There’s been a lot of talk lately about Justin Bieber being “broke.”
The tabloids in print and online are full of stories claiming Justin sold his music catalog for $200 million because he was in deep debt.
Does he owe ex-manager Scooter Braun millions for cancelling his concert tour? (Probably not, that’s why there’s insurance.) Does Braun owe Bieber millions (probably not, because Bieber was the building block for Braun becoming insanely wealthy).
But none of that matters now. On Friday it was announced that Bieber’s wife, Hailey Baldwin, daughter of actor Stephen and niece of Alec, hit a goldmine. She sold her upstart cosmetics company, called Rhode, to Elf Cosmetics for technically a billion dollars. She and her partner Michael Ratner, collect $800 million now and $200 million more if the company succeeds.
Not only that. Hailey retains the title of CEO and continues to create products and be the face of the brand.
In a strange plot twist, Hailey has bailed out Justin. He never has to work again. He can just keep posting weird photos on Instagram.
Bieber is 31 but he has the intellect of a small child. He does have mental health issues. But he also acts in public and dresses like a 13 year old skateboarder. He rarely wears a shirt so he can show off his massive number of tattoos. His pants are not just baggy but clownsized. Sometimes he grabs his crotch to keep the pants from falling down entirely.
Mrs. Bieber, however, is quite the opposite. She is never seen in any photo except perfectly styled. She exudes confidence and poise. Sometimes it seems like she’s just patiently putting up with her husband until she can figure out how to move on without him.
Hailey is now the most successful of all the Baldwins, which was also not expected. Uncle Alec made a lot of money in movies and TV, but he gave a lot away at one point to charitable causes. He’s still worth a lot, but nowhere near as much as Hailey will receive once she and Ratner get to the cash window.
As for Justin, his lack of emotional and intellectual growth is astounding after 15 years in show business. He posts pictures of himself frolicking with his buddies, smoking pot, and, again, showing off those tattoos.
According to Luminate, Bieber’s year-to-date sales so far are just 500,000, mostly from streaming. He hasn’t released a new album in four years. He needs one now to stay in the game. He’d be smart to record a catchy pop song for the Rhode commercials so the couple can cross market all their skills. But in the meantime, he can still afford to do whatever he likes thanks to his wife.
Behind every successful guy, yes, there’s a powerful woman.
