e.l.f. Cosmetics Co-Founder Scott Vincent Borba Traded Red Carpets for the Priesthood — and the Reason Will Surprise You

Behind the wealth, luxury, and red carpets, something was quietly changing for the e.l.f. Cosmetics co-founder — and it would eventually lead him to walk away from everything he had built.

Scott Vincent Borba once seemed to be living the kind of life many people only dream about as a co-founder of e.l.f. Cosmetics, he built a hugely successful beauty business, mingled with celebrities, and embraced Hollywood's glamorous lifestyle.

Borba's remarkable journey has drawn renewed attention after he was ordained as a Catholic priest, completing a transformation few could have predicted from the entrepreneur who once helped launch one of the beauty industry's most recognizable brands.

The company he helped create has only grown since his departure. According to Forbes, e.l.f. Cosmetics was founded in 2004 by Joseph Shamah, Alan Shamah, and Borba with a simple idea: offer quality makeup at affordable prices. Today, the beauty giant is worth billions of dollars, underscoring just how much wealth Borba ultimately walked away from.

The brand, whose name stands for Eyes, Lips, Face, built its reputation around low-cost cosmetics that are vegan and cruelty-free. Yahoo Finance reports that the company now also owns Well People, Naturium, and Alicia Keys' skincare brand, Keys Soulcare.

Its rapid expansion continued with the company's $1 billion acquisition of Hailey Bieber's Rhode skincare brand, adding another milestone to a beauty empire that has become worth billions.

From Hollywood Glamour to Extraordinary Success

Long before becoming a priest, Borba built an impressive career in the beauty world. According to his biographical background, he studied psychology at Santa Clara University before becoming a licensed esthetician and working with several major beauty companies, including Neutrogena, Shiseido, Joico, Murad, and Procter & Gamble.

He later became a celebrity skincare expert whose client list included A-list stars. One of his most talked-about treatments was the famous $7,000 Diamond and Ruby Facial for Mila Kunis before the 2011 Golden Globes.

As Allure reported, the lavish treatment included crushed diamonds, crushed rubies, LED therapy, and other luxury skincare techniques that generated enormous buzz.

Borba also embraced Hollywood's social scene. In an Instagram interview, he reflected on those years, saying:

"We ran around with the likes of Paris Hilton and partying at parties with Kardashians and just doing up the Hollywood life. I was a poster boy for luxury living."

He continued, "I was not in any which way humble. I was very prideful." Yet despite building a business worth millions, he admitted the excitement never truly satisfied him.

The Question Success Could Not Answer

According to CBS News, Borba had actually felt called to the priesthood when he was just 10 years old. "I knew God was telling me … he wanted me to be his priest," he recalled. "But I immediately challenged it back and said, 'I am not that guy.'"

Instead, he pursued business success in Los Angeles. Even after e.l.f. Cosmetics became a lucrative company, Borba said he constantly chased more. "I always wanted more. It was never satisfying enough," he said. "I couldn't make enough money. I couldn't be on enough red carpets. I couldn't be exposed enough on TV or in magazines. It was insatiable."

At one point, he found himself asking a question that would stay with him:

"Was I created just to work and to party and to repeat and then die?"

But the event that ultimately changed everything had nothing to do with business.

A Family Tragedy Changed the Course of His Life

Borba's father, Anthony Borba Sr., was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He returned home to help care for him during his final months. "I never saw my father scared before," Borba remembered. His father asked him, "I need to close out my life before I go. Will you help me with that?" Borba responded, "Dad. We're going to do this together, and I'm going to find you the best doctors ever."

In 2010, his father died. Borba later admitted the loss "broke me apart emotionally." Instead of processing his grief, he said he threw himself deeper into partying and trying to escape the pain.

The Night He Walked Away from Everything

During one party at his Hollywood Hills home, Borba suddenly realized how unhappy he had become. According to CBS News, he looked toward heaven and prayed. "I remember looking around. I was so unhappy … I looked up to heaven. I remember I asked God to help me be the man he created me to be, but I couldn't do it without his help."

He said he immediately asked everyone to leave his house. Borba packed a bag, checked into a hotel, fell to his knees, and began crying. "This is not the man God created me to be. This is not the man my mother and father raised."

He described what followed as a deeply spiritual experience. "And that's when this beautiful golden portal opened up, and our Lord was walking in, and I just knew intuitively that it was him."

Borba said that was the moment he knew he would become a priest.

He Gave Away His Fortune

What happened next surprised even more people than his career change. According to the Times of India, Borba chose to donate his entire $3 billion fortune, including cash, luxury cars, and a California beach house, to charity.

He also said he funded churches and charitable organizations before entering seminary. Reflecting on that decision in the Instagram interview, Borba explained, "Once you have the grace to give away big chunks of your estate, you feel this sense of freedom to help others, especially the poor, and he gave me the grace just to give it all."

"My life has been culled down to the bare minimum. I'm a completely different person."

His Life Looks Completely Different Today

The contrast between Borba's former life and his current one is striking. As People reported, Borba said:

"I live in a little tiny room … it's sparse, nothing in it. I have a few bits of clothes and a few pairs of shoes. And my life has been culled down to the bare minimum."

His family, fractured after his father's death, reunited for the first time at his ordination. "I felt so proud," his mother, Evelyn Borba, said.

An Uncommon Calling

Borba's path is unusual within the Catholic Church. According to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the average age of newly ordained Catholic priests in the U.S. is 33. At the same time, Zach Flanagin, Ph.D., a professor of theology and religious studies at Saint Mary's College of California, said only about 3% of seminarians are over 50, as reported by ABC7.

The outlet also reported that Borba was ordained in Visalia after completing seminary — a milestone later confirmed by TODAY, which noted that his ordination came almost exactly one year after e.l.f. Beauty's headline-making Rhode acquisition.

For Borba, however, the biggest transformation wasn't professional. "I want to be there for people that are suffering because I understand suffering," he said.

His message to others searching for meaning was equally simple, "If you're searching out for love and peace in your life and families and businesses out in the world, come to him. Go in peace and bring glory to your lives."