Kim Kardashian, Jay-Z, Oprah, Rihanna, Paul McCartney, Steven Spielberg, and George Lucas are gonna have to make room for a new member of the celebrity billionaires club.
Thanks to her booming beauty empire, Selena Gomez is now officially a billionaire.
Selena's entry into the celebrity billionaire club was made possible thanks to the company she founded, Rare Beauty. Rare Beauty is on pace to generate at least $300 million in revenue in 2023. And while most celebrity makeup brands are actually partnerships with a large, majority-owning company, Selena is the founder and 100% owner of Rare Beauty.
(Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images for SEPHORA)
Rare Beauty Leads To Rare Fortune
Selena Gomez launched Rare Beauty in September 2022 as a mission-driven makeup line.
The company actually has two primary missions. The first is to produce accessible and beloved products that are available at moderate prices. Most Rare Beauty products range in price from as low as $5 to around $30 at the higher end.
Secondly, 1% of all revenue is deposited into Rare Beauty's in-house Rare Impact Fund. The company also puts on fundraising events, including one at the White House in 2022 that raised $500,000. Between fundraising events and 1% revenue accruals, to date Rare Beauty has raised $5 million and donated $2 million. The company plans to raise and donate $100 million over its first ten years, with 70% going to BIPOC-led organizations.
In 2022, Rare Beauty generated at least $100 million in revenue. In 2023, the company reportedly grossed $350 million.
Beauty companies are typically valued at a 3-10X multiple of revenue, with fast-growing companies landing on the higher end of that range. If Rare Beauty is performing at a $300 million run-rate right now, on the low end of the range, it is currently worth $1 billion. On the high end, it's worth…
$3 billion
In early 2024, Selena reportedly considered a $2 billion acquisition offer but ultimately declined.
As a comp to determine the value of Rare Beauty, consider the following: When we officially confirmed Rihanna's billionaire status in August 2021, it was largely based on the value of her makeup company Fenty Beauty. At that point, it had been confirmed that Fenty Beauty was generating around $500 million in revenue and was worth $2 billion overall. Rihanna owns 50% of Fenty, which meant $1 billion could be tacked-onto Rihanna's net worth. If Fenty was generating $500m per year and was worth $2 billion, that equates to a 4x revenue multiple. At that level, assuming Rare Beauty is generating $350 million, Selena's company is worth $1.4 billion today.
Selena is believed to own at least 60% of Rare Beauty. Perhaps more. Her exact partners and the size of their stakes are not known.
And keep in mind, Rare Beauty is just one pillar in Selena Gomez's growing business empire. In addition to being a highly successful actress and singer, she has produced several shows for streamers such as Netflix and Hulu, has a lucrative partnership with Puma, and is one of the most-followed people on social media. On Instagram alone, Selena has over 425 million followers. The only people on the planet who have more followers on Instagram are
Lionel Messi – 479 million
and
Cristiano Ronaldo – 596 million
Oh… and Rare Beauty isn't her only company!
Selena is the co-founder of a mental health startup called Wondermind. In August 2022, Wondermind raised $5 million at a $100 million valuation. Serena Williams' venture fund, Serena Ventures, led the round alongside Lightspeed Venture Partners and Sequoia Capital. Wonderkind, which positions itself as a "mental fitness" company, produces social media channels, web content, a newsletter, a podcast, and more.
Put it all together, and Selena Gomez's net worth is now $1 billion. Congrats to Selena, and welcome to the Celebrity Billionaires Club!
