Forbes on Thursday released its list of 100 Most Powerful Women list for 2019. The list comprised of women who have made a profound impact in six categories: business, technology, finance, media & entertainment, politics & policy, and philanthropy.
On the newly released Forbes’ list, Rihanna ranks as number 61 ahead of Beyonce, who is positioned at number 66 and Taylor Swift at 71. Other female entertainers on the list are Ava DuVernay (79) and Reese Witherspoon (90).
Born Robyn Rihanna Fenty, the Barbadian singer has sold over 250 million records. She is one of the world’s best-selling music artists. She has earned 14 number-one singles and 31 top-ten singles in the US, and 30 top-ten entries in the UK. Her accolades include nine Grammy Awards, 13 American Music Awards, 12 Billboard Music Awards, and six Guinness World Records.
From fashion to cosmetics, Rihanna has been on a trail of entrepreneurial ventures. Her cosmetic brand Fenty Beauty was launched in September 2017. Fenty Beauty was named one of Time magazine’s best inventions of 2017.
Forbes ranked her among the top ten highest-paid celebrities in 2012 and 2014, and Time named her as one of the 100 most influential people in the world twice (2012 and 2018). With an estimated net worth of N216,000,000,000 ($600 million), Rihanna is the richest female musician in the world.
American singer, songwriter Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter rose to fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of Destiny’s Child. Beyoncé is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold over 100 million records worldwide as a solo artist and a further 60 million records with Destiny’s Child. Forbes ranked her as the most powerful female in entertainment on their 2015 and 2017 lists, and in 2016, she occupied the sixth place for Time’s Person of the Year.
American singer-songwriter Taylor Alison Swift is one of the best-selling music artists of all time. She has sold more than 50 million albums—including 37 million in the US—and 150 million singles.
Time included her on its annual list of the 100 most influential people in 2010, 2015, and 2019. From 2011 to 2015, she appeared in the top three on the Forbes Top-Earning Women in Music list with earnings of $45 million, $57 million, $55 million, $64 million, and $80 million respectively.
She has appeared in Time’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world (2010, 2015, 2019).
THE GUARDIAN
