Self-made billionaire Selena Gomez says people didn’t take her seriously in the beauty business at first: People had ‘preconceived ideas of what I’m good at’

Now, Gomez is still trying to make a difference while building a big business. In 2020, she founded beauty brand Rare Beauty, a favorite among Generation Z. The booming Rare Beauty is valued at $2.7 billion as of mid-2025, making Gomez, 33, one of the world’s youngest self-made billionaires, with a significant share of her net worth coming from her stake in the beauty company.

Gomez also launched the Rare Impact Fund as part of Rare Beauty, with a goal of raising $100 million for youth mental health services and education globally. Donates 1% of sales to the foundation, which focuses on suicide prevention, crisis response, education, and support communities. The organization currently supports 30 nonprofit partners around the world, said Elise Cohen, director of impact at Rare Beauty.

Cohen said Rare Beauty’s choice to donate 1% of sales was a “risk,” but worth it.

“We’ve taken risks from day one, and that’s part of how we’ve created the path we’ve created in the beauty industry,” Cohen said.

Gomez rose to fame at a young age. After acting Barney and friends At the age of 10, she became a Disney star on her hit show wizards Of Waverly Place, Which concluded in 2012. Most recently, she starred in the Hulu series Murders only in the building.

Despite her tremendous success, Gomez is discreet about her accomplishments.

“When something great happens in my life, I expect something bad to happen,” Gomez said. “Instead of being there and saying, ‘Okay, great, we did something great,’ which I do, but I’m always thinking, ‘Okay, but if this could all go away tomorrow, how can I make sure it doesn’t happen?’

Gomez said when she founded Rare Beauty, it was important to her to be surrounded by people who truly believed in and understood her mission. She said that her close friend Taylor Swift advised her to build a strong team. “She said, ‘If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room,'” Gomez said. luckEli Austin. Gomez added that she surrounds herself with “really great people” and isn’t afraid to ask questions.

One big component of Gomez’s mission is mental health awareness. She co-founded mental health and wellness platform Wondermind with her mother, Mandy Teefey, and Daniella Pearson in 2021. This year, the company reportedly faced significant financial difficulties, resulting in lost employee pay and layoffs.

“There should be more opportunities for people [who] “I want to explore mental health,” Gomez said when asked about Wondermind’s reported struggles on stage. “All I will say is that most of it is definitely fabricated, but I definitely did my part.”