Many of today’s top musicians are no longer content with building their career in a single field. Some of the most successful artists have been growing their wealth and status through ventures away from their main career, making smart investments, building successful business empires, or using their influence to launch new products.

So what are these artists focusing their efforts on and which of them have become the most savvy entrepreneurs? From establishing fashion labels or cosmetics brands to signing endorsement deals or launching alcoholic beverages, in this article, we take a closer look at the ways various musicians have expanded their wealth beyond the music world.

Rihanna

Estimated Net Worth: $1 billion USD

Rihanna is one of the most successful pop stars of her generation, selling more than 250 million records and winning nine Grammy Awards for songs like ‘Umbrella’, ‘Only Girl (In the World)’ and ‘We Found Love’. She is also recognised as a self-made billionaire, with the majority of her wealth coming from ventures away from the music industry.

Most of Rihanna’s wealth is connected to the cosmetics brand Fenty Beauty, which she operates alongside LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton. Fenty Beauty became especially popular due to its approach to inclusivity, offering cosmetics to match a wide variety of skin tones. The brand’s best-known product is its Pro Filt’R Foundation.

Another significant contribution to her total wealth comes from her 28% stake in the Savage x Fenty lingerie line. That is a joint venture operated along with TechStyle Fashion Group. Aside from selling lingerie, underwear and sleepwear, the brand has become known for its fashion shows. Again, the brand places a strong focus on diversity.

Beyond cosmetics and fashion, Rihanna has also had other ventures that have contributed to her net worth. She has starred in a number of films, including ‘Battleship’ and ‘Ocean’s 8’, and she had a voice acting role in the ‘Smurfs’ movie in 2025. Rihanna also had a recurring role in the television show ‘Bates Motel’.

Forbes currently places Rihanna at number 35 on its list of the self-made women with the highest net worth. Yet, despite her musical success, most of her net worth is the result of her fashion and beauty ventures. This makes her one of the most striking examples of a musician who surpassed her original career from a financial perspective.

Jay-Z

Estimated Net Worth: $2.8 billion USD

Jay-Z is recognised as the wealthiest musician in history. The rapper has had a hugely successful music career, with releases like ‘Reasonable Doubt’ and ‘The Blueprint’ becoming classic hip hop albums.

However, Jay-Z’s wealth has primarily been built around entrepreneurship. He launched a clothing brand, Rocawear, in the late 1990s and was the President and CEO of Def Jam Recordings in the 2000s, helping to build the careers of successful artists like Kanye West and Rihanna. In 2003, he founded a luxury bar chain called the 40/40 Club.

In 2008, Jay-Z founded an entertainment agency, Roc Nation, which operates as a record label, talent agency, venture capitalist firm and media company. However, one of the biggest contributing factors to his high net worth has been the acquisition of alcohol beverage companies, including Armand de Brignac and D’Usse.

Smart business decisions have followed, including the sale of 50% of Armand de Brignac to LVMH in 2021 and the sale of a majority stake of D’Usse to Bacardi in 2023. These sales helped Jay-Z to more than double his net worth since 2020, at which point he was already recognised by Forbes as a billionaire.

On top of this, Jay-Z also has a stake in the music streaming platform Tidal and owns shares in Uber.

Selena Gomez

Estimated Net Worth: $700 million USD

Selena Gomez began her career as a child star in television shows like ‘Barney & Friends’ and ‘Wizards of Waverly Place’. She moved into a successful career in music, originally as the vocalist for Selena Gomez & the Scene before releasing a number of successful solo albums. Her music has amassed around 50 billion global streams.

Yet, despite her success as a musician and actor, it was the launch of her cosmetics brand, Rare Beauty, which saw her net worth sky rocket. The brand makes cruelty-free, vegan cosmetics. A percentage of all sales is donated to the Rare Impact Fund, which was established to help connect young people to mental health resources.

There has been some debate about Selena Gomez’s true net worth, as Bloomberg claimed she had achieved billionaire status. However, in 2025, Forbes published an article estimating her net worth at $700 million. What these sources agree on is the vast majority of her wealth comes from her 51% stake in Rare Beauty, which is valued at $1.3 billion.

Gomez has also earned significant money from further television and film projects, ranging from ‘Spring Breakers’ to the Hulu hit show ‘Only Murders in the Building’. She has also had significant brand endorsement deals with the likes of Puma and Louis Vuitton, earning tens of millions of dollars from these partnerships.

At the time of writing, Selena Gomez is also the most followed woman on Instagram, with more than 400 million followers.

Davido

Estimated Net Worth: $120 million USD

Nigerian-American artist Davido is a singer, producer and songwriter, who has released a total of five studio albums since 2012. He is known for hits like ‘If’ and ‘Fall’, the latter of which became the longest-charting Nigerian pop song in the history of the Billboard charts between 2017 and 2018, receiving more than 100 million streams on Spotify.

However, while he is primarily known for his music, Davido’s net worth is also the result of smart outside ventures, including business investments, brand endorsement deals and other lucrative partnerships.

In addition to endorsement deals with brands like GAC Motors and Puma, Davido recently became a Global Partner for Stake.com, an online crypto casino. He represents the brand across digital platforms and is seen as a crucial partner for expanding the brand’s presence in African countries and building recognition among younger adults.

