Beyoncé, Madonna, and even Taylor Swift were beaten out for the title of America's Richest Self-Made Musician by Rihanna.

On Thursday, June 1, Forbes announced its annual self-made list, which recognizes female business leaders, CEOs, and celebrities. The richest self-made female musician in the US is Rihanna, who placed 20th overall. The pregnant woman, who is the lone billionaire on the musician's list, has a net worth of $1.4 billion, according to the publication.

With a net worth of $740 million, Taylor Swift, who placed 40th overall, is America's second-richest self-made female musician. Beyoncé (48th overall) and Madonna (45th overall) are the next two wealthiest, with net worths of $540 million and $580 million respectively.

Dolly Parton, Barbra Streisand, and Celine Dion are among the other musicians on the list.


Rihanna's position at the top of Forbes' list of American self-made female musicians comes as no surprise. 

At the age of 34, she surpassed Kylie Jenner's prior record to become the youngest billionaire to appear on the Forbes list in July 2022. 

Although her music career contributes to some of that income, the majority comes from her three retail businesses, Fenty Beauty, Fenty Skin, and Savage X Fenty. According to MSNBC, Savage X Fenty underwear was collaborating with consultants on a potential $3 billion initial public offering (IPO). She holds a 30% stake in that business in addition to a 50% stake in Fenty Beauty, which generated over $550 million in sales in 2020.

The revenue of Fenty Beauty over the prior year was shown to have doubled in 2022. Furthermore, Rihanna now owns 50% of the company, which is currently valued at $2.8 billion.

Rihanna made it quite apparent in a 2019 interview with the New York Times T Magazine that her enormous wealth was simply a happy (and highly lucrative) accident. She declared that reaching financial goals "wasn't going to stop me from working."

"My money is not for me," she continued, "it's always with the hope that I can help someone else. The world can seriously convince you that the wrong things are important, and it may seriously cause you to miss the essence of life and what it means to be alive.