti, after she acquired the rights to her previous album masters from her former label, Def Jam.
Before she dove into the beauty and fashion industry, Rihanna also dipped her toes in the perfume industry. In January 2011, she released her first perfume Reb’l Fleur. It was a commercial success, earning $80 Million in retail sales by the end of that year. She’s since applied her perfumery success to her Fenty empire, creating perfumes under the Fenty Fragrance line.
Rihanna also first learned the business side of fashion through collaborations, even before she co-founded Savage X Fenty.
In 2014, she joined Puma as its Creative Director. During her tenure, she led the company’s apparel and footwear collaborations. She also designed her own sneaker lines for Puma before debuting her first clothing line with the company at New York Fashion Week in 2016.
In the last few years, Rihanna has focused on growing Fenty as a company, launching Fenty Skin in 2020, a gender-neutral, inclusive skin care line. She also launched Fenty Hair in 2024, this time releasing hair products formulated to suit all hair types, textures, and routines.
While growing her business empire, Rihanna exclusively uses her surname, Fenty, to keep her business identity separate from her artistic and musical identity. While she has grown her businesses, she has also started a family with ASAP Rocky.
Even though she is still on a musical hiatus, she headlined the Super Bowl LVII halftime show, which drew 121 million viewers and earned her five Emmy Award nominations, including a nomination for Outstanding Variety Special (Live).
From all of the ventures that she’s done, from music to beauty to fashion, Rihanna remains unapologetic about her decisions. Despite the public clamor (and pressure) to return to music, she’s gone ahead and followed her current passion, business. And no matter what she does, she still excels, thanks to a combination of effort, smarts, and heart.
“I always believed that when you follow your heart or your gut, when you really follow the things that feel great to you, you can never lose because settling is the worst feeling in the world.”
Sources:
- https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/rihanna-savage-fenty-beauty-business-empire-mogul-8455430/
- https://www.lvmh.com/en/our-maisons/perfumes-cosmetics/fenty-beauty-by-rihanna
Bio:
Sanne is a marketer by profession and a writer by passion. When she’s not working, she’s either working through her TBR pile, planning her next trip, or forcing her cats to cuddle.