The Afrobeats superstar is a cultural ambassador for Nigeria and is a prominent figure promoting human rights across the African continent. He has a significant social media presence, which has made him very attractive for brands looking to gain access to key demographics that are strongly represented among his fan base.

Davido also founded his own record label, Davido Music Worldwide. Prominent artists signed to the label include Peruzzi and Morravey. While this venture is connected to his music career, its success helps to highlight Davido’s business acumen. The label was highlighted by Billboard Magazine as a gatekeeper of the Nigerian music scene.

Beyoncé

Estimated Net Worth: $1 billion USD

Beyoncé is a rare example of a billionaire musician who earned the majority of her wealth through her music career. Following her success as a member of Destiny’s Child, she has enjoyed an incredible solo career, earning the most Grammy Awards of any artist in history and releasing chart-topping hits like ‘Single Ladies’ and ‘Crazy in Love’.

One of the keys to her financial success has been the decision to establish Parkwood Entertainment in 2008 and bring the management of her music career in-house. This allowed her to capitalise on hugely successful global tours. The Renaissance World Tour grossed almost $600 million, while the Cowboy Carter Tour grossed $400 million.

Nevertheless, Beyoncé is still an example of a musician who expanded her wealth through ventures beyond her own music career. Parkwood Entertainment signed a number of other artists to its record label, while the company has also produced movies like ‘Obsessed’, ‘Cadillac Records’ and the Disney Plus streaming hit, ‘Black Is King’.

Furthermore, Beyoncé launched her own athletic wear brand, Ivy Park, in 2016. Originally a joint venture with Topshop, Beyoncé and Parkwood Entertainment were able to acquire full control and ownership of the brand in 2018. The brand went on to collaborate with Adidas on a number of collections in the early 2020s.

Other business ventures have included the launch of her own hair care brand, Cécred, and the creation of her own American whisky, SirDavis, both in 2024. She officially became a billionaire in 2025.

Dolly Parton

Estimated Net Worth: $500 million USD

American country music star Dolly Parton is a beloved musician, known for hits like ‘9 to 5’, ‘Jolene’ and ‘I Will Always Love You’. She was the recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011 and is also famous for her philanthropy, which includes a literacy programme, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

Parton has also amassed a significant personal fortune, with an estimated net worth believed to be between $450 million and $650 million. Much of this wealth can be attributed to her music career and the fact that she owns the publishing rights to her own back catalogue, but a significant amount also comes from other ventures.

The Dollywood Company operates the theme park Dollywood, as well as the water park Dollywood’s Splash Country, both of which are located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Dolly Parton’s stake in the Dollywood theme park has an estimated value of $165 million. Other business ventures include a dinner theatre and a hotel.

Dolly Parton’s production company, Sandollar Productions, has also had significant success over the years. Its production credits include ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ and its spin-off show, ‘Angel’, along with the 1995 Harrison Ford film ‘Sabrina’. Parton has also worked as an actor herself, starring in ‘9 to 5’, ‘Steel Magnolias’ and ‘Straight Talk’.

Despite her high net worth, Dolly Parton is also known to have given away hundreds of millions of dollars to charity.

Dr. Dre

Estimated Net Worth: $1 billion USD

American rapper Dr. Dre was a founding member of the N.W.A and is one of the world’s most acclaimed record producers. His own discography includes classic albums like ‘Straight Outta Compton’, ‘The Chronic’ and ‘2001’, while his production credits include ‘Doggystyle’ by Snoop Dogg and ‘The Slim Shady LP’ by Eminem.

Yet, Dr. Dre is also one of the most famous examples of an artist who had a shift in career focus that financially trumped his music career. In 2006, he co-founded Beats Electronics with Jimmy Iovine. The business focused on audio technology, including the famous Beats Studio and Beats Solo headphones and Beats Pill portable speakers.

The brand quickly gained market share, aided by Dr. Dre’s reputation in the music industry, smart design choices, astute use of endorsement deals and high-quality marketing campaigns. Not only did Beats offer studio level headphones for consumers, these headphones became a status symbol, worn by a large number of celebrities.

Ultimately, the Beats Electronics brand was sold to Apple for $3 billion, which made it the largest acquisition in Apple’s history. This provides one of the best examples of a musician-turned-entrepreneur who nailed the exit strategy.

Dr. Dre has also made sporadic appearances in films, including ‘Training Day’ and ‘Set It Off’. He also produced the N.W.A biopic ‘Straight Outta Compton’ and these various ventures, his record sales and the success of his record label, Aftermath Entertainment, have combined to secure his place on the list of musicians who became billionaires.

The Last Word

The musicians listed in this article have all found ways to expand their net worth beyond what would be possible through the music industry alone. In some cases, these external business ventures have allowed musicians to become billionaires, which has also given them the financial power to control their own careers and own their own music.

The shift towards billionaire musicians is an especially recent phenomenon. The first confirmed musician/billionaire was Jay-Z, who earned that status in 2019. Since then, he has been joined by his wife Beyoncé, his protégé Rihanna, fellow hip-hop icon Dr. Dre, Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen.

It is also clear there is no single playbook to follow. Some musicians increase their earnings through simple endorsement deals and investments in established businesses. Others launch their own cosmetics or fashion brands, run their own record labels, or establish their own entertainment brands and management companies.