Some celebrities had no choice but to wait tables and wash cars while they worked their way to the top. Others enjoyed the cushy lifestyle, provided by rich and famous parents, before they went out and made their own money. Check out the following list of stars who were born rich.
1. Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Photo: David Shankbone
Best known for her roles as Elaine on the 90s sitcom “Seinfeld” and Christine on the sitcom “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” Julia Louis-Dreyfus is an heiress to Louis-Dreyfus Energy Services. In the 19th century Julia’s great-great-grandfather Leopold started the Louis Dreyfus Group, a high quality commodities and multinational shipping company, which is still controlled by their family. Her father, wealthy financier Gerard Louis-Dreyfus, served as Chairman of the Louis-Dreyfus group of companies, so the actress had it made before she ever lifted a finger. Even though Julia has half-sisters Emma and Phoebe, she is going to inherit a great portion of the family fortune.
Born with the grand name Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus, she really never had to work a day in her life. Her estimated net worth totals to $3 billion. But Julia loves her work and she is considered to be a very successful American actress, producer and comedian. Throughout her career Julia Louis-Dreyfus has received two Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and five Screen Actors Guild Awards.
2. Adam Levine
Photo: Focka
Maroon 5 front-man, Adam Levine, lived a life of privilege from birth. Levine built a profitable brand as a coach on “The Voice,” designer and purveyor of a line of fragrances. But part of his success may be due to his father’s money. His father is founder of the retail clothing chain, M.Fredric. It allowed Adam to attend the costly private Brentwood School with the annual tuition of $30,000.
Adam Levine grew up in Los Angeles and enjoyed all the perks of being rich. His friends say that Adam is an extremely industrious and dedicated man who worked his way to the top by himself. Adam’s net worth is estimated at $50 million with the majority of his income coming from the band. It’s not surprising, as Maroon 5 sold nearly 10 million albums in the United States alone since their debut in 2002. The annual income of the singer is about $6 million!
Adam lives in Hollywood Hills and enjoys driving in his 1971 Mercedes 280 SE 3.5 Cabriolet. Adam’s dressing style, however, is quite unpretentious and plain; he wears simple t-shirts and jeans and doesn’t aim at showing his wealth. Carry on, Adam!
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3. Jordin Sparks
Photo: Kelly Schott
Jordin Sparks catapulted into the spotlight when she won the sixth season of American Idol. With her accompanying record deal and acting gigs, the “No Air” songstress holds her own today, but bottomless expense accounts are nothing new to this celeb. Her father is a former NFL player who made millions during Jordin’s childhood. Phillippi Sparks, a former NFL cornerback, played for the N.Y. Giants and the Dallas Cowboys, and Jordin’s mother was an entrepreneur.
Jordin Sparks is very hardworking and talented person and she never used her father’s fame to get her foot in a door or make her own money. Currently her net worth is estimated at nearly $8 million. Being a teenager, Sparks was singing, modeling and acting in plays, due to which she won critical acclaim and recognition. Jordin was awarded an American Music Award in 2008 and nominated for Grammy in 2009. In everyday life Jordin proves to be a very simple and pleasant girl. Once she said in the interview that her heroes were just everyday people who worked hard and had integrity. This celeb is really amazing!
4. Miley Cyrus
Photo: Rodrigo Balladares Muñoz
Miley Cyrus understands the good life like no other. Her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, made a fortune as a successful country-singer long before he had children. Eventually, he used his money and connections to help the younger Cyrus start her empire as “Hannah Montana” on the Disney Channel.
Miley was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for giving voice to Penny in the animated film BOLT. At the age of 18 she was ranked thirteen on the “Celebrity 100” rankings in the Forbes. Miley is recognized as one of the top selling female pop singers of all time. Her net worth is estimated at nearly $120 million. Miley is an owner of a few luxurious cars and houses. Her list of residences includes a $3.7 million villa in Los Angeles and a mansion on the beach in Florida. One of her recent great purchases is a super luxury Mercedes Benz SL550 car in addition to the Porsche Cayenne that she already has. Obviously, Miley enjoys her luxury lifestyle since she is one of the most successful singers.
5. Lady Gaga
Photo: Jason H. Smith
Lady Gaga sits atop her million-dollar Monster Empire today, but she enjoyed living the high life well before her first hit. Mama Monster grew up in Manhattan’s Upper West Side and attended the best private schools money could buy – all funded by her internet entrepreneur father’s money. Her father, Joseph Germanotta, owns a company that installs wi-fi in hotel chains. Known by her stage name Lady Gaga, Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta possesses an estimated net worth of more than $220 million. And it’s not surprising since she’s a very gifted producer, designer, actress, businesswoman and song-writer.
Success and general recognition accompanied her since her debut album The Flame released in 2008. Lady Gaga has been ranked by Forbes a few times on the list of 100 Richest Celebrities. According to the Forbes, she is one of the most powerful women in the world. Being a world-known pop star, Lady Gaga is also a philanthropist and she often contributes to various charities.
