Rags to Riches Stories of Famous Celebrities

The millionaires and billionaires who have made their mark on the worlds of Silicon Valley, Hollywood, and beyond weren't always enjoying the high life. After starting as homeless teens in Los Angeles, these stars and entrepreneurs became household names.

1. Halle Berry

Halle Berry was in a homeless shelter for years before being nominated for an Oscar. The aspirant actress searched for less expensive living options to get into Hollywood. She claims that her early troubles as an actor made her more robust, as she explains.

Berry told People, "It taught me how to take care of myself and that I could survive through any scenario, even if it meant going to a shelter for a little stint." According to several sources, Halle Berry's net worth has been between $70 and $80 million.

2. Sarah Jessica Parker

"Sex and the City" star Sarah Jessica Parker grew up in Nelsonville, Illinois, before landing the iconic role of New York writer Carrie Beckett on HBO's "Sex and indeed the City."

Finances Online reports that SJP went through a period in her life where her family didn't celebrate birthdays, holidays, or other family events. ' In her childhood, Parker, one of nine children, recalls when the family struggled to pay the power and phone bills.

Sarah Jessica Parker made her Broadway debut at the tender age of 11 and relocated to Hollywood in 1981 to star in the TV sitcom "Square Pegs," where she remained until 1992. She's also appeared in several films.

3. Dolly Parton

A 12-child family gave birth to Dolly Parton, who became the fourth kid. She grew up in a big family with her parents, Robert Lee and Avie Lee Owens, who worked two jobs to support their family. After dropping out of school at an early age, Lee became a tobacco farmer and a construction laborer, and he never learned to read or write.

Parton's mother was a homemaker and preacher's daughter who dedicated her entire life to raising her children and preparing them for adulthood. Even though she was raised in a low-income family, Dolly Parton was surrounded by musicians who inspired her to pursue her dreams. Her uncle Bill Owens landed her first TV appearance at ten on "The Cas Walker Show" in Knoxville, Tennessee, before she was even out of high school.

Parton has a six-decade career in show business, multiple No. 1 songs, and nine Grammy trophies. According to Forbes, she has a net worth of $37 million as of 2017. However, the singer is known for her generosity. Conceived and funded a possible COVID-19 vaccine, Parton just gave $1 million to the effort.

4. Ed Sheeran

Even though Ed Sheeran is now a household name, he was once a struggling musician in London's thriving music industry. The singer would often be seen dozing in London subway stations or atop heating vents. "I slept a few nights in an arch outside Buckingham Palace with a heating duct. "It's not a homeless night for me, but I'm simply home less than I'd want to be," are the lyrics of the song "Homeless."

This is what Sheeran had to say in his book, "A Visual Journey". Her tale impacted Ed Sheeran that he wrote a song about her, "The A-Team," in her honor. One of Ed Sheeran's first big hits, this song helped launch his career. Sheeran is now a multi-millionaire because of his ability to sell out arenas worldwide.

5. Leonardo DiCaprio

Leonardo DiCaprio was once an impoverished boy growing up on the fringes of Los Angeles before he became one of Hollywood's greatest celebrities with hits like "Titanic," "The Revenant," and "The Wolf of Wall Street." The actor says that his early exposure to drug usage and violence enables him to represent the darkest aspects of human nature in his films.

DiCaprio defended his involvement in "The Wolf of Wall Street" following criticism that the film glorified drug use, prostitution, and other "immoral" behaviors. In an interview with The Times, he stated the following: "Who am I to opine on such a matter? Everything stems from that area. It has something to do with the fact that I was raised in poverty and have had the opportunity to observe the other side of the coin." It's believed that DiCaprio has a net worth of around 260 million dollars.

6. Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger didn't have running water or a phone while growing up; he only had electricity when he was in "The Terminator." He claimed that the actor grew up in a post-WWII Austrian village when food shortages and riots were commonplace. Arnold Schwarzenegger is now one of the world's wealthiest action movie actors, with a reputed net worth of $400 million.

7. Celine Dion

Celine Dion was born the youngest of 14 children in Canada. Dion and her siblings had to endure many hardships because of their parent's efforts to provide for them. Dion told CBS News that "we were three, four on the same bed." "I didn't have a place to sleep. Before entering the bedrooms, there was a little ramp on the second floor.

And so was my bed." A few years later, Dion became aware of her musical prowess and began appearing in local venues. My Heart Will Go On and It's All Coming Back To Me Now were two of her most popular songs. In time, the star's wealth grew as her renown increased. In October 2020, Dion will be worth $455 million, according to the latest estimates.

8. J.K. Rowling

When she had the inspiration for "Harry Potter" in a dream, J.K. Rowling was a single mother struggling to make ends meet. Before becoming one of the most successful female authors in recent history and one of the most cherished British authors, Rowling had to overcome melancholy and other challenges. Author J.K. Rowling has an estimated net worth of $60 million, thanks mainly to the enormous success of her "Harry Potter" book series and its film adaptations.

