The billionaire's club just got starrier. This Wednesday, Forbes revealed that singer and businesswoman Rihanna has amassed a fortune of $1.7bn.

Robyn Rihanna Fenty's life is an extraordinary rags-to-riches story. The now 33-year old singer grew up in Barbados, where she sold clothes at a market stall with her father.

She was discovered in 2003 by a visiting record producer, who invited the teenage Rihanna to the US to record some demos. Soon after, she was signed to Def Jam by Jay-Z. What followed next was remarkable: an 11 year streak of hits, with 31 US top ten singles and 14 No. 1s - the third-highest total in chart history.

The bulk of Rihanna's fortune, however, comes from her cosmetic label Fenty Beauty. Launched in 2007, it has made headlines for catering to a huge variety of skin tones.

Rihanna has long been generous with her wealth. In 2006, she founded the Believe Foundation for terminally-ill children. Six years later, she opened the Clara Lionel Foundation, which supports global education and climate change resilience. Last year she donated $5m to Covid-19 relief organisations, $2.1m for victims of domestic violence and $700,000 for ventilators in Barbados.

Rihanna's behaviour contrasts with a centuries-old view that wealth corrupts. "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle," proclaimed JesusJesus or Jesus Christ is the name of the man who Christians believe was the son of God, and whose teachings are the basis of Christianity., "than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God".

Today, society tolerates, even celebrates, extreme wealth. From adventure-loving entrepreneur Richard BransonHis businesses have included Virgin Records, Virgin Trains and the space-tourism company Virgin Galactic. to the philanthropic Microsoft founder Bill Gates, plutocrats have become celebrities.

This might be a symptom of capitalism, the economic system followed by much of the world. Capitalism stipulates that wealth is owned by private individuals and companies. It seeks wealth as a sort of virtue in itself, which everyone should aspire to.

Many have disputed this conception of society. Karl MarxA 19th-Century German economist and philosopher who argued that capitalism was doomed to collapse. believed that inequality would eventually drive people to form a socialist society, where wealth is controlled by the state and shared equally among people.

Socialism has been marginalised in many Western countries since the Cold War. But a belief that billionaires harm society rather than help it, is growing.

As New York Times columnist Farhad Manjoo says: "At some level of extreme wealth, money inevitably corrupts... it buys political power, it silences dissent, it serves primarily to perpetuate ever-greater wealth, often unrelated to any reciprocal social good." Two DemocraticA democratic election is one where all eligible citizens are free to vote, where votes are counted fairly and all political parties have fair and free access to communicate with voters. candidates for the 2020 US election, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, called for a wealth tax targeting the ultra-rich.

Even the very existence of billionaires underlines the world's inequality. A 2020 study found that it would take $330bn to end world hunger. Strip the world's two richest men, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos ($177bn) and tech entrepreneur Elon Musk ($151bn) of their wealth, and you would be just $2bn off making life immeasurably better for billions of others.

Is it possible to combine virtue with insane wealth?

Filthy lucre

Of course, say some. Everyone can perform virtuous deeds. With their outsize power and prosperity, the ultra-rich have the ability to do good on an enormous scale - and they often do, as the numerous foundations, institutions and funds in their names prove. Besides, without the wealth generated by society's most successful, there would be less money around to filter to good causes.

Hardly, say others. Insane wealth is, well, insane. The very existence of the ultra-wealthy is a kick in the teeth to the notion that all humans are equal. That Jeff Bezos can take a private rocket to space while Amazon workers toil in dreadful conditions should disgust everyone. Even when the rich do give, they do so to promote themselves while doing little to address larger inequities.

Key Words

Def Jam - an influential American record label focused on hip hop and R&B music.

JesusJesus or Jesus Christ is the name of the man who Christians believe was the son of God, and whose teachings are the basis of Christianity. - this aphorism was formulated in the Biblical Book of Matthew. A rich young man asks Jesus how to reach heaven. In response, Jesus tells him to sell his possessions and give to the poor.

Richard BransonHis businesses have included Virgin Records, Virgin Trains and the space-tourism company Virgin Galactic. - British billionaire (1950 - ). Branson is a kite-surfer, cyclist and hot air balloonist. This July he flew to space, just over a week before Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

Philanthropic - seeking to promote the welfare of others. It descends from a Greek word meaning man-loving.

Plutocrat - a person made powerful by their wealth. In Roman mythology, Pluto ruled over the underworld, home to the Earth's precious gems and metals.

Symptom - a sign that indicates the presence of an illness.

Karl Marx - hugely influential German philosopher and economist (1818 - 1883). His 1848 pamphlet The Communist Manifesto, written with industrialist Friedrich Engels, inspired a series of revolutions in the 19th and 20th Centuries.

Cold War - a period of tension between 1947 and 1991, waged between the capitalist United States and the socialist Soviet Union, and their allies.

DemocraticA democratic election is one where all eligible citizens are free to vote, where votes are counted fairly and all political parties have fair and free access to communicate with voters. - one of the two main US political parties. Established in 1828, it is the world's oldest party. Current President Joe Biden is a member.

Wealth tax - a tax deducted from an individual or company's overall wealth. Sanders suggested a tax on those with a net worth of $32m and over.

Jesus - Jesus or Jesus Christ is the name of the man who Christians believe was the son of God, and whose teachings are the basis of Christianity.

Richard Branson - His businesses have included Virgin Records, Virgin Trains and the space-tourism company Virgin Galactic.

Karl Marx - A 19th-Century German economist and philosopher who argued that capitalism was doomed to collapse.

Democratic - A democratic election is one where all eligible citizens are free to vote, where votes are counted fairly and all political parties have fair and free access to communicate with voters.