I fully admit that, for years now, I’ve believed the celebrity beauty/makeup/skincare industry is oversaturated, overhyped and overvalued. Kylie Jenner and Rihanna were the pioneers of “beauty start-ups which turned into massive companies,” and all of the other ladies have been trying to copy them for the past decade. But while I’m a curmudgeon on these ventures, the actual beauty industry is bullish on these celebrity endeavors. Kylie Jenner sold the majority of her brand to Coty six years ago, Rihanna & LVMH split Fenty Beauty (a multi-billion dollar brand), and now Hailey Bieber has sold Rhode. Hailey started her skincare/beauty company Rhode in 2022, and it grew really fast really quickly, with several “hero” products. Hailey has been exploring her options and wanting to sell all year, and now she’s found a buyer: e.l.f. Beauty.
Hailey Bieber’s rhode is celebrating a major milestone. On Wednesday, May 28, it was announced that e.l.f. Beauty had signed a $1 billion dollar deal to acquire the brand.
Per a press release, Bieber, 28, will continue her role as founder and additionally serve as rhode’s chief creative officer and head of innovation, overseeing creative, product innovation and marketing. She will also act as a strategic advisor to the combined companies.
The release also states that rhode was the No. 1 skincare brand in Earned Media Value in 2024, representing 367% year-over-year EMV growth.
“We can’t wait to bring rhode to more faces, places, and spaces. From day one, my vision for rhode has been to make essential skin care and hybrid makeup you can use every day,” Bieber shared in a statement. “Just three years into this journey, our partnership with e.l.f. Beauty marks an incredible opportunity to elevate and accelerate our ability to reach more of our community with even more innovative products and widen our distribution globally.”
The entrepreneur added that she looks forward to the brand’s “new exciting chapter” alongside co-founders Michael D. Ratner and Lauren Ratner, “who have helped bring my vision to life from the start.”
Bieber also spoke to Allure about the news, saying, “When you’re launching a brand, you’re just so focused on what’s right in front of you at the time. And of course, you always have really big dreams and really big goals for it. This is definitely one of those things being realized. I could have never anticipated that it would happen at this exact time.” She added about her decision to pair with the e.l.f. team, “Vibes matter!”
This is another reason why I rolled my eyes at the months of speculation about Justin Bieber’s finances – one, I think the reports are coming from Justin’s former team because they’re mad that they’re not on the Bieber gravy train anymore. Two, I think Justin is more than fine with Hailey making money right now, and Hailey is absolutely the family breadwinner at the moment. Hailey’s a billionaire three years after launching her company. It’s insane. Good for her, honestly.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Backgrid.
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- New York, NY – Hailey Bieber is spotted leaving The Carlyle Hotel in New York, making her way to an exclusive after-party after the Met Gala. Pictured: Hailey Bieber BACKGRID USA 5 MAY 2025 BYLINE MUST READ: BlayzenPhotos / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- New York, NY – Hailey Bieber is spotted leaving The Carlyle Hotel in New York, making her way to an exclusive after-party after the Met Gala. Pictured: Hailey Bieber BACKGRID USA 5 MAY 2025 BYLINE MUST READ: BlayzenPhotos / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Celebrities attending the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Benefit Gala 2025 in New York Featuring: Hailey Bieber Where: New York City, United States When: 06 May 2025 Credit: Matt Crossick/PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Celebrities at the 2025 Costume Institute Benefit Gala celebrating the opening of the exhibition Superfine, Tailoring Black Style. Held at The Metropolitan Museum of Art Featuring: Hailey Bieber Where: New York City, United States When: 05 May 2025 Credit: Doug Peters/PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
Oh good, another billionaire.
That was my reaction, too. Jfc
Nepo billionaire!
I have been doing M&A work for a long time. Hailey did not receive $1B. She sold her company and the money paid upon transfer was likely for stock (inventory) goodwill (an intangible), R&D, physical office/manufacturing space (if there is any, or she might use a co-packer to produce and package the products), FF&E (furniture, fixtures & equipment), customer lists/data and other such items. Did she get a nice payout? Yes. Did she personally receive a $1B check? No.
I hope she’s smart with her money and doesn’t give a cent to Bieber.
If either one of them ask for a divorce, she loses half. If she’s the high end earner she may even need to pay him child support. The prenup protects his fortune, not hers earned during the marriage. Happened to an acquaintance; after marriage his star sank and she moved way up.
