Rihanna declared world’s richest female musician

Singer, makeup entrepreneur, lingerie designer and now the first black woman to head a top luxury fashion house -- Rihanna has racked up a $600 million fortune to become the world’s richest female musician, Forbes said yesterday.

The 31-year-old -- born Robyn Rihanna Fenty in Barbados has amassed wealth exceeding that of Madonna ($570 million), Celine Dion ($450 million) and Beyonce ($400 million), whose husband Jay-Z was just named the world’s first billionaire rap star. Rihanna’s ranking puts into fresh perspective one of her signature lyrics  “work, work, work, work, work,” which opened her 2016 dancehall smash “Work.”

Since bursting onto the scene in 2003, she has spun her triumphs in music into entrepreneurial gold, launching her makeup brand Fenty Beauty, co-owned by French luxury giant LVMH, in September 2017 online and with Sephora.

The line found success not least thanks to Rihanna’s fame both on and offline, with some $570 million in revenue last year after just 15 months of business.  She makes the majority of her money from touring and musical releases, according to Forbes, but also co-owns her Savage X Fenty lingerie line.