Forbes recently released its list of Billionaires for the year 2022. The list featured billionaires in Europe, America, Africa, the Caribbean and other continents. The list as of January 22, 2022, named Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk as the richest with a net worth of $243 billion.
In Africa, Nigerian entrepreneur and businessman Aliko Dangote maintained his spot as the richest on the continent with a net worth of $11.5 billion, with his money largely coming from his 88% stake in Dangote Cement.
The Forbes billionaire list featured two Caribbeans: Michael Lee-Chin and Barbados National Hero Rihanna who have a combined net worth of $3.3 billion.
Rihanna
The Barbados singer, actress, and lingerie mogul has a net worth of $1.7 billion and made her money through music and her cosmetic brand. Her net worth makes her the richest female musician in the world and second only to Oprah Winfrey as the world’s richest female entertainer. Although the entertainer shot to fame through music, Forbes says it is not her music that made her wealthy.
At least $1.4 billion of her worth comes from the value of Fenty Beauty, a cosmetic company she owns 50% while the rest of her fortune comes from her stake in her lingerie company, Savage x Fenty, worth an estimated $270 million, and her earnings from music and acting.
She founded Fenty Beauty in 2017 in her bid to create a cosmetic company that made “women everywhere (feel) included” in partnership with luxury goods company LVMH, which is run by Bernard Arnault.
The cosmetic line initially sold foundation shades and later expanded to include lipstick, lip gloss, body glitter, and more. In its first year of operation, Fenty Beauty generated more than $550 million. Forbes estimates that Rihanna has around a 15% stake in LVMH. In 2019, Rihanna became the first Black woman to create a clothing brand for LVMH called Fenty and also announced new high-end clothing, shoes, and accessories.
In 2020, she debuted on Forbes’ list of richest self-made women in America. The list, compiled annually by Forbes, details the worth of America’s most successful women entrepreneurs and executives. The Forbes list put a spotlight on the 100 richest self-made entrepreneurs, executives, and entertainers in the U.S. worth a collective $90 billion. Rihanna ranked 33 on the list.
Aside from her cosmetic business, Rihanna earns millions of dollars from endorsement deals from brands and companies like River Island, Mac, Armani, and Balmain. In 2014, she signed a $1 million endorsement deal to work as Puma’s creative director.
Rihanna is also into real estate. She buys properties and resells for a profit. She reportedly acquired a mansion in LA at $6.8 million and resold it for $7.4 million.
Rihanna is ranked 10th on the list of Forbes billionaires 2022.
Michael Lee-Chin
Michael Lee-Chin is ranked 12 on the Forbes list of billionaires with a net worth of $1.6 billion. His wealth comes from his 60% stake in National Commercial Bank Jamaica via Portland Holdings, according to Forbes.
The 70-year-old made money through investments in financial firms like the National Commercial Bank of Jamaica and AIC Limited. In 1987, he acquired the wealth management and mutual fund, AIC, when it managed less than $1 million in assets. And by 2002, the firm had over $10 billion in assets.
However, following the economic recession in 2008, he sold the firm to Manulife, a Canadian financial services group for an unstated price. Besides his stake of 60% in National Commercial Bank, the self-made billionaire has a stake in other companies.
According to Jamaicans, he has a stake in Columbus Communications, Sauce Cable Company, Eastern Caribbean Gas Pipeline, Radio Jamaica, the Reggae Beach Resort, Trident Hotel, Senvia Money Services, and Wallenford Coffee.
Michael was born in Port Antonio, Jamaica, to Aston Lee and Hyacinth Gloria Chin, who are both biracial African and Chinese-Jamaicans. He later found his way to Canada in search of greener pastures.
While in Canada, he made over 100+ applications that were rejected as an immigrant in Canada in 1977 without resources. He initially worked as a bouncer and today he has a net worth of $1.7 billion.
He has a Bachelor of Arts and Science degree from Canada’s McMaster University where he studied civil engineering.
