Sunday Times Rich List
The Sunday Times 2020 Rich List was published recently. The list ranks the 1,000 wealthiest people or families resident in the United Kingdom by net wealth. Popstar and fashion icon, Rihanna Fenty, was a new entry and ranked at 268 with an estimated net worth of £468 million. Compare this to David and Victoria Beckham who were ranked 354 with a fortune of £370 million.
The Beckham Money
The majority of the Beckham’s wealth is probably derived from David’s career as a footballer. He has also earnt well from collaborating and partnering with the likes of H&M, Adidas, and Haig whiskey. David was also the face of luxury British fashion brand Kent & Curwen until early this year.
Victoria, on the other hand, launched her career as ‘Posh Spice’ of the popular 1990s band The Spice Girls. In the 2000s, Victoria Beckham dabbled rather unsuccessfully in her own music endeavours, before re-joining The Spice Girls for a short-lived reunion and world tour in 2007. Besides music, Beckham had an interest in fashion and launched her namesake brand in 2008. As a fashionista, Victoria Beckham was the most tweeted designer in the 2012 New York Fashion Week and has been a guest editor for French Vogue. Despite these trimmings of fame, her label has yet to show a profit with reported losses of £12 million in 2018. The brand’s total losses to date are approximately £35 million.
The Fenty Money
Born in Barbados in 1988, Rihanna Fenty did not arrive into this world with a silver spoon in her mouth. Her father was a warehouse supervisor and her mother an accountant. Healthwise, she also suffered excruciating headaches as a child, which doctors thought to be caused by a brain tumour.
In 2003, Rihanna joined forces with two of her classmates and formed a band. The rest is history. By 2007, Rihanna was topping the charts across the globe and had many successful collaborations with Bono, Jay-Z, Kayne West, Eminem and more.
Rihanna’s entry into the world of fashion was through fragrance, the first being released in January 2011. In 2017, she launched Fenty Beauty, a cosmetics brand of which 50% is owned by LVMH. It has been reported that her 15% stake in the eponymous label is worth £351m. In 2019, again with LVMH, she launched a high-end clothing, shoes and accessories brand, this time called Fenty.
In the Time of COVID-19
Now for the crux of the matter. Here you have two celebrities, one born into affluence and driven school in a Rolls Royce, the other who worked her way up the ladder of prosperity. How has each reacted in the time of COVID-19?
Despite the Beckham’s significant fortune, earlier this year Victoria Beckham decided to furlough some of her staff. Due to criticism in the media and on social media, she soon reversed her decision. The UK furlough scheme is designed to safeguard jobs from redundancy, but it appeared that Victoria Beckham staff were never going to be made redundant anyway. Victoria probably feels somewhat vexed over her decision as much wealthier individuals than herself like Sir Jim Ratcliffe – owner of Belstaff worth £12 billion and the Weston family – Primark owner with a net worth of £10.5 billion, have furloughed many of their staff.
By contrast, Rihanna donated $5 million to coronavirus relief efforts, offered to pay the full cost of ventilators needed in Barbados, and gave $2,100,000 to provide support for individuals and children suffering domestic violence during the lockdown.
2020 Top Givers List
As a way of encouraging others to give, it might be high time to publish the 2020 Top Givers List. As things stand, many public figures and celebrities who are admired for their wealth would fail to secure a ranking on this list.