9. Roman Abramovich

Multi-billionaire Roman Abramovich owns shares in Evraz, Norilsk Nickel, and the Chelsea soccer franchise in the United Kingdom. He is also the proud owner of the world's third-largest yacht, which he purchased in 2010 for $400 million.

However, he was an orphan in Moscow before becoming a billionaire on Forbes' Billionaires List. Abramovich quit college to become an entrepreneur because he was always driven to succeed. He profited greatly from a series of investments in firms like Sibneft, Russian Aluminum, and Evraz Group.

10. Kenny Troutt

Kenny Troutt worked as an insurance agent while attending Southern Illinois University to help pay for his education. Troutt, the son of a bartender, was raised in a disadvantaged household. However, he created Excel Communications, a long-distance phone firm, after graduating from college. He went public with his firm in 1996, twelve years after he created it.

Teleglobe purchased Excel Communications from Kenny Troutt in 1998 for $3.5 billion. His strategy was reinvesting in equities, bonds, and racehorses with the gains he generated from the deal. In Versailles, Kentucky, he presently owns WinStar Farm, the breeding ground of a Kentucky Derby victor. At this point, Troutt's net worth is estimated to be around $1.5 billion.

11. Oprah Winfrey

Despite Oprah Winfrey being born in an impoverished Mississippi home in 1954. At the age of 13, she ran away from home after a difficult childhood in which she was assaulted and molested by two members of her family and a family acquaintance.

She had her first kid at 14, but the baby died soon after. To ensure that Winfrey would be able to attend Tennessee State University, she received a scholarship. Having competed in a local beauty contest, she became the state's first African-American television journalist at 19.

After moving to Chicago, where she started her morning program, the renowned talk show presenter became a household name. From 1986 to 2011, the series ran for 25 seasons. After leaving her talk show, Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) is her first venture. She is the first black female billionaire and one of the wealthiest black women globally, with $2.6 billion.

12. John Paul DeJoria

John Paul DeJoria began his career as a first-generation American struggling to make ends meet. To support his family, when his German and Italian parents split when he was two, he began selling Christmas cards and newspapers. Because everyone was going through the same situation, we had no idea how bad things were becoming, "he said in an interview with Forbes.

When my mother arrived home from work on a Friday, she told my brother and me, "You know, between us, we have just 27 cents," but we had food in the fridge, a garden in the backyard, and we were happy, so we were rich. A Redken manufacturing job piqued his interest in the shampoo market.

To fund the creation of his firm, John Paul Mitchell Systems, he borrowed $700 from the business. DeJoria slept in his car while going door-to-door to promote his merchandise hoping that his product would catch consumers' attention. The net worth of John Paul DeJoria is $2.7 billion.

13. Howard Schultz

Schultz's father was a truck driver who made just enough money to put food on the table for his family. Despite being born into an impoverished home, and a great athlete, he was accepted into the University of Northern Michigan's football program. Schultz worked at Xerox after graduating from college with a degree in communications.

Then, one day, he stumbled onto a bit of coffee business named Starbucks, which he eventually joined as an executive. Suddenly, everything changed. "[My mother's] eyes welled up with tears. 'A coffee company?' she exclaimed. Surely you've lost your mind. If no one drinks coffee, then what's the point?' In the end, I felt compelled to follow my passions. "Schultz informed the Mirror that he spoke to the newspaper.

After leaving Xerox in 1987, he became the company's CEO because he enjoyed the coffee. After Schultz's support, Starbucks went from a tiny coffee company with 60 stores to a global moneymaker with more than 16,000 locations. The executive chairman and a Starbucks board of directors, Howard Schultz, retired in June. Now he's the chairman emeritus, not the chairman anymore. The current value of Howard Schultz is $4.8 billion.

14. Do Won Chang

Jin Sook and Do Won "Don" Chang moved to Los Angeles from South Korea in 1981, according to Business Insider. They were looking for a fresh start and better prospects for their future. The Changs were poor, had no formal education, and spoke only rudimentary English when they arrived in the United States.

Don supported his family for a few years by working as a janitor, pumping gas, and serving coffee. However, when he made one important discovery, everything changed. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times in 2010, Don said, "I observed the folks who drove the best automobiles were all in the clothing industry."

His apparel store, Fashion 21, was open for business in less than two months. The fast-fashion chain, Forever 21, would be born with this acquisition. The business has filed for bankruptcy despite formerly raking in billions of dollars annually. Their total wealth has fluctuated between $1.6 billion and $3 billion, with the former number being the lowest.

15. Ralph Lauren

although it's uncertain whether he ever achieved it. Ralph Lipschitz (who would later change his surname to Lauren) was a huge movie buff as a young man, and some believe that his designs were influenced by the luminaries of the golden age of Hollywood. He would "actually fall into the dreams of the movies of that era," Michael Gross, author of "Genuine Authentic: The Real Life of Ralph Lauren," said Bloomberg. "He had a remarkable ability to put himself in the shoes of actors like Gary Cooper and Cary Grant. That capacity to go into a fantasy realm, which Ralph introduced to the fashion industry, sets him apart from his contemporaries."