How Rihanna Created A $600 Million Fortune

CHILDHOOD

As the sun shone down the lively beaches of the ever-lively Barbados island, no one would have ever guessed that the ‘sassy girl’ singing to an audience nearby has a bruised soul. The evening would arrive and soon she would go back home to an abusive father and a victim of a mother.

Born on February 20, 1988, was a beautiful baby girl to Monica and Ronald Fenty. They named her Robyn Rihanna Fenty and she grew up along with two half-sisters and a half-brother in a small bungalow located in Bridgetown. While most of her childhood consisted of her helping out her parents, playing with her siblings and hanging out with friends, it was also infused with regular physical and verbal abuse by her drug-addict father who would regularly attack his wife and kids. While this was a norm, Rihanna would crave for a life she could escape to, where there was no hurt, pain and sorrow.

But things got even worse, as Ronald Fenty soon lost his job and his drug addiction started to spiral out of control. His abuses grew worse and so did his addiction. The house would be a mess to come back to, where the grown man would often be found in an embarrassing state in the middle of a ‘crack’. Due to such intense exposure to trauma, Rihanna constantly suffered from splitting headaches and a tumor was suspected. However, the scans showed otherwise and her pain turned out to be due to the violence at home. As things grew worse, Monica soon left her husband for good and moved-out with her children.

This change was tough yet a positive one. Now, Rihanna’s mother had to work full-time to support her family. This led Rihanna to shoulder the responsibility and help-out in supporting her family which she readily did. Meanwhile, her headaches seemed to vanish and her health improved rapidly. The young girl discovered her passion for music during this time and held onto it like a raft on troubled seas, as it gave her the solace she required.

EDUCATION

Great things were in store for young Robyn, but that was yet to come. The future superstar pursued her early education in Combermere School in Barbados. Many might not know, but this little school, in fact, was instrumental in helping Robyn come face-to-face with her passion. The school offers an exclusive music program, through which interested students can pursue their dreams in the field. It was in this particular school in Barbados island that Rihanna went on to win various talent competitions and also a beauty contest. She was discovered when she was still a young teen and education had to come to a halt, but that was yet to come.

CAREER

It was a regular day at the Barbados island when young Robyn and two of her girlfriends walked into the office of a record producer, Evan Rogers. The rest, as they say, ‘is history’. It was at this precise moment that the talent was spotted and a star was born. In Evan’s own testimony, he never noticed the other two girls, as Robyn was all that caught his eye.

This was the 15-year-old Rihanna, still known as Robyn at the time and her life was all-set to change forever. The nervous teenager had taken great efforts to dress up for the occasion and had make-up on. While externally she was an ‘awkward’ kid, Evan noticed her immense talent and knew he had a ‘diamond on the rough’. Soon enough, Robyn and her mother received a call and a ticket to fly to the States for the life-changing demo recordings. Big things started to happen at a splitting speed. It was during this time that Jay Z had just become the CEO and had heard about the ‘new girl with good looks and good talent’. Her track ‘Pon de Replay’ was already making waves at the parties and was a popular number amongst the young crowd. However, Jay Z wanted to witness the ‘real deal’ and set out to Robyn.

That night the young girl spent hours deciding on what to wear, as she was to face Jay Z. The next day she wooed the CEO with her take on Whitney Huston’s ‘For the Love of You’ and that sealed the deal. The contract was signed and Robyn had metamorphosed to ‘Rihanna’ overnight. Her album ‘A Girl Like Me’ made the right noises and ‘SOS’ was a huge success. The rest of the road was a ‘highway to success’ where she went on to succeed as a singer, songwriter and actress.

Meanwhile, her little hometown did not miss the opportunity to grace the star and had a holiday named after her. She soon emerged a powerful, famous and a sharp businesswoman. She launched a beauty brand and named it ‘Fenty Beauty’ and a philanthropy venture called the ‘Believe Foundation’ which was aimed at treating the terminally ill children.

She has lent her face to various top brands and has been a ‘fashion icon’ herself. The young star has used her fame and fortunes to launch various charity work and foundations to serve the society and create awareness. Not just a pretty face, Rihanna has grown to be a youth icon who has influenced them in a positive manner.