That’s literally not how pre and post nups work. If they keep their assets and companies separate it’s separate. If that is the language of the contract. And that’s really all pre and post nups are. Blueprints for divorce. Your acquaintance had bad legal representation when they signed a bad contract. Benefiting the other spouse. What’s mine is mine and what’s yours is mine…
He doesn’t get to benefit from Rhode the same way she wouldn’t from the sale of his catalog. Child support cannot legally be in a pre or post nups. That’s decided by the courts or mediation.
Unless he had equity in it, and there is no proof he was an investor. Unless forensic accountant can prove any money she used was funded by Justin. She ran with the opportunities being married to him and succeeded at it.
She should be paid just being married to him. He seems like a lot to deal with.
I also think it’s a moot point. This never ending posting of will they won’t they divorce. I do think they do truly love each other and will not be divorcing. She needs him as much as he needs her and their son needs them both.
Have you seen their prenup? Plenty of prenups protect both parties.
Wait… How do we know what’s in their prenup??
I meant as in letting him managing her money. If he’s as broke as everyone says he is, she would have to pay him out something in a divorce. I was trying to imply he’s bad at money management and I rushed because I had to get back to work.
Regardless of how anyone feels about Justin, when they first married he financially supported all her business endeavors and bailed her family (Stephen Baldwin) from bankruptcy. So, yes, if they should divorce, he’s entitled to some of that money.
Well, she would not be anywhere close to where she is now if she had not married him. She was trying very hard to be famous and it didn’t take until she got with him. She would not have had any of these opportunities without his fame.
Good Lord! Give her some credit. There are hundreds and thousands of people (women) in the same situation that do nothing, never get anywhere.
FFS, what do women have to do to get credit for anything. Is it always because of some man, some daddy?
This screams money laundering to me. The products are garbage, I’ve seen videos with products that have mold, the makeup doesn’t stay on, and the amount of product is laughable. And after only 3 years for a BILLION dollars?! What is happening?!
I’d be careful of those videos. I know nothing of her products but I know there is a concerted online effort to destroy this young woman.
I’ve tried the Rhodes line. Not all of it, but a few things. They’re not garbage. I didn’t see any mould, lack of product or any issues with the pieces I bought not staying on.
I’d rather believe my own experiences with a product than believe an influencer/tiktoker who usually has an agenda.
She sold it for more than Bieber got for his masters 😛
She wouldn’t be a billionaire, as she did have at least 2 partners, as noted in the article. She would be very wealthy from this deal, however, which is quite an accomplishment after only 3 years.
Not to mention whatever debt she took on to launch the brand. Not something you can bootstrap.
She may have to struggle by on only $250 million or so… (i would truly like to share that struggle!!!)
has anyone here used her products? Genuine curiosity – no shade.
@KC I am a makeup lover and it has a cult following. It was in Sephora originally but no longer. Sephora also takes 30% cut right off the top. So, they may make more money selling direct from their website.
While the market is completely oversaturated with celebrity beauty brands. She went a slightly different approach focusing on skin care and has added on makeup products. They are following more of a Glossier approach of minimal makeup/tints. Her most viral product is the iPhone case that holds your Rhode lip gloss/tints. I do think they really just market to a younger audience.
And so many celebrity brands have flopped and Rhode succeeded in it’s niche market. And it’s not like Justin did much to help. Other than showing up in dirty sweatpants at a product launch event once. That I remember.
For someone whose past claim to fame was being the daughter of a B list actor. Before marrying Justin. This is quite an accomplishment within 3 years.
You are correct, she owned around 51%, and we don’t know what debt had been acquired during the growth period AND the deal is an initial payout, with performance payouts to follow that could total $1 billion. And don’t forget whatever taxes Uncle Sam will ask for…
I asked my little sister about the different celebrity brands and she loves Fenty. She was unimpressed with Selena Gomez, Kylie and Hailey’s brands.
Fenty is important because it changed the landscape of makeup forever. By not just catering to 20 shades of white. And went the full spectrum having every skin color included. It forced big brands to be more inclusive. And it has some great products (and some clunkers).
So for that I agree with your sister about Fenty Beauty. I disagree about Rare Beauty. Selena has a great makeup line. That will not break your wallet. Rhode time will tell it does not have a huge makeup line. And will E.L.F. reformulate to cheaper products. I hate when they do that.
Hi @flamingo – for some reason it wouldn’t let me reply to your comment above! Have you used Rhode before?
I agree about Rare Beauty – I think it’s a great line. I have found some color dupes in the ELF brand though for their liquid blush which I LOVE
Rhode is mostly skincare. Only in the last year have they stepped into makeup.
