Hailey Bieber’s Billion-Dollar Week Proves We Don’t Really Need Men

When you’re Hailey Bieber, one headline isn’t enough. In the span of a single news cycle, the 27-year-old model–turned–beauty mogul scored her much-coveted Vogue cover and inked a deal to sell Rhode Skin to e.l.f. Beauty for up to $1 billion. If 2025 needed a main-character moment, Hailey just delivered—and yes, we’re stanning hard.

How did Rhode become a billion-dollar brand?

Rhode launched in mid-2022 with three “edited and curated” staples and a promise to simplify skincare. Viral TikTok glosses followed, net sales hit $212 million in the year ending March 2025, and Sephora doors will swing open this fall, just in time for e.l.f. Beauty to close a deal worth $600 million in cash, $200 million in stock, plus another $200 million in earn-outs. 

Hailey keeps her chief creative officer title (translation: she’ll still be mixing up peptide glazing dreams), but her bank account just joined the nine-figure club.

What the Girls Gotta Eat hosts had to say

On Girls Gotta Eat, Ashley Hesseltine and Rayna Greenberg went straight for the jugular—and the giggles—when Hailey’s big week came up.

Ashley read Justin Bieber’s now-edited Instagram caption verbatim (“Yo, this reminds me when Hailey and I got into a huge fight. I told Hales that she would never be on the cover of Vogue… forgive me for saying you wouldn’t get the cover because clearly I was sadly mistaken.”) and immediately side-eyed the overshare: “That you could have sent that as a private text? That is keep it in the drafts if I’ve ever heard.”

Rayna couldn’t resist a snarky grammar check: “First of all, sadly mistaken is the incorrect language. Gladly mistaken.” 

Ashley also snarled at the notion that Hailey was “a fan who hunted him [Justin] down,” pointing out that before she was a Bieber, she was a Baldwin—as in, Uncle Alec, Uncle Billy, Auntie Chyna Phillips-Baldwin, ex-Auntie Kim Basinger, and Daddy Stephen. “Hailey Bieber comes from a very famous family,” she snapped, adding that Hailey wasn’t a flop-about nepo baby but developed a career of her own. “She is a very famous—yes—supermodel.”

“I like Rhode. I like their lip gloss,” added Rayna.

Their verdict? Justin’s caption was chaotic, Hailey’s composure was goals, and Rhode’s glow-up is the definition of securing the bag.

The Vogue cover: It’s not too late for Justin to say sorry

Hailey’s June Vogue cover isn’t just pretty pictures—it’s a flex that rewrites old relationship narratives. Five years ago, Justin tossed out a casually cruel comment: “You’ll never be on the cover of Vogue.” Now the apology sits on Instagram for 292 million followers to see (emojis and all). As Ashley noted, “Couples fight. They say mean things they wish they could take back. But his initial response to her win was to make it about him.”

Whether you read the caption as growth or cringe, the optics are clear: Hailey leveled up publicly and professionally, and Justin had to sprint to keep up.

Why Hailey Bieber’s billion-dollar moment matters

From a business perspective, Hailey Bieber’s billion-dollar score matters for more than just celebrity reasons. For one, while celebrity beauty is booming, billion-dollar valuations are club-level exclusive. Hailey is joined by only Rihanna (Fenty Beauty) and Kylie Jenner (Kylie Cosmetics) in the upper stratosphere. And it, perhaps, goes without saying that women-led companies don’t often get billion-dollar valuations in the “old boys club” of venture capital.

Second, and perhaps most importantly, Rhode was brilliant to play the long game, starting small and working its way up. When it first started, the company launched with just three SKUs, focused on community rather than clutter, and resisted retailer expansion until demand was undeniable. That patience just paid for itself—literally.

We have no choice but to stan

Hailey Bieber isn’t the first celebrity founder to cash out, but her trajectory is uniquely fast. For comparison: Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty posted $367 million in 2023 revenue, yet remains private; Kylie Jenner sold 51 percent of Kylie Cosmetics for $600 million; Rihanna’s Fenty partnership minted a billionaire four years after launch. Hailey hit a billion-dollar valuation in under three years—not quite unicorn status, but pretty damn close.

Industry analysts at Forbes point to Rhode’s tight assortment, viral-ready “glaze” language, and Hailey’s 55 million-strong Instagram reach. e.l.f. Beauty, meanwhile, gains Gen-Z cool and a pipeline of glow-centric products that dovetail with its drugstore-meets-TikTok ethos.

A week ago, Hailey Bieber was “only” a supermodel, new mom, and founder of a cult lip treatment. Today, she’s the billion-dollar face of a beauty empire and the proud owner of a Vogue solo cover that doubled as poetic justice. As Ashley summed up between laughs, “He’s not looking good, and she’s on the cover of Vogue.”

So here’s to Hailey Bieber—proof that quiet confidence, a killer peptide formula, and a little strategic trolling can turn glassy skin into generational wealth. We have no choice but to stan.