A few days ago, Forbes announced that Rihanna had become the world's richest female singer, worth as much as $1.7 billion.
Of all the female artists, her level of wealth is second only to Oprah's.
Unlike many rich second generations with backgrounds in the entertainment industry, Rihanna came to this step, but without the help of her parents, it was all herself who came to where she is today step by step.
Rihanna, whose real name is Robyn Fenty, was born in 1988 in the St. Michael's district of Barbados. Her mother is an African-American Retired Accountant in Guyana and her father is a warehouse supervisor.
It was different from the life of a rich woman today.
Rihanna wasn't happy as a child.
She grew up in a small bungalow. Because my father was addicted to alcohol and drugs, the relationship between my parents was strained.
She once told Rolling Stone magazine that when she was a child, her father would beat her mother, and even once hit her.
Whenever her parents mingled, she would stand between the two and separate them, and once she made too much trouble, and in order to calm them down, she directly broke a glass bottle.
"Domestic violence is considered a kind of 'family ugly', so every time I am beaten, my mother will not tell others."
When Rihanna was 14 years old, her parents finally divorced.
Because her mother had to work full-time, Rihanna took on the responsibility of caring for her brother early on.
"I grew up like my brother's second mother."
She had an unhappy time as a child, and music was her escape from reality.
In 2003, she and two classmates formed a three-person music group.
Although the group has no name, it does not have any fame.
But by chance, they were accidentally discovered by Evan Rogers, an American record producer traveling in Barbados, and attended an interview he held.
"As soon as Rihanna walked into the room, it was as if neither of the other two girls existed."
Evan quickly became aware of Rihanna's star potential.
He contacted Rihanna's mother and invited Rihanna to the United States to record some demos to send to the record label.
Rihanna was still in school at the time and only had time to participate in the recording during the holidays, and the two sample songs were recorded intermittently for nearly a year.
However, it was this slightly immature demo that caught Jay-Z's attention.
After listening to Rihanna's audition, he immediately decided to sign a contract with her for 6 albums.
In this way, Rihanna's musical path officially began.
At the age of 16, she moved from Barbados to the United States and moved into the Evan family.
"When I left Barbados, I didn't look back. I'm going to do what I'm supposed to do, even if it means moving to a strange country. ”
Eight months later, Rihanna released her debut album Song of the Sun, which landed at Number 10 on the Billboard 200 album chart and earned platinum sales.
In 2006, she released her second album, A Girl Like Me.
But what really made her completely popular was her third album in 2007, "Good Girl Gone Bad.".
The single "Little Umbrella" on this album was particularly popular, having topped the UK singles charts for 10 consecutive weeks. It is the longest single of all the singles in ten years.
It was selected for the Rolling Stones' 500 Greatest Singles and earned Rihanna her first Grammy Award.
Since then, Rihanna has embarked on the peak of music, working with legendary singers in the United States to become a diva level figure in the pop music scene.
But Rihanna's talent isn't just in music.
In the fashion circle, she is also a figure who has turned clouds and rains.
On all kinds of red carpet occasions, only with her, there will be surprises.
No matter how exaggerated the clothes are, worn on her, they are inexplicably reasonable.
What's more, she is also very good at making money!
Beginning in 2016, Rihanna shifted her main focus from music to business.
In 2017, she founded the beauty brand Fenty Beauty, partnering with French luxury giant LVMH Group, each with a 50% stake.
Her goal was to "appeal to every class of women", starting with a foundation of 40 shades.
This move gained a wave of goodwill, and Riri's beauty career took off.
Within two weeks of its inception, sales reached $100 million.
Revenue exceeded $550 million in the first year.
That number beat Kim's Kylie Cosmetics, and Kim Kardashian's KKW Beauty.
In less than four years, Rihanna has grown the beauty brand into a beauty empire valued at about $2.8 billion.
Shannon Coyne, founder of bluestock Advisors, a consultancy, explains her success this way:
"A lot of women can't find a foundation number that suits them. Only light, medium, medium, and dark foundations are available on the market.
She was one of the first to stand up and say that she would provide different colors of foundation for all the different people. ”
After a successful beauty brand launch, Rihanna founded a lingerie company, Savage x Fenty.
The underwear line she launched was completely different from Victoria's Secret.
She stressed the need to include women of all sizes, of all races, of all sizes.
Their brands even run their own lingerie shows.
The catwalk models are tall, fat and thin, of all ages, and even pregnant.
"I want every woman to be involved, and I want everyone on stage to have different energies, at different ages, with different cultures and skin tones."
Because of Rihanna's hard work, coupled with the brand's inclusive culture, the lingerie line has also developed successfully, and today, it is worth more than $1 billion.
Last year, Rihanna also launched skincare brand Fenty Skin. The commercial territory was further expanded.
"I used to just stay in the studio for 3 months and make an album.
But now, I feel like I'm sitting on a carousel. Fashion today, underwear tomorrow, makeup the day after tomorrow, music for the day after tomorrow. They are all like my children, and I have to take care of them. ”
It seems that women entrepreneurs will become busier and busier in the future.
Not many singers do business so well.
Fewer businessmen sing so well.
It took less than twenty years,
Rihanna's small bungalow from Barbados,
Moved into a large mansion in Beverly Hills worth tens of millions of dollars.
Not only became a superstar, but also transformed into a top female entrepreneur. It's a bit too good!