e.l.f. Cosmetics co-founder Scott-Vincent Borba gives up $3B fortune to become Catholic priest
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Scott-Vincent Borba, the co-founder of the global beauty giant e.l.f. Cosmetics has officially walked away from his $3 billion fortune and a life of luxury to become a Catholic priest on May 23, 2026.
The 52-year-old former businessman has donated every penny of his wealth, including his luxury cars and California beach house, to charity so he could live a simple life dedicated to God.
Scott-Vincent Borba’s journey from beauty mogul to spiritual awakening
Before he decided to enter the clergy, Scott-Vincent Borba was a major figure in the world of Hollywood glamour and high-end beauty.
As a co-founder of e.l.f. (Eyes Lips Face) in 2004, he helped build a massive company that eventually saw billion-dollar deals, including the acquisition of Hailey Bieber’s Rhode label in 2025.
He was famous for mingling with stars like Paris Hilton and providing $7,000 diamond facials to actresses like Mila Kunis. However, despite the money and the fame, Borba felt a deep sense of misery that peaked during a crowded industry party.
“I was at a party and I was very, very unhappy,” Borba told OSV News when describing the moment he realized he needed to change.
“I just felt like I was empty and I was empty. I was exhausted. I was burning the candle on both ends.”
“I said, ‘God, if this is life, where all you do is work and party and do that all over again and die, then this is not the life that I think that you have made for me. But I can only change if you help me.’ I said, ‘Help me … I don’t want to do this [anymore].’”
Scott-Vincent Borba’s path from designer suits to a bare seminary room
Borba admitted that at first, he tried to hold onto some of his comforts, but he eventually felt he had to surrender them all to find true peace.
“God called me to give up everything, and I thought that meant just my cars,” he laughed. “So I had an Aston Martin convertible, and I said, ‘All right, Lord, I’m gonna sell this car, give the money to charity, and then use some other money to get myself a truck.’”
However, he felt a strong internal conviction that he needed to go further, remembering that the message was to “Give it all up.”
Today, the man who once lived as a "poster boy for luxury living" resides in a tiny room at St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park. His walls, once covered in expensive art, now hold only a single crucifix.
He further stated, “My life has been culled down to the bare minimum,” while also confessing, “I have never been happier in my life.”
Scott-Vincent Borba returns to a childhood calling after decades in business
This change in Borba's life is actually something he thought about when he was a little boy.
When he was in the third grade, his mother asked him if he ever wanted to be a priest while they were at church.
“At Mass, she asked me to look up at the altar, and if I wanted to be the man in the robes,” Borba said. “Whoever the priest was, his robes at that moment were shimmering like glitter… And I knew God was placing on my heart to become a priest.”
Even though he waited a long time and spent years building a business, Borba believes that he was always meant to serve the church.
He feels that the Virgin Mary helped lead him back to this path after he spent so much time in the world of glamour.
“I asked Mary to stay with me, to keep me and to hold me throughout my entire life,” Borba said.
He believes his new life is a gift, saying, “I know that our Blessed Mother has brought me into this vocation because of her love for me and for her Son.”
