- In an interview for Vogue’s November 2019 cover, Rihanna finally confirmed that she’s been “in an exclusive relationship for quite some time” and that “it’s going really well.”
- Rihanna didn’t name names, but she and Saudi businessman Hassan Jameel were spotted out on two occasions in August, per Elle – including once in Santa Monica the night before her most recent Vogue cover interview was conducted.
- The two have been quietly dating since 2017, according to reports, and have kept a very low profile.
- Here’s everything we know about the billionaire businessman said to be Rihanna’s boyfriend.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Rihanna’s love life has been a media obsession for years – which may account for why she’s kept her current relationship so private. But now, the ultra-private singer has finally confirmed she’s in an “exclusive relationship.”
“Yeah, I’m dating,” she told Vogue’s op-ed editor Abby Aguirre in an interview for the magazine’s November 2019 cover. “I’m actually in an exclusive relationship for quite some time, and it’s going really well, so I’m happy.”
So who is this mystery man? As Aguirre notes in the profile, the singer, her mom, and her long-rumored boyfriend, Saudi billionaire and Toyota heir Hassan Jameel, were spotted out at a Santa Monica restaurant the night before the interview was conducted – which is what prompted Aguirre to ask about Rihanna’s personal life.
The singer has been dating Jameel for over two years, according to Elle.
Despite Rihanna's celebrity status, the two have rarely been pictured in public together. But recently, they've been spotted out together on at least two outings (including the dinner in Santa Monica). All this, paired with Rihanna's recent comments about the status of their relationship, seems to suggest that things may be getting even more serious between the two.
Read more: Rihanna's simple calendar hack is her new key to work-life balance
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Neither Jameel's family-owned company, Abdul Latif Jameel, nor a representative for Rihanna's company, Fenty, responded to Business Insider's request for comment on the status of their relationship.
Here's everything we know about the billionaire said to be Rihanna's boyfriend.
Rihanna was first linked to the Saudi businessman Hassan Jameel in 2017. They were seen kissing and having coffee together during a trip to Spain.
Source: People
The identity of the "mystery man" with Rihanna wasn't clear at first. But less than a day later, he was identified as Jameel, and the two were officially declared an item.
Source: Vogue
Despite the media's immediate interest in their romance, neither the singer nor the businessman discussed the relationship in the press at first — though Rihanna's dad did tell reporters that while he was aware his daughter had a new boyfriend, he had no clue that boyfriend was a billionaire.
"She told me she had a new boyfriend about a month ago, but I didn't know who he was," the singer's father told the Toronto Sun in 2017. "I always tell her, 'Don't date an entertainer, don't date an athlete.' They are busy going this way and that way, they don't have any quality time, and they're good looking guys so women fall all over them."
He added: "He's going to have to buckle up. She's a hard-working girl. She's very independent and ambitious."
While Rihanna's net worth of $600 million (per Forbes' most recent estimate) is nothing to scoff at, Jameel is exorbitantly wealthy himself. The Saudi businessman is a Toyota heir — his family owns Abdul Latif Jameel, the largest distribution company for Toyota in several Middle Eastern countries.
Source: Forbes, Harper's Bazaar
The company was founded in 1945 by Jameel's grandfather, Abdul Latif Jameel, and named after him. Hassan Jameel is the deputy president and vice chairman for Saudi Arabia.
He heads the company's domestic operations in Saudi Arabia. He handles automotive, land and real estate, and machinery operations.
Source: Family Business Council-Gulf, World Economic Forum
He also serves as the president of Community Jameel, a charity that his family's company runs.
Community Jameel's website says the organization "operates a wide range of initiatives which promote and contribute towards positive societal change and economic sustainability" and coordinates programs "focusing on the social, cultural, educational, and economic development of individuals and communities in the Middle East region and beyond."
The Jameel family ranked fourth on Forbes Middle East's 2017 list of the Arab world's richest families, putting their collective net worth at $2.2 billion.
Subsequent rankings left off all Saudis. Forbes Middle East explained in its 2018 list that it "chose to leave off all 10 Saudis given reports of asset seizures after some 200 people, including some billionaires, were detained."
Source: Forbes Middle East
The Jameel family also owned a soccer league. The Saudi Pro League was known as Dawry Jameel when it was sponsored by the company from 2013 to 2019.
Source: Community Jameel
Before his current roles in his family businesses, Jameel worked for Toyota, in the company's Japan offices.
Source: Family Business Council-Gulf
In fact, Jameel spent several years in Japan. He received a bachelor of arts in international economics from Sophia University in Tokyo before attending the London Business School for his MBA.
Source: Family Business Council-Gulf
He's also a polyglot, fluent in English, Arabic, and Japanese.
Source: Family Business Council-Gulf
Jameel was previously married to Lina Lazaar, a Tunisian art expert. The two wed in 2012 and divorced in 2017.
Source: The Sun
Before his romance with Rihanna, Jameel was also linked to the supermodel Naomi Campbell.
Source: Harper's Bazaar
In one of their first sighted outings, Rihanna and Jameel celebrated Halloween together in Boston in 2017. Witnesses told Us Weekly that the singer was dressed as Kylo Ren from "Star Wars" and that Jameel was in a penguin costume.
"Rihanna and Hassan were canoodling all night," a source told Us Weekly. "She ordered extra pasta to take home because she said she often gets hungry around 2 a.m."
They also attended a Los Angeles Lakers game in February for her 31st birthday — one of the rare public outings where they were actually caught on camera together.
Source: W magazine
In June, the couple took a trip to the Amalfi Coast, where they were photographed cuddling, with a group that appeared to include other members of the Jameel family.
Source: Elle
Shortly before that trip, Rihanna told The New York Times that earlier in the year she moved to London ("where she is closer to the team working on Fenty, which is designed in Paris and manufactured in Italy," The Times said) — though many speculated that the move was so she could be closer to Jameel, who reportedly lives there.
Source: New York Times, Metro
While Rihanna and her boyfriend have been keeping a very low profile over the past two years, the two have been spotted out together several times in recent weeks. In August, a source told People that the pair went out for a "lovely dinner evening" with Rihanna's mom and brother in Santa Monica, California. A few days later, paparazzi got photos of the two looking "cuddly" during dinner at Wally's in Beverly Hills.
In a conversation with her "Ocean's 8" costar Sarah Paulson for Interview magazine in June, Rihanna refused to confirm who she was dating — "Google it," she said — but did say that "of course" she was in love.
When Paulson asked whether she was going to get married, Rihanna paused, then said: "Only god knows that, girl. We plan and god laughs, right?"
She also explained how she prioritized a blossoming relationship amid her busy career.
"I got into a new relationship, and it matters to me," she said. "It was like, 'I need to make time for this.' Just like I nurture my businesses, I need to nurture this as well. I'll shut things down for two days, three days at a time. On my calendar we now have the infamous 'P,' which means personal days. This is a new thing."
Most recently, Rihanna confirmed that she's in an "exclusive relationship" during an interview for Vogue's November 2019 cover story.
"Yeah, I'm dating," she told Vogue's Abby Aguirre. "I'm actually in an exclusive relationship for quite some time, and it's going really well, so I'm happy."
Rihanna also said she does want kids: "Without a doubt."
Source: Vogue