Good Bad Billionaire: Beyonce

Good Bad Billionaire: Beyonce

From Documentaries by BBC

June 3, 2026 · 49 min

About this episode

The episode explores Beyonce's journey from a young talent to a billionaire mogul, highlighting her strategic business decisions and the complexities of her rise to fame.

Beyonce started out as a little girl competing in local talent shows, but over the course of a 30-year career in music she transformed herself into a mogul worth $1 billion. Journalist Zing Tsjeng and BBC business editor Simon Jack trace Beyonce’s early years in girl group Girls Tyme, the turbulent rise of Destiny’s Child, and her breakout as a solo artist, before examining the strategic decisions that transformed her from performer to powerful businesswoman and entrepreneur. Beyonce’s rise to billionaire features conflicts with family and friends, brand battles, and questions around feminism, capitalism, and control. Is she a force for empowerment, a ruthless operator, or simply one of the most effective wealth-builders in modern entertainment?

People in this episode

Guests: Zing Tsjeng, Simon Jack

Topics covered

  • Beyonce
  • music career
  • entrepreneurship
  • feminism
  • capitalism
  • wealth-building

Keywords

  • Beyonce
  • Destiny's Child
  • entrepreneur
  • music industry
  • feminism
  • capitalism
  • wealth

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: BBC, Girls Tyme, Destiny’s Child

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