Codie SanchezFounder @ Contrarian Thinking

How Rihanna Became a Billionaire #shorts

30 Mar 2023 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

0:59

A short YouTube clip by Codie Sanchez explaining that Rihanna’s billionaire status stems largely from her ownership stake in Fenty Beauty, launched in 2017 and now valued at $2.8 billion. The clip states Rihanna’s stake is worth about $1.4 billion, cites $550 million in sales in year one and that revenue doubled by 2022, and describes her deal with LVMH (a $10 million signing payment and a 50% ownership stake) which gave immediate distribution via Sephora. The video contrasts Rihanna’s equity earnings with Michael Jordan’s royalty-style deal (Jordan reportedly receives 5% of brand sales; 2022 Jordan Brand revenue cited as $5.1 billion yielding $256.1 million to Jordan).

Questions this video answers

2017

$2.8 billion

About $1.4 billion

$550 million

$10 million

Chapters

Rihanna is rich as it's actually not her music at all. This lady knows how to structure a deal. 2017 Fenty Beauty launches. It's now worth $2.8 billion. Rihanna stake by itself is worth 1.4 billion 550 million in sales in year one and doubled in revenue in 2022. She chose to go with LVMH in their incubator because LVMH also owns Sephora. She immediately had distribution and in hundreds if not thousands of stores. LVMH paid Rihanna 10 mil to do the deal and she owns 50% of the company overall. Nearly 80% of Rihanna's $1.8 billion in net worth is from this single deal. My friend Alex Lieberman did this incredible comparison with Michael Jordan to show you just how smart Rihanna really is. Since 1984, Michael Jordan has pocketed 5% of all Jordan sales. In 2022, Jordan did 5.1 billion in revenue, earning him $256.1 million. But imagine if he had Rihanna's take. This would be worth tens of billions of dollars. You know the word equity.