INVESTMENTS: Net worth: $ 600 Million

Today Rihanna is the world’s richest musician with various investments, business ventures, collaborations and also homes. Her major earnings are through her tours and music.

• Diamond World Tour- $140 Million-2013
• Samsung contract – $ 25 Million- 2016
• Earnings through streaming- $ 7.6 million – 2016
• Earning through sales – $ 2.4 Million – 2016
• Part-owner for Tidal
• Movie appearances in blockbuster hits – Home, Annie, Ocean’s 8
• Creative partnership – MAC
• Deals with designer collections- Armani, River Island, Dior, Cover Girl
• Creative Director- PUMA
• Fragrances- $ 80 Million
• Partnership with French Luxury Giant – LVMH- $ 3 Billion
• Fenty Beauty- $ 570 million -2017 launch
• Savage X Fenty- Co-ownership
• Apartment in Los Angeles- $ 5.45 Million
• Condo in The Wilshire Corridor- $ 925,000
• Hollywood Hills Estate- $ 6.8 million
• West Hollywood Property- $ 2. 75 Million
• Yacht Cruise at French Riviera- $ 300000/week-2011

AWARDS

• Grammy Awards- 9
• Billboard Music Awards- 12
• American Music Awards- 13
• MTV Video Music Awards- 7
• Viewer’s Choice Award- 2009
• Best Female R&B Artist- 2010, 2014
• Best Collaboration- 2016, 2018
• Best Hip-Hop Collaboration- 2009
• BMI London Award- 2007, 2010
• BMI Pop Awards- 2008, 2012, 2018
• BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards- 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019
• BRAVO OTTO Awards- 2011, 2012, 2013
• BRIT Awards- 2011, 2013
• BT Digital Music Awards- 2010
• Canadian Radio Music Awards- 2013
• CFDA Fashion Awards- 2014
• Danish Music Awards- 2011, 2013
• The Fashion Awards- 2019
• FiFi Awards- 2014
• Footwear News Achievement awards- 2016
• GAFFA Awards- 2010, 2015
• Gaygalan Awards- nominated
• Glamour Magazine Women of the year Awards- 2009
• Golden Raspberry Awards- 2013
• Japan Gold Disc Awards- 2006
• JUNO Awards- 2008
• Latin American Music Awards- 2016
• MOBO Awards- 2006, 2007, 2011
• MTV Europe Music Awards- 2005, 2006, 2007, 2016
• MuchMusic Video Awards- 2006, 2007, 2008,
• MYX Music Awards- 2013
• NAACP Image Awards- 2018, 2020

While winning awards and numerous accolades have been a norm for the mega superstar, it is also worth a mention that Rihanna is associated with charities. The superstar has associated her brand with many causes and continues to influence the weaker section of the society. Rihanna is an ambassador of the Global Partnership for Education in Barbados. She is also associated with the Global Citizen Project. The Clara Lionel Foundation, created by the star in the year 2012 is aimed to help improve the education conditions for the poorer communities of the society. This foundation offers scholarships and also hosts fundraising events.

Rihanna is known to be a workaholic who believes that true success comes from constant hard work. However, she is stated to have declared that her larger-than-life image also helps her create jobs for numerous people who work for her. In September 2018, all the earnings from Fenty Beauty’s Diamond Ball-out Ball-out Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter went to a charity for women and children in need.

A Journey To Be Remembered

While life seems to be going great for the girl from Barbados, however, there have been times when she faced the worst. It was in the year 2009, that Chris Brown, Rihanna’s then-boyfriend beat her up and left her to bleed. The news made major headlines and Chris Brown was convicted of the assault. This was a down period of her life, but she channelized her pain into music and co-wrote ‘Rated R’. This was followed by ‘Rude Boy’ and ‘Loud’. The incident left a mark on her, but being the strong woman that she is, she soon found her foothold back and was back in business like never before. She went on to make more soulful music and also garnered more fame. This is a story of strength and inspiration of a girl from Barbados.