Welcome to Inashrestha's Blog; Different way to blog :D

Welcome to Inashrestha's Blog; Different way to blog :D

Saturday, November 20, 2010

From Poverty to Power: Celebrities Who Started With Nothing


by Michael Deane


This is kinda old news, but you may like it. When thinking of the "new breed" of celebrity - from the Kardashians to Paris Hilton to the stars of "The Hills" - fame seems to depend on the fact that they're already fabulously wealthy. Well, despite these new trends, some of the most famous and wealthy people did not come from rich families - many of them were born into poverty. Read on to learn some of their stories and what it took from having nothing to multi-million-dollar empires.


The Phenomenon - Oprah Winfrey

Surely the most well-known rags-to-riches story of our era is the story of Oprah Winfrey. Having been born into abject poverty in rural Mississippi, Winfrey went from being a young girl clothed in potato sacks (literally) to the richest and most powerful female media mogul in the world. Winfrey was able to accomplish this by moving from a disruptive and abusive household in with her stricter father.

Once Winfrey was subject to discipline and was supported at school, she became an honors student and got her big break when she became a newscaster in Nashville after finishing college. Winfrey has come a long way from her poor upbringings, and is worth $2.9 billion as of 2009, according to Forbes.


A Magical Story - J.K. Rowling

Similar to Winfrey's story, J.K. Rowling went from being on the dole to starting a $15 billion industry. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter books series, was estimated to be worth $843.92 million U.S. dollars as of 2008. She began writing the series while she was on welfare and by incorporating some of the darker elements of her own life - the loss of her mother and battle with depression - into the novels, Rowling's books became a success after an initial press of 1,000 sold out, giving way to Potter mania.

Signing the Stars - David Geffen

David Geffen is a name that many of you will have heard, but few will understand the significance. Geffen is responsible for signing Crosby, Stills and Nash, Bob Dylan and Nirvana, starting Geffen Records and was a founding member of Dreamworks studio.

Geffen grew up poor in Brooklyn, living in a one-bedroom apartment with his family and sleeping on the couch. Geffen did poorly in high school and flunked out of college, but his natural gift in spotting and developing musical talent — along with business sense that he learned from his mother - made him a millionaire by the time he was 26.

At 67, renowned art collector and philanthropist Geffen is worth an estimated $4.6 billion - making him one of the richest behind-the-scenes players in showbiz.

Making It With Music - Jay-Z

Another music mogul that made his way from the bottom to the top is Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter. Carter is as much a businessman as he is a performer, but began his life in the Brooklyn's Marcy Housing Projects. Carter was raised by his mother, and was involved in crime when growing up - at 12 he shot his brother in the arm for stealing his jewelry.

Carter began as a rapper and went on to become involved in everything from nightclubs and clothing to being a part owner of the New Jersey Nets. As of 2009, Carter was worth over $150 million according to Forbes, and seems to be broadening his reach in the business world.

Her Cash Will Go On - Celine Dion

Though she's kind of faded from the spotlight since her late '90s ubiquity - Celine Dion is still ranked as one of the highest-grossing female entertainers and in 2007 was listed by Forbes as the fifth richest female entertainer, coming in at $250 million. She also was ranked as the top-earning singer of the decade by U.K.'s The Sun. Not bad for the 14th (!) of 14 children growing up in a poor household in rural Quebec, where her father made $160 per week to support the family of 16.

Like many of these rag-to-riches stories, it seems Celine's success owed as much to luck as talent - she was discovered singing when she was 12 and continued to create more songs and make more money.

Canadian Songstress - Shania Twain

Another Canadian songstress that grew up with nothing in the rugged wilderness was Shania Twain (born Eileen Regina Edwards). The recently separated Twain grew up in Timmins, Ontario in a household that was too poor to pay for heat, and at times couldn't afford to buy food. By the age of eight, Twain was honing her craft in bars in order to provide an extra $20 for her family.

Twain continued her singing career into high school and was soon on her way to becoming the highest-selling female musician of all time. Her net worth is estimated at around $450 million.

The Bottom Line

From inner-city housing projects to rural homesteads without heat, many of the most famous and wealthy celebrities had very humble beginnings. What brought all of these stars from rags to riches was focusing in on their natural talents, dedicating themselves to its development and not stopping until they had a hefty bank account. It just goes to show that you don't have to be born rich to become rich.

Source: Yahoonews

2 comments:

  1. So many people have gone from rags to rich. I have heard about shania twain. I did not know that celine dion was also grew up on proverty.

    euta farak prasanga: चौथो अन्तराष्ट्रिय नेपाली ब्लगर भेला माघ २२,२०६७-१० बजे शनिबार बिहान(Feb 5,10AM NST) हुंदैछ भेलाको समय दौंतरी ब्लगमा पाल्नूहोला.

    ReplyDelete
  2. WHAT A GREAT MIRACLE THAT I HAVE EVER SEE IN MY LIFE. My names are Clara David I’m a citizen of USA, My younger sister was sicking of
    breast cancer and her name is Sandra David I and my family have taking her
    to all kind of hospital in USA still yet no good result. I decided to go to
    the internet and search for cancer cure so that was how I find a lady
    called peter Lizzy she was testifies to the world about the goodness of a
    herbal man who has the roots and herbs to cure all kind of disease and the
    herbal man email was there. So I decided to contact the herbal man @herbalist_sakura for my younger sister help to cure her breast cancer. I contacted him and told him
    my problem he told me that I should not worry that my sister cancer will be
    cure, he told me that there is a medicine that he is going to give me that
    I will cook it and give it to my sister to drink for one week, so I ask how
    can I receive the cure that I am in USA, he told me
    That I will pay for the delivery service. The courier service can
    transport it to me so he told me the amount I will pay, so my dad paid for
    the delivery fee. two days later I receive the cure from the courier
    service so I used it as the herbal man instructed me to, before the week
    complete my sister cancer was healed and it was like a dream to me not
    knowing that it was physical I and my family were very happy about the
    miracle of Doctor so my dad wanted to pay him 5 million us dollars the
    herbal man did not accept the offer from my dad, but I don't know why he
    didn't accept the offer, he only say that I should tell the world about him
    and his miracle he perform so am now here to tell the world about him if
    you or your relative is having any kind of disease that you can't get from
    the hospital please contact dr.sakuraspellalter@gmail.com or whats app him
    +2348110114739  you can follow him up on Instagram @herbalist_sakura for the cure, he will help you out with the
    problem. And if you need more information about the doctor you can mail me
    davidclara223@gmail.com 

    ReplyDelete