Hollywood’s most entrepreneurial stars

Drew is known for her warm persona and relatability, but did you know she is a certified beauty mogul, too? The actress founded Flower Beauty in 2013, a cruelty-free makeup brand that went gangbusters thanks to its quality products and affordability. Since then, she has expanded into the homewares business with Flower Home, partnering with Walmart to bring her products to the people.

She also has a hit talk show that has enjoyed five successful seasons since its launch in 2020. When asked what her secret sauce is by The Hollywood Reporter, the 49-year-old replied, “I really care about trying to make things that are affordable but don’t lack in quality or innovation.”

Another makeup mogul on this list is the founder of Rare Beauty, Selena Gomez. After launching in 2020, the makeup line skyrocketed to success thanks to its viral liquid blush, and now the line is respected as one of the best on the market. Rare Beauty is sold in over 45 countries and has made the 32-year-old a certified billionaire, according to Bloomberg.

The Only Murders in the Building actress has also invested in a delivery service and a dessert brand, and co-founded a mental health platform called Wondermind in 2021. “I really tried my hardest to create a product that were [sic] beyond just me putting my name on something,” she explained in a radio interview last year. “I wanted the products to be great, and I also wanted the message to be that makeup is meant to be fun.”

Rihanna practically invented the celeb-to-beauty-mogul pipeline with her smash hit line Fenty Beauty. Launched in 2017, the brand immediately disrupted the market with its innovation and style. It was one of the first beauty brands to have over 40 foundation shades to match any skin tone, and the success of Fenty Beauty led to the “Diamonds” singer creating Fenty Skin and Fenty Hair. She has even branched out into lingerie with her Savage brand.

Rihanna pioneered a new era of beauty and is worth $1.4 billion because of it, making her the second richest female musician in the world behind Taylor Swift. The Fenty brand is reportedly worth over $2.8 billion, according to Forbes.

Cowboy Carter herself is a business boss and has been the brains behind many savvy money moves. Beyoncé went viral with her athletic and leisurewear line, Ivy Park, and launched a haircare brand, Cécred, this year. Throughout her career, she’s endorsed big brands like Pepsi, Verizon Wireless and Loreal and co-owned the music streaming service Tidal with her husband, Jay-Z.

Her Renaissance tour reportedly made a whopping $579 million during its run, and she also heads up a whisky brand, SirDavis. On top of that, she inked a $60 million contract with Netflix for a three-project deal. All this to say, her net worth of $760 million [as per Forbes] speaks louder than words ever could about her incredible business acumen.

According to Forbes, the “99 Problems” rapper is the richest on this list by far, with his $2.5 billion fortune all thanks to some genius business moves early in his career. After founding his own record company, Roc-A-Fella Records, in 1995 and releasing his hit music through the business, Jay-Z shot to fame and continued to build the Roc brand. Rocawear, his clothing line, came next in 1999 before he sold it in 2007 for a cool $204 million. Jay added Roc Nation Sports to the brand shortly after.

The father of three bought the musical streaming service Tidal in 2015 and sold it for $100 million six years later. He also owns a champagne brand and multiple islands. Plural. After inking a deal with Live Nation in 2017, he made a further $200 million to add to his massive fortune.

The iconic actress not only has talent in spades but also business acumen to boot. Kate co-founded the hugely popular activewear brand Fabletics in 2013, which surpassed $500 million in annual revenue in 2020. She also launched her own gluten-free liquor brand, King St Vodka, in 2019, and started a supplement company, InBloom, just a year later. Kate is worth an incredible $80 million thanks to these business ventures, according to Celebrity Net Worth.   

Kate’s journey from actress to business bigwig began when she grew tired of endorsement deals, wanting to create her own products that she knew she could trust. “I realized very early on before it was a popular thing to do [that] if people wanted me to endorse their products, I felt more comfortable building something that felt authentic versus endorsing,” the mother of three told CNBC in 2021. “Endorsing is easy and you don’t have to roll up your sleeves, but I like rolling up my sleeves.”

Kim has been working hard since day one, heading a slew of different businesses like Dash, the clothing company co-owned by her sisters Khloé and Kourtney; but by far, the mother of four’s most successful venture has been Skims, the shapewear brand launched in 2019. Skims is now worth a whopping $4 billion according to the New York Times, and owes its success to Kim’s keen eye for trends and the brand’s elevation from mere shapewear to fashion with a capital F.

Not one to put all her eggs in one basket, Kim also heads a successful beauty brand, KKW Beauty, and its skincare equivalent, SKKN. She has also dipped her toes into private equity with the launch of SKKY Partners in 2022. According to Forbes, the Kardashian powerhouse is now worth $1.7 billion, making her one of the most successful celebrity entrepreneurs on this list.

Posh Spice was named Britain’s top entrepreneur in 2014 by Management Today when her eponymous clothing brand took off after its launch in 2008. Starting with just three employees and ballooning to over 100 in a few short years, Victoria expanded from dresses and tailored clothing to eyewear, beauty, and accessories, to name a few. 

Victoria’s business has even scored collaborations with huge companies like Estée Lauder and Reebok, and her ability to leverage her celebrity status for the benefit of her company is a masterclass in branding. Now worth $70 million according to The Economic Times, the businesswoman is only getting more and more successful nearly two decades on.

You might know that the Ocean’s Eleven star has scored himself a slew of endorsements in the last decade or so, particularly with major brands like Omega, Fiat and Nespresso. But did you know that he made the bulk of his $500 million fortune from his tequila brand, Casamigos?

The brand, co-owned by Cindy Crawford’s husband, Randy Gerber, and friend Mike Meldman, was sold to alcohol company Diageo in 2017 for a whopping billion dollars. Yes, billion with a ‘b’. According to Forbes, George pocketed a cool $233 million from the sale, firmly earning his spot on this list.

We know and love Gwyneth’s brand, Goop, for its wacky and out-of-the-box products like the yoni egg, and for effectively introducing wellness culture into the zeitgeist. But Goop is so much more than it appears; it is worth a reported $250 million according to Celebrity Net Worth and was one of the first companies of its kind in the wellness space. 

“People initially were like, ‘This is nuts,'” Gwyneth told CEO magazine in 2021 about introducing Goop as a wellness brand. “They thought I was insane and were up in arms. Now look: It’s a billions of dollars market.”