The One Bad Bet That Cost Rihanna Up to $37 Million

Rihanna is still a billionaire mogul with two monster brands, but one very expensive bet did not pan out. Her high-fashion label under LVMH launched big in 2019, went quiet in 2021, and reportedly cost her tens of millions on the way out. Here is what actually happened and why it never clicked.

The Fenty fashion house: big swing, short run

Back in 2019, Rihanna rolled out a full-on luxury fashion line with LVMH (the parent company of Louis Vuitton). The numbers were serious from day one. Per accounts filed for Denim UK Holdings, Rihanna put in $34.86 million and LVMH invested $34.88 million, giving her a 49.99% stake in the venture. The launch had heat, but the house was effectively paused less than two years later.

"LVMH and Rihanna reaffirm their ambition to concentrate on the growth and the long-term development of the Fenty ecosystem, focusing on cosmetics, skincare, and lingerie."

That joint statement to WWD in 2021 was the official line. Unofficially, the price tag of winding it down was not small. The account Pop Tingz put Rihanna’s loss in the $34–37 million range, while the Daily Mail pegged it at about $36 million and said it put a dent in her net worth. Take the exact figure with a grain of salt, but either way, the red ink was real.

Why it did not work

The timing could not have been worse. About a year after launch, the pandemic shut down travel. Reports say Rihanna could not get to the Paris atelier or Italian factories during lockdowns, which is a huge headache when you are trying to steer a new luxury label.

Then there was the price tier. This was intentionally high-end, and it was priced like it. Think almost $1,000 for a padded denim jacket, $810 for a corseted shirtdress. That sticker shock did not translate into the kind of demand you need to keep a young house afloat. Coverage at the time also noted the line struggled to gain traction in Europe. Meanwhile, Rihanna’s other brands (Fenty Beauty and Savage X Fenty) were more affordable and scaled fast, especially in the U.S.

"[Women] are multifaceted, complex, vulnerable yet bulletproof, and Fenty speaks to all of our intricacies. Some days I want to be submissive, many days I am completely in charge and most days I feel like being both... so it was imperative that we created a line versatile enough to embrace and celebrate us in that way. The collections are easily worn together and meant to be staples in our wardrobe. I am just hyped to see people in my clothes, man."

That was Rihanna’s pitch at launch: elevated pieces you could live in. The vision made sense. The market, during a global shutdown and at those price points, did not cooperate.

Zooming out: the empire is fine

Rihanna paused music in 2017 to build the business side, and that part has worked out just fine. According to Forbes, her real-time net worth sits around $1 billion. She owns roughly half of Fenty Beauty (LVMH owns the other half) and about 28% of Savage X Fenty, which she launched with TechStyle Fashion Group and later expanded with investors including L Catterton (backed by LVMH).

Fenty Beauty reportedly did $500 million in revenue in its first year. Savage X Fenty was valued at north of $3 billion in 2022. She spun up Fenty Skin in 2020, and hero products like the Total Cleans'r and the Hydra Vizor moisturizer quickly became best sellers. On the fashion side beyond Fenty, she has linked with Armani, Dior, and Puma. And the music résumé is still the music résumé: more than 250 million records sold, plus 9 Grammys, 12 Billboard Music Awards, 13 American Music Awards, and 8 People’s Choice Awards. Add in a $25 million Samsung deal in 2015 to promote Galaxy phones and taking a co-owner stake in Jay-Z’s Tidal in 2016, and you get the picture.

At a glance

• 2019: Rihanna launches a luxury fashion house with LVMH; she invests $34.86M, LVMH puts in $34.88M; Rihanna holds 49.99%.
• 2021: The brand is put on hold with a joint statement committing focus to cosmetics, skincare, and lingerie.
• Reported loss: $34–37M per Pop Tingz; Daily Mail estimates $36M.
• Key headwinds: pandemic travel restrictions; intentionally high prices (about $1,000 for a denim jacket, $810 for a corseted shirtdress); weak traction in Europe.
• Elsewhere in the portfolio: Forbes estimates her net worth at $1B; about 50% of Fenty Beauty; 28% of Savage X Fenty; Fenty Beauty did $500M in year one; Savage X Fenty valued over $3B in 2022; Fenty Skin launched 2020 with breakout products.
• Other deals: collaborations with Armani, Dior, Puma; $25M Samsung partnership in 2015; co-owner of Tidal since 2016.
• Music stats: 250M+ records sold; 9 Grammys, 12 Billboard Music Awards, 13 American Music Awards, 8 People’s Choice Awards.

Bottom line: the high-fashion experiment was a costly miss, but in the grand scheme, she is still building an empire that dwarfs a single shutdown. Tough loss, bigger win.