What are the products Rhodes is known for? I have no idea. Does she have models over 40 wearing them? That’s usually my question. Bc I don’t doubt the products look great on people in their 20s and 30s. And maybe she does have models over 40. I just haven’t paid attention.
I’m curious also. I have no idea what the brand is known for.
I checked out the website – it is underwhelming.
For real. I could put any old stuff on my face in my 20’s and 30’s, but now that I’m an old, not so much.
Skin serums and lip stains. Hailey didn’t invent the “glazed skin” movement, maybe it’s Korean? But she went to town on how to create the glassy dewy effect. Like the shine on a glazed donut.
Hailey’s promo pictures are very suggestive, very milky.
Rhode is known for skincare. Specifically hydrating products like their milky toner, Glazing Milk. I have friends in their 30s and 40s that swear by the Glazing Milk and Peptide Lip Balm.
She is not a billionaire… she owns around 50 % of the company and the other is owned by a London investment firm…
It’s nice to see that no one is questioning if the brand is really worth this or if she deserves this blah, blah, blah 😒 I guess this is reserved for other people 😶 Nobody is interested in her numbers 😳
Good for her. As usual, there’s a better woman behind the famous man.
oh joy, another nepo beauty brand.
I had to go look it up, I have never heard of it nor seen it in a retail location and I am somewhat of a makeup junkie – this brand has never hit my radar. Full disclosure; I am probably not the target demographic either.
It’s easy for an attractive 20-something to sell beauty products because she is still young and still has good skin, but when I go into a store like Ulta, all of the products from all of the brands look like pretty much the same stuff. They are probably all made in the same factory the same way and the only difference is the packaging and which nepo baby is selling it.
I love seeing women succeed in business and make $$$ so on one hand I 💕 this.
OTOH, it seems like all the women who get attention for succeeding as founders or CEOs are selling some kind of luxury optional product to other women. Sara Blakely, Selena Gomez, now Hailey Bieber. I’m not trying to hate on them, but it makes me increasingly uncomfortable that society puts these standards on women to begin with, and that so many of these women are getting attention for becoming billionaires based on creating these products.
In the meantime, I keep noticing all these news articles about females CEOs in other industries who are being ousted in favor of male CEOs who already retired from the same company. Just yesterday there was an article about the female CEO of Vail resorts leaving her position, and her male predecessor coming back to fill it, because she is being blamed for a whole bunch of problems that happened over the Park City ski season. I’m not saying she doesn’t bear some responsibility, but I wonder how many of the problems already existed in the predecessor’s tenure who’s now invited back with open arms. And how much her board and execs listen to her if she tried to change things. Just seen this happen to a lot of female leaders and it really bugs me.
Isn’t this the part of the business plan of any celebrity product, the part called “Exit Strategy”? see also: Clooney and tequila (only the most famous of the numerous booze brand buyouts), Jessica Simpson and shoes, was it, that made her a billionaire? Then whatsername former actress with the clean beauty line. And on, and on, and on. I wouldn’t be surprised if when Gywenth Paltrow wants to chuck it in with Goop, we’ll get similar headlines….Or Meghan for that matter.
You do a thing, it gets some buzz and some sales, then you sell out to private equity, a big brand conglomerate (in the case of booze) or other retailer that is paying mostly for the brand equity. Hopefully for a very large payout. The quality of the actual product is not nearly as important as the $$$ to be made at the Exit. It works enough for there to be enough celebrities trying it…
I don’t really follow makeup/beauty companies as I rarely wear makeup myself. It’s never been my thing. I was aware of Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty and Kylie Cosmetics. Also I know Kim K has her own beauty brand which she relaunched as SKKN by Kim (previously KKW Beauty). But I had no idea Selena Gomez had her own company for example and definitely had no idea Hailey Beiber was in that space too! Good for her for striking that deal though I have no idea if her products are any good. From what I understand, the only celebrity beauty company that is actually good is Fenty Beauty.
Elf is a US brand but its products are made in China. Makeup Addiction thought this was a move to avoid tariffs.
The money is pure PR to raise Rhode’s valuation to $1 billion, not in sales. Prior to this deal with e.l.f., Rhode did not have any major distribution channels other than social media and her website. It’s now going to be sold in Sephora and Ulta. This smacks of Kylie Jenner’s make-up line that landed her on the cover of Forbes as the youngest billionaire because she sold her line to Coty. Turned out Mama Kris and company fudged the sales number and Forbes issued a mea culpa retraction article (major blunder on Forbes for lack of due diligence in their reporting). Hailey is just taking a page from that playbook and hired JP Morgan to shop her brand around as a billionaire dollar product. Hailey and the Kardashian/Jenner clan are close. There are so many influencers/celebrities launching cosmetic product lines out there — and most of them are not good. I only hear good things about Fenty (Rhianna) and Rare Beauty (Selena Gomez). Just my take on all of this.
