How much is Pat McGrath worth?
| Net Worth: | $500 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional Make-Up Artist |
| Date of Birth: | June 11, 1970 (age 57) |
| Country: | England |
| Height: | 5 ft 6 in (1.7 m) |
About Pat McGrath
Pat Pat McGrath is one of the fashion industry’s most celebrated make-up artists. Her rise to wealth, success and fame has been unprecedented and she has single handedly cornered the market for cosmetics for African Americans and black women all over the world. Vogue magaine named her as “The Most Influential Make-Up Artist in the World” in 2007. She has worked with most of the top fashion houses creating lines of make-up until in 2015 she launched her brand of cosmetics Pat McGrath Labs, which now has a valuation of more than $1 billion.
We calculate that Pat McGrath has an estimated net worth of at least $500 million dollars as of 2023. In 2014 Pat was decorated by Queen Elizabeth II, receiving an MBE, becoming a member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.
Pat McGrath was born in Northampton in the United Kingdom. She was raised by her single mother, Jean McGrath, who was an immigrant from Jamaica.
Jean McGrath was a keen follower of the British fashion industry, and she passed this love on to her daughter. Products specifically designed for black skin were few and far between and as a result, Pat and Jean were innovative in the way they used make-up . Jean instilled into Pat the need to be observant when matching make-up with fabrics, and Pat soon learned how to combine colors and textures.
Pat was also influenced in her approach to make-up, and fashion in general, as well as by the New Romantics music movement of the 1990s. The groups she encountered, like Spandau Ballet, Marilyn and Boy Geroge, were famed for their outrageous dress-sense and use of color. All of this went in to form the basis of Pat’s fashion a cosmetic sense.
Later becoming the building blocks of her billion dollars brand.
When she left school, Pat aimed to take a degree course in fashion, but abandoned this plan when she met Kim Bowen, a well-known stylist.
She invited Pat to watch her as she undertook shoots for The Face and i-D. She learned a lot from this, but was nevertheless surprised when the Soul II Soul star Caron Wheeler invited her to Japan as her personal make-up artist. When she returned she again met Edward Enninful who was the fashion director of the magazine i-D. Enninful was impressed with Pat and quickly named her beauty director for the entire magazine. She still holds that position more than 30 years later. In addition she worked with both John Galliano and Alexander McQueen.
How did Pat McGrath get so rich?
Pat McGrath became rich through years of honing her fashion and cosmetics craft, working with the top names in the industry and, finally, leveraging EVERYTHING from her career into the Pat McGrath Labs.
Today the Pat McGrath Labs does hundreds of millions of dollars in annual sales and is valued at $1 billion dollars.
While Pat also earns from several other sources, including editorial jobs for various magazines, working for designers on their catwalk shows and working one on one with celebrities.
The bulk of her net worth is estimated to be directly attributed to the massive stake she holds in her company, Pat McGrath Labs. Until July 2018, Pat McGrath’s net worth was largely unknown, at that time however she sold a 5% share in her company at a valuation of $1 billion dollars. It is estimated that McGrath’s own share in the company is at least 70% and has a minimum of $100 million dollars is cash and assets. Making her net worth a conservative $500 million dollars.
Why is she so famous?
Her meeting with Edward Enningful when she returned to the United Kingdom from Japan, put Pat in a really advantageous position. Working for the i-D magazine brought her to the attention of the British fashion world. Throughout the 1990s Pat spent ten seasons developing new and original make-up campaigns for both Prada and Miu Miu. In 1999 Giorgio Armani invited her to collaborate with him on a fresh new range of cosmetics.
This collaboration brought her recognition as she was named the Pantene Pro-V Make-up Artist of the Year for both 2000 and 2001. This was the beginning of Pat’s rise to fame in the fashion and cosmetics industry.
Such was Pat’s renown as an original and innovative creator of make-up products that in 2004 she was appointed as ‘global cosmetics creative design director’ for the multi-national company Procter & Gamble.
This company owns famous make-up brands like Max Factor, SK-11 and Dolce & Gabbana. Every season, Pat McGrath continued to produce new and inspired products for the many campaigns for which she was responsible. Her influences include the fabrics and colors that appear in each different campaign. She is also inspired by young girls and their looks. Just watching ordinary girls walking across a street will often bring with it a new idea, or a new approach.
Pat’s main work is the development of new make-up lines, but she still finds time in her busy schedule to collaborate with some of the great fashion houses on advertising campaigns. She has worked with Calvin Klein, Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga and Calvin Klein. She works, too, with celebrities like Cate Blanchett, Oprah Winfrey, Madonna and Sarah Jessica Parker.
Pat has frequently been involved in the make-up for photo shoots that appear in magazines like Vogue Italia and American Vogue.
In 2015 Pat introduced her own line of cosmetics called ‘Pat McGrath Labs.’
These cosmetics have proved immensely successful and by 2019 the business had grown to become a $1 billion dollar enterprise. Pat McGrath Labs rose to be the biggest seller at Selfridges in London. In 2017 Pat became the British Vogue Beauty-Editor-at-Large. That same year she won the Isabella Blow Award for Fashion Creator.
What Made Her So Successful?
“Three words have repeated over and over in my mind ever since I was young. Obsession. Inspiration. Addiction.” Pat McGrath writes. “Those words became my guiding principles, my manifesto as I brought this brand to life.”
While Pat McGrath did not have early ambitions in make-up, she was more taken by the fashion industry, she was destined to become one of the most influential people in cosmetics the world has ever seen.
While she was interested in make-up she had taken the decision to follow a career in fashion. It was a lucky break that led her to switch her focus to make-up. She had enjoyed an interest in make-up as a young girl but she felt quite strongly that there were no clothes available that were suitable for young black girls. No-one seemed to be designing for this sector of the market. Once she became interested in make-up, though, she became aware of the dire lack of make-up and cosmetics designed and marketed solely for young black women.
By resolving to switch her attention to make-up, Pat was able to establish herself as a trusted make-up artist who was known to have flair and innovative ideas.
Success followed for Pat, not by luck, but by sheer hard work and obsession. Pat devoted most of her time to establishing firstly her reputation, and secondly, her own beauty brand business. Her products became so popular, especially in certain market segments, that she was able to sell a 5% share in her company for $50 million dollars, just three years after it’s launch.
Pat feels that no-one should feel restricted by low expectations or traditional roles. Discard any constraint on your imagination, and the result will be unfettered thinking and wonderfully inspiring results. She also praises the idea of trends. Every new trend should be accepted, as there is bound to be something good to celebrate. There can be no such thing as a mistake in the beauty business – any mistakes are just building blocks to the next success. Pat also believes that you can’t love your job too much. Love what you do, immerse yourself in it, and you will set yourself up for success. But don’t forget to take a vacation. You do have to turn off every once in a while.
Summing-Up
Pat McGrath is a truly inspiring woman who has created a mega-successful company from modest beginnings. She is an expert in her field, and her knowledge and commitment gave her an advantage over other make-up artists. She is not afraid to take risks and try new things. We can all learn to be more bold in what we do with our lives. Perhaps even taking on her mantra of “Obsession. Inspiration. Addiction” to the important areas of our lives.
