Rihanna Is The World’s Richest Female Musician – But How Did She Make Her Money?

News flash: Rihanna is worth a lot of money. We suspected this already, but now we have the proof. Announced this weekend, RiRi is now third on The Sunday Times' rich musicians list, with a very impressive fortune of £468 million. It’s the first time Rihanna{ =nofollow}, who is now living in London, has made the list. She is only eclipsed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Paul McCartney who - at joint first on the list - are worth £800m each. And she’s worth more than Elton John (£360m) and Mick Jagger (£285m). As we said, very, very impressive.

And her earnings also mean she's the world's richest female musician - but how did the 32-year-old make her fortune?

Even though she's one of the world's richest musician, it's her work (work, work) on other ventures that has recently netted her most of the cash. While we all love and adore her music, she hasn’t released any new tracks for a while - something which hasn’t gone unnoticed by her Navy of fans, who are desperately waiting for her ninth (reportedly reggae-inspired) studio album following 2016's ANTI.

Although she has obviously made money from music. She's sold more than 60 million albums and 216 million digital tracks - and she still makes royalties from the classics like SOS and Umbrella. She's also a part-owner of streaming service Tidal, so she makes nice money from that too.

But fashion is where the big money is at, and her stake in the French luxury company LVMH - who work with Ri on her luxe Fenty line - is reported to be worth £351.6m. And Fenty x Savage, her lingerie line, also makes a fortune - with critics applauding last September's New York Fashion Week show{ =nofollow}, featuring the likes of Halsey, Normani and Gigi Hadid, which was then streamed on Amazon Prime.

As if all that wasn't enough, obviously her game-changing, inclusive, make-up line Fenty Beauty, also in collaboration with LVMH, is a money-spinner - with it making a cool £526.5m in the first 15 months. Before she was the mastermind behind glittery lipglosses (aka gloss bombs) and 40 shades of foundation, the singer dabbled in perfume, and her first release, Reb’l Fleur, brought in an estimated £65m in sales.

So, what does she spend it on? Well, it seems like Rihanna certainly isn't motivated by the money in the bank. (When you've got that much, surely you'd just lose track?) She was named as named Harvard’s humanitarian of the year in 2017, and she also gives back with her Clara Lionel Foundation, which has donated $5 million to coronavirus relief efforts.

‘You know, when I was younger, I couldn’t afford everything, but a pair of Timberlands: That was my Dior,' she told the New York Times last year, explaining what inspires her. 'And I had to save my money for a whole school year to get those Timberlands that I wanted, and I did it. I never thought I’d make this much money, so a number is not going to stop me from working. I’m not being driven by money right now. Money is happening along the way, but I’m working out of what I love to do, what I’m passionate about.' Well, we're sure she can afford more than a few pairs of Timberlands now. Well deserved, RiRi.

READ MORE: Rihanna Is Truly Making History With Her New Fashion Label, Fenty, Which Just Won A Fashion Award