Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Madonna & More Make Forbes’ Richest Self-Made Women List (2024)

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Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Madonna & More Make Forbes’ Richest Self-Made Women List? ›

Rihanna and Taylor Swift have been named on Forbes' Richest Self-Made Women list for 2023, taking spots in the top 40. The artists are the two highest-ranking musicians on the list, which also features appearances from Madonna, Beyoncé, Celine Dion, Dolly Parton, and Barbra Streisand.

The richest self-made woman for the second year in a row is Rafaela Aponte-Diamant of Switzerland. She cofounded and co-owns MSC, the world's largest shipping line and clocks in as the world's 48th richest person, worth an estimated $33.1 billion.

Madonna is the first woman in music to earn $100 million for a year (2009) and has become the highest-paid female musician a record 11 times. Taylor Swift remains the female musician with the highest annual earnings ever with $185 million in 2019, breaking previous record set by herself in 2016 with $170 million.

Forbes released its list last week. Rihanna is worth a staggering $1.4 billion. Taylor Swift has a net worth of $740 million, and Beyonce is at $540 million. Other big name musicians on the list include Madonna, Dolly Parton, Celine Dion and Barbra Streisand.

She is on the Forbes list of billionaires with a net worth of $1.1 billion, which trails Rihanna's net worth of $1.4 billion and puts her as the world's richest female musical artist.

Winfrey, 69, best known for her talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show (1986 to 2011), sits at the top with US$2.5 billion (S$3.4 billion). In second place with US$1.4 billion is singer Rihanna, who made the bulk of her fortune from her make-up line Fenty Beauty, which saw its sales double in 2022.

To the surprise of absolutely no one, Taylor Swift is now a billionaire, officially joining Forbes's annual “New Billionaires” list. Swift is one of 14 new celebs (and 265 people overall) to join the new Forbes Billionaires List published on April 2, 2024.

Other female musicians on the list includedMadonna ($550 million), Celine Dion ($455 million), Beyoncé ($420 million), Barbra Streisand ($400 million), Taylor Swift ($365 million), Lady Gaga ($150 million) and Jennifer Lopez ($150 million). See the full Forbes list here.

Billionaire Taylor Swift Is Still Not as Rich as Kim Kardashian, Rihanna and Other A-Listers.

Why is Rihanna richer than Taylor Swift? ›

While Rihanna has surpassed Taylor, Forbes attributes the source of her wealth to two different streams of income - her music and cosmetics empire, Fenty Beauty. Taylor's music is listed as her source of wealth. The uber-successful Pon de Replay singer co-owns Fenty Beauty with the French luxury retailer LVMH.

Rihanna, creator of Fenty Beauty, 35, took the spot at number 2,002 and is worth $1.4 billion. Roc-A-Fella Records CEO Jay-Z, 53, placed at 1,217 and is valued at $2.5 billion. Forbes revealed their annual billionaires list on Tuesday and several entertainers were among the big earners.

Who is richer, Beyoncé or Taylor Swift? As of January 2024, Taylor Swift is estimated to be wealthier than Beyoncé, with the Queen B's estimated net worth being $600 million.

Swift landed at No. 34 with a net worth of $750 million; Judy Sheindlin, aka Judge Judy, is at No. 56 with $480 million and Winfrey at No. 13 with $2.5 billion.

“It's safe to say that Rihanna and Beyoncé are friends.” But Rihanna could still have been sort of involved in the elevator: “People told me that there was a whispered argument that night having to do with Jay wanting to go to a party [for] Rihanna,” Taraborrelli said. “Beyoncé did what Beyoncé does.

Rafaela Aponte-Diamant is the richest self-made woman on Forbes' 2024 billionaires list. The 79-year-old cofounded MSC in 1970 and it's now one of the world's largest shipping companies. Her net worth of $33 billion makes her the world's seventh-wealthiest woman, according to Forbes.

Oprah Winfrey, who became the first Black female billionaire in U.S. history, was born to a single teen mother in Kosciusko, Mississippi. She was named after a biblical character in Ruth, Orpah, which was mispronounced, and she became Oprah.