More: 9 Celebs Who Are Famous Because of Their Parents
6. Angelina Jolie
Photo: www.popsugar.com
Jolie’s mother Marcheline Bertrand and father Jon Voight were rich actors before she came into the world. Although she has a tumultuous relationship with her father, Jolie grew up in a life of extreme privilege. Today, she lives out her family’s acting legacy and has a personal net worth of $140 million to show for it.
Angelina Jolie is one of the most prominent figures in the cinema industry. She is also one of the most self-sacrificing and passionate human rights activists of these days. Her philanthropic activity began in the early 2000’s after her filming in Cambodia. Using her incredible popularity and influence, Jolie tries to draw attention to the problems of today’s life and she spent years striving to help people in distress. Angelina Jolie and her husband Brad Pitt donate millions of dollars to support charitable institutions.
7. Anderson Cooper
Photo: Tulane Public Relations
CNN News anchor, Anderson Cooper, has an estimated net worth of $100 million all for his work as a news correspondent and investigative journalist. But Cooper grew up in a life of comfort provided by his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, heiress of the million-dollar Vanderbilt Empire. Her net worth is estimated at nearly $200 million according to Celebrity Net Worth. Vanderbilt money goes way back to Cooper’s great-great-grandfather, Cornelius Vanderbilt, who made a fortune as founder of shipping and railroad companies.
Cooper’s career began at the age of 3 when he appeared with his mother on The Tonight Show. Ha worked as a model for Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, and Macy’s but doleful events (his father’s death and his brother’s suicide) provoked his interest in journalism. Being extremely hard-working and talented, Anderson managed to succeed and now his annual salary is about $11 million. His mother, however, made it clear for him that he wouldn’t receive her fortune and that there’s no trust fund. This way she intends to motivate her son to make his own way. Cooper has no idea what his mom is going to do with her fortune but considering his own net worth he shouldn’t even bother.
8. Lana Del Rey
Photo: Jaguar MENA
Lana Del Rey’s father is a successful businessman and domain investor who founded Web Media Properties. The million-dollar company funded Del Rey’s $40,000 per year private education. Today, the singer claims she’s a self-made success. She used her creativity, not her father’s money, to get to the top. She started her career singing at the coffee houses and on the underground music scene.
At the age of 20 she signed her first contract, which was a failure though. Her first album, titled as Lana Del Ray a.k.a. Lizzy Grant, was released in 2010 with an ultimate single “Video Games”, which instantly became a world-wide sensation with 20 million YouTube hits. Her second album, Born to Die, was released in January 2012. It was recognized as one of the bestselling albums of 2012 with nearly 3 million copies sold and four top ten hits.
Her estimated net worth is nearly 245 million, with the bulk of income coming from her restaurants, property holdings, investments, endorsement deals and, of course, her music. Lana Del Rey understands money like no other, but she prefers to work her way to the top on her own.
9. Psy
Photo: Bahia Notícias
You might remember Psy for his hit song “Gangnam Style.” His YouTube video alone garnered over two billion views. All in all, the hit brought him more than $8 million! Few people know that the performer hails from the exclusive Gangnam District in Seoul, South Korea. His father is the executive chairman of DI Corporation, and his mother owns a popular restaurant, so Psy grew up enjoying the finer things in life.
His singing career started in 2001 with the releasing of the first album “PSY… From the Psycho World”. In total, he released 6 albums, which added a lot to the total amount of his net worth. Due to his world-known single “Gangnam Style” Psy travelled all over the world and made numerous guest appearances in a lot of TV shows, such as “The Ellen Degeneres Show” and “The Today Show”. He was invited to perform in front of a live audience of more than 1 million people in the New Year’s Eve Celebration at the Times Square, NYC. Nowadays his general net worth is estimated at nearly $25 million.
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10. Jennifer Aniston
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Jennifer Aniston knows Hollywood inside-out. Her show business parents, John Aniston and Nancy Dow, had successful careers and gave their daughter the best life had to offer. The “Friends” actress attended prestigious schools in New York City and Los Angeles including the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. Despite having well-to-do parents, Aniston was always self-sufficient and independent person and she made her own way to the top. In 1989 she moved to Los Angeles to become an actress.
In 2007, Forbes ranked Jennifer in the No. 10 spot on its The 20 Richest Women of Entertainment list, with the total net worth of more than $150 million. Jennifer Aniston was awarded an Emmy in 2002 and a Golden Globe in 2003. Thanks to the role of Rachel Green in the long-running sitcom Friends, she became the highest-paid TV actress of all times.
Although I do agree that these ten celebrities are smart and talented, I highly appreciate those stars who became rich and famous without their rich parents. It’s much harder to start from the bottom and work your way up. But that’s my point of view. What do you think about celebrities who were born rich?