Forbes made Beyoncé and Rihanna worth exactly $1 billion each and the math does not add up
Billionaires Africa | 05.06.2026 23:32
Here is a mathematical curiosity worth sitting with. Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has built her fortune across a music catalog she owns outright, two world tours grossing nearly $1 billion combined, a haircare brand called Cécred, a whiskey label and a shared real estate portfolio with Jay-Z estimated at $500 million. Rihanna built hers through Fenty Beauty, a colour cosmetics line she owns 50 percent of alongside LVMH, a lingerie brand called Savage X Fenty valued at $1 billion at its last funding round, and a music catalog that has been largely dormant commercially since 2016. Two women. Two entirely different business structures. Two different asset compositions. Two different debt profiles. Two entirely different trajectories. Forbes looked at all of that and arrived at the exact same number for both of them.