Yeah but you can’t unring the bell. Everyone thinks Kylie is a billionaire. She got the Forbes cover. No one looks at the retraction. And last I read she was trying to buy it back. I don’t think Coty did much with the brand other than having to reformulate after ColourPop was like that’s our formula.
With Hailey the sizzle is that a 3 year old brand made a huge deal with a bigger company. That’s unusual. And I noted in a comment above. It has a cult following. They didn’t need Sephora or Ulta to move products. They moved themselves.
And a 28 year old is going to walk away with 250 million in her pocket or more. That will still have ties to the company. All within 36 months. I couldn’t get $10,000 together in 30 years lol.
And fun fact, Rhode actually started in Sephora. That’s not new. It’s just going back in.
Being in Sephora or Ulta doesn’t automatically mean a brand has longevity or is even making money. There are major brands who make millions every year who have never been in either store. Being sold in Sephora COSTS A brand money. Literally. You have to pay to be featured and then Sephora takes up to 60% of what a brand makes when a product is sold. Brands leave Sephora literally every month. Being in Sephora has literally bankrupted some brands. Direct to consumer was how major brands like for instance Glossier (who have been around for over a decade and only entered Sephora in the last three years), have managed to be successful in the first place. Rhode was smart to start that way. They gained immediate traction with Gen Z and even people my age who are beauty enthusiasts (I am 44). I think it’s incredibly smart to not go into Sephora until you have a major backer like ELF to foot the costs of doing so!
She’s not a billionaire but still very very rich, so good for her. I don’t know anything about her make-up, I’m generally sceptical about the longevity of celebrity make-up brands as they seem to be all hype and clever marketing without much substance.
But that doesn’t matter because she will now be branded ‘billionaire’ even if she isn’t, just like Kylie. Anyway I’ve been saying for ages hailey needs to ditch Bieber as he brings her down. She’s been levelling up the last few years and he’s not the flex he use to be. Not to mention he’s acts so rude towards her.
This seems nuts on e.l.f.’s part, I’ve never even heard of rhode meanwhile e.l.f. is in every drug and grocery store, what on Earth do they need or want her brand for. Just the 1% trading money forth while the rest of us try to share the pittances remaining amongst us.
As someone in the beauty space I wanted to give a bit of perspective about what this actually means. This is a lot of info but I think it’s important: ELF Cosmetics is a beauty brand that has it’s own line of products but ALSO is an umbrella brand for other companies (like Estee Lauder which owns tons of other brands along with it’s own). ELF also owns Alicia Keys’ skincare brand SoulKeyes, Naturium and Well People. ELF is not acquiring Rhode to fold into it’s own brand. It will continue to be it’s own separate company with Hailey still at the helm. No one is losing their job. What this DOES mean is that the brand will be able to expand. Going into Sephora costs brands MILLIONS. Which is why most brands don’t do it until they either have financial backers or are big enough to eat the cost. The reason why Fenty was able to go into Sephora immediately is because they are majority-owned by LVMH – which owns Sephora.
Rhode is a skincare brand that only recently stepped into cosmetics with their lip liners and blushes. Before that they had a pretty big following for their skincare. The brand blew up pretty much immediately. Other than them all being celebrity-owned you can’t compare Rhode to Fenty or Rare Beauty. Rare Beauty is valuated at 1 billion as well and there have been rumors for the last year and a half that Selena Gomez was looking to sell. She like Bieber started the brand on her own with some investors. The brand selling at 1billion doesn’t automatically make Bieber a billionaire. The BRAND is worth a billion. We don’t know what percentage of that she actually gets to pocket. But it’s at LEAST 250mil.
Very informative, thank you! I love how much I learn from celebitchies sometimes.
1. Congratulations, Hailey! 2. The media pile up on JB has been interesting to watch play out in real time. It puts some of the distasteful media coverage other artists associated with Scooter Braun have received in a totally different perspective, especially since so much of the negative coverage seems to be coming specifically from the Murdoch evil empire.
I usually steer clear of celebrity brands but I love the glazing milk that Rhode do. My skin is really reactive and finicky and it actually has a decent ingredient list and has become a HG product for me so I’m glad the line’s getting financial backing and won’t be discontinued.