Rihanna becomes Forbes' youngest self-made billionaire woman
Rihanna is now officially the youngest self-made billionaire, according to Forbes.
For its annual list of the country's richest self-made women, which debuted in June, Forbes named the Fenty Beauty founder the youngest self-made billionaire woman, a title previously given to reality star and businesswoman Kylie Jenner.
Jenner, then 21, was named the youngest-ever self-made billionaire in 2019 -- surpassing Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who won the title at 23 -- but Forbes later revoked that title, releasing an article claiming that the reality star and beauty business owner's billionaire status and financial documents, on which her title relied, had been skewed.
At the time, Jenner and her lawyer claimed Forbes' retraction was improper and the outlet's statements about Jenner's finances -- as well as those of her company, Kylie Cosmetics -- were false.
Forbes stood by its reporting, telling E! News in May 2020 that its "extensively-reported investigation was triggered by newly-filed documents that revealed glaring discrepancies between information privately supplied to journalists and information publicly supplied to shareholders."
"Our reporters spotted the inaccuracies and spent months uncovering the facts," the outlet stated.
With a net worth of $1.4 billion, according to Forbes, Rihanna has now been elevated through her music -- which includes Billboard chart-topping like "Umbrella, "Disturbia" and "Rude Boy" -- and several entrepreneurial ventures to the top spot among women.
The 34-year-old entertainer is the CEO and co-owner, along with luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, of her Fenty Beauty cosmetics line, which made major headlines in 2017 for creating over 40 foundation shades to align with a wide variety of skin tones. Today, the brand has 50 boundary-breaking shades and is often praised for revolutionizing the beauty industry and shedding light on a longtime lack of inclusive and diverse products among previously existing brands.
The brand also carries several other makeup products, including statement-making lipsticks and vibrant highlighting powders.
Rihanna also owns a 30% stake in her Savage x Fenty lingerie line, which accumulated $550 million in revenue in 2020, according to Forbes. The company also "raised money at a $1 billion valuation in February 2021" the outlet stated in June.
Additionally, Rihanna is the mastermind behind Fenty Skin, which she launched in 2020. Separate from Fenty Beauty, the label solely focuses on skincare essentials such as face cleansers, sunscreen, serum and more.
The "Diamonds" singer also launched a Fenty fashion line in 2019 with parent-corporation LVMH. However, it was announced in 2021 that both parties had mutually decided to end their partnership and shut down the business.
The singer says she is philanthropically driven as well. In 2012, she started the Clara Lionel Foundation, a nonprofit organization that says it "supports and funds climate resilience and climate justice projects in the U.S. and Caribbean," according to its website.
"My money is not for me; it's always the thought that I can help someone else," Rihanna told New York Times' T Magazine in a 2019 interview.
"The world can really make you believe that the wrong things are priority, and it makes you really miss the core of life, what it means to be alive."
On top of all her business ventures, the 34-year-old gave birth to her first child with boyfriend and rapper A$AP Rocky in May. She announced the pregnancy in late January.
In addition to Rihanna, Jenner's sister Kim Kardashian, 41, sits at number 16 on Forbes' list of the country's richest women, with a net worth of $1.8 billion. Twenty-four-year-old Jenner made this year's list, too: With a net worth of $600 million, the beauty mogul landed in the top 50, at number 41.
ABC News has reached out to Kylie Jenner for comment and will update this story with a response.
