Rihanna, Beyoncé & Taylor Swift Make Forbes’ 2021 List of World’s 100 Most Powerful Women

Rihanna, Beyoncé and Taylor Swift now have one more thing in common apart from being among the most awarded women in pop music: Forbes has included all three on its 2021 list of The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women List published Tuesday (Dec. 7), citing their achievements in music, fashion and financial earnings as reasons for their inclusion.

Rihanna led the pack at No. 68. With the success of both Fenty Cosmetics and lingerie line Savage x Fenty, Rihanna has reached billionaire status and in turn has become “Barbados’ most famous export,” according to the magazine. The 33-year-old’s cosmetics line earned $550 million in 2020, and the lingerie brand brought in a $1 billion valuation as of February, which she currently has a 30 percent stake in. As for Rihanna’s musical achievements, all eight of her studio albums have charted within the top 10 of the Billboard 200 — ANTI and Unapologetic hit No. 1, Good Girl Gone Bad hit No.2, Loud and Talk That Talk hit the No. 3 spots on the chart.

Beyoncé landed at No. 76. The magazine cited the former Destiny’s Child member’s On the Run II tour alongside husband Jay-Z that pulled in more than $250 million in revenue. The 40-year-old’s popular Ivy Park activewear line with Adidas and her 2019 Coachella documentary, Homecoming were also listed among her achievements. Much like Rihanna, Beyoncé’s albums have been wildly successful: all six of her solo albums have hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

Swift placed slightly below Beyoncé and ranked at No. 78. The magazine recognized Swift’s efforts to re-record her previous albums in order to gain ownership rights, and cited her earning her 10th No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart with Red (Taylor’s Version). The surprise release of Folklore in 2020 became the year’s first album to sell over 1 million units, and she shortly followed up the release of the album with Evermore in December. Swift is still in the process of re-recording her previous albums.

No. 1 on Forbes’ annual list is MacKenzie Scott, who is recognized for her philanthropic work. Vice President Kamala Harris nabbed the No. 2 spot, with France’s Christine Lagarde, the first woman to lead the European Central Bank, in No. 3.