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The two boast a combined net worth of US$3.3 billion
Jamaican-CanadianMichael Lee-Chin and Barbados’ national hero and songbird Rihanna are the only Caribbean people named on this year’s Forbes billionaires list.
Both were announced among 15 other black billionaires to make the coveted rich list. The two entrepreneurs boast a combined net worth of US$3.3 billion among other business leaders and innovators hailing from Europe, the United States and Africa that include Tesla and Space X founder, Elon Musk and Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos.
Lee-Chin, chairman of Jamaica-based regional banking conglomerate, National Commercial Bank (NCB) and head of PortlandHoldings Inc., a privately held investment company in Ontario, Canada, is ranked at 12on the Billionaires list; He has a net worth of US$1.6 billion.
Rihanna, a pop-singer-turned-beauty mogul from Barbados, is ahead of him at #10 after amassing her US$1.7-billion fortune.Rihanna’s fortune has come through her music and acting as well as the founding of her cosmetics brand, Fenty Beauty.
Lee-Chin, born toAfrican- and Chinese-Jamaican parents, generated his wealth from his 60 per cent stake in NCB Jamaica via Portland Holdings.
The 70-year-old business mogul made investments in financial firms like NCB Jamaica and AIC Limited, the wealth management and mutual fund he acquired in 1987. By the year 2002, the firm had over US$10 billion in assets while continuing to have substantial stakes in Columbus Communications, Sauce Cable Company, Eastern Caribbean Gas Pipeline, Radio Jamaica and the Reggae Beach Resort.
Rihanna’s growing fortune
The 33-year-old Rihanna, who was recently named a National Hero of Barbados, has amassed her fortune through her start in music and acting, and the founding of her cosmetics brand. Fenty Beauty was launched in 2017 with the aim to make “women everywhere (feel) included”with her diverse range of foundations and lipsticks for women of all skin tones.
Rihanna owns a50 per cent stake in her cosmetics empire, which has earned herUS$1.4 billion of her fortune, while the rest of her income generates from her stake in her lingerie company, Savage x Fenty, which is worth an estimated US$270 million.
The beauty and fashion powerhouse also has a 15 per cent stake in LVMH after becoming the first black woman to create a clothing brand for LVMH in 2019 and continues to make her millions through endorsem*nt deals with brands like River Island, Mac, Armani, and Balmain.
Among individuals of African descent named by Forbes is Nigerian entrepreneur and businessman, Aliko Dangote. He maintained his spot as the richest on the continent for another year running from his88 per cent stake in Dangote Cement that has earned him his net worth of US$11.5 billion.
