When Fenty Beauty arrived in 2017, one of its most talked-about features was something shoppers could see on the shelf: 40 foundation shades. For customers who had spent years mixing products or leaving a shop without finding a close match, the range addressed a familiar problem. Rihanna had entered the cosmetics business in partnership with LVMH, the luxury group behind some of the world’s best-known fashion and beauty names. The launch soon grew into a business of its own, separate from the singer’s recording career. The ownership arrangement that helped bring it to market would come back into focus years later, when LVMH began exploring a sale of its half-share.
Fenty Beauty entered the market with 40 foundation shades and a global launch
Fenty Beauty did not begin as a small local cosmetics line waiting to find an audience. Its September 2017 launch put the products in 1,600 stores across 17 countries. LVMH, Rihanna’s business partner, brought experience in the luxury market, while the singer already had an international following. The scale of the release reflected both.The foundation collection drew particular attention. Forty shades gave shoppers a wider choice across fair, medium and deep complexions, including people who had often found the available options too limited. Other brands had worked on inclusive ranges before Fenty appeared, but the launch brought the issue into sharper public view. The phrase “Fenty effect” later came to describe the pressure on competitors to expand their own shade selections.
How the business grew beyond Rihanna’s music career
Fenty Beauty found a commercial audience quickly. BBC reporting in 2021 put its sales at an estimated $100 million during the first 40 days after launch. Her connection to the products remained visible. Rihanna featured the brand on her social media accounts and spoke about its offerings, keeping Fenty in front of an audience that might otherwise have followed her mainly for music. The cosmetics business also gave her a source of wealth that did not depend on releasing albums or touring.Customers could buy Fenty through department stores and mainstream beauty retailers, including Boots in the UK. The products sat at a higher price point than some everyday make-up, but they were not confined to luxury department stores. That mix of positioning and availability helped the brand reach different groups of shoppers.By 2021, the scale of Rihanna’s business interests was reflected in her estimated fortune. Forbes put her net worth at $1.7 billion, attributing about $1.4 billion to her interest in Fenty Beauty. Her other holdings included lingerie company Savage X Fenty, alongside earnings from music and acting. The figures showed just how much the cosmetics business had come to matter to her finances.
How Rihanna and LVMH split ownership of Fenty Beauty
Rihanna and LVMH each held a 50% stake in Fenty Beauty, according to Forbes’ 2021 reporting. The arrangement gave the singer a direct interest in the company while linking the brand to a group with an established presence in luxury goods and cosmetics.It was a different proposition from simply licensing a celebrity’s name to a make-up line. Rihanna remained closely identified with the products, while LVMH was the corporate partner behind the business. Their interests had been joined at the brand’s launch, and the equal split meant that any later decision to sell one side’s stake could change the ownership arrangement without necessarily ending Fenty Beauty itself.
Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty partnership faces a potential turning point
Years after the launch, LVMH began exploring a possible sale of its 50% holding. The move put the company’s ownership under scrutiny, but exploring a transaction does not mean that a deal has been completed. A confirmed buyer, an agreed price and the final terms would be separate steps.For Rihanna, Fenty Beauty had become one of the most substantial parts of her business portfolio since its debut. The 40-shade foundation collection helped establish its identity, and its early international rollout gave it reach beyond the singer’s existing audience. What happens to LVMH’s stake would determine whether the original partnership continues in its current form. Until a sale is confirmed, however, the reported exploration remains a possible change in ownership, not a completed one.