The recent revelation of Rihanna’s newly acquired status as the latest addition to the Billionaire Club has left many in awe. Perhaps in even more awe than when Kylie Jenner was announced by Forbes as being the youngest “self-made” (LOL) billionaire back in 2019 (a title that has since been stripped—how tragic). That little hyphenated adjective with big implications might be truer of Rihanna at the very least, who has been veering firmly toward the path of unstoppable mogul ever since 2016, when she ostensibly retired from music entirely to focus on this pursuit. Whether Rihanna will prove that old Cyndi Lauper adage that “money changes everything,” including your personality a.k.a. how much of a cunt you become, remains to be seen. But it’s likely that we’ll be finding out soon enough as her “cockiness quotient” (she does, after all, have a song called “Cockiness [Love It]”) ramps up.
We’ve already seen as much happen via her upcoming release of Fenty’s first perfume—the ultimate sign that this bia has no interest in releasing new music. And why would she want to, if the money yielded from the beauty industry is this good? Ah, and that brings us to the longstanding accusation of women being “frivolous” for the things they concern themselves with: namely, looking “hot.” In other words, “painting their faces.” Buying an array of products and gadgets to dutifully adhere to the lyric, “Keep young and beautiful/It’s your duty to be beautiful—if you want to be loved.” And yet, as the pandemic reiterated to any male that was convinced women ever bothered putting makeup on for their unappreciative asses, it became quite evident once again that females were interested only in looking good for themselves. Because it gave them that extra boost of confidence, that sense of “feeling right.” Coming correct.
Rihanna has been tapping into that feminine desire—nay, need—to look her best from the outset of founding Fenty Beauty in 2017. The brand soon expanded to a line of lingerie known as Savage X Fenty in 2018, with plans to create a luxury fashion house under the moniker in partnership with LVMH. All offshoots sitting beneath the umbrella-ella-ella of Rihanna’s “inclusivity” message. And include she has, at least more than anyone else in the beauty industry as she set a new gold standard for how many shades (forty—not fifty) should be offered when taking into account the wide breadth of the skin tone color wheel. Who knew that considering more than just some stock white shades and a few errant dark ones could be so mind-blowing… earth-shattering even?
Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, the mac “daddy” of beauty-oriented billionairesses might soon need to step aside. For, in inheriting the L’Oréal empire from her mother, Liliane, she certainly didn’t think to make such an innovation until Rihanna came along, instead relying on what has always been tried-and-true in their business model: basicness. More to the point, whiteness. Rihanna joins the likes of Bettencourt Meyers and, yes, Kim Kardashian (sorry Kylie J) with her own billionaire status (even if not entirely at the hands of KKW Beauty—there’s Skims as well). But Kim, too, is not exactly “self-made.” Which makes Rihanna stand apart as the only person in the scant group of females at this level who wasn’t born into the privilege usually necessary to achieve such monetary status. And who is it all thanks to? The “frivolous” women that men balk at and deem to have no power, even after years of watching the aesthetic-oriented trends that women have emptied their pockets for proving quite the contrary.
Obviously, this is most manifest in the fact that teen girl pop stars have the most clout in this world. It began, long ago, with Annette Funicello, who secured a recording contract circa age fifteen after the popularity of a ditty she sang on The (original) Mickey Mouse Club. Britney would take a page from her in many regards, parlaying The Mickey Mouse Club reboot of the 90s into a pop career. In her wake, we’ve seen others rise to exert their teen girl power, including, most recently Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo, both of whom can alter a product’s financial figures with a single declaration (accusations of appropriation or not). The point being: these “frivolous” girls ain’t so frivolous when the patriarchy sees the exorbitant profits they reap with their influence.
Rihanna’s empire, too, is built on the backs of so-called frivolous women who simply want to elevate the way they feel on the inside by doing so on the outside as well. And clearly, there is something to that notion, if the likes of hideous D****d Trump is any indication of how a moche exterior is indicative of an ugly interior as well. Speaking of him, his methods are not so unlike the Kardashian-Jenners in terms of overinflating figures that pertain to his “wealth” for the sake of finagling a Forbes cover. As Forbes itself noted after diving deeper into Kylie Jenner’s receipts, “Kylie’s business is significantly smaller, and less profitable, than the family has spent years leading the cosmetics industry and media outlets, including Forbes, to believe.” Whether Kim has padded her earnings as well, per some advice from her “momager,” is something we’ll have wait and see about. What’s more, it’s likely their “makeup” (read: plastic surgery)-happy family isn’t all that pleased with Rihanna hogging quite a bit of the spotlight and cashing in on her legitimate woman of color status (whereas the Kardashian-Jenners are merely women of sprayed-on color). That the KKW Beauty brand was also founded the same year as Fenty additionally highlights (no makeup pun intended) just how “in competition” these women seem to be. For the attention of ladies who are just as “frivolous” as they are.
But, if the beauty industry has taught us anything, it’s that there’s plenty of “frivolity” to go around and make a few other billionaires. Does the world really need another billionaire? No. Does one hope that just because Rihanna is not white and a male she might do more good with her newfound income tax bracket (signaling a lack of taxation)? Yes. But then, darling, let us not be so naïve. This is still the woman who expressed bloodthirst as she touted the mantra, “Bitch better have my money.” She does not ultimately care about anyone who can’t shell out for some product to help further pad her bag. Trivial as that might be as she, in her private jet, passes over landfills burgeoning with her discarded makeup products that provide some semblance of shelter to climate refugees.
