Dolly Parton has been firmly in the spotlight for over five decades. Her long and lucrative career has earned her a staggering fortune, making her one of America's richest self-made women. But the Queen of Nashville isn't solely reliant on her music to make money.
Read on to take a look inside Parton's sprawling entertainment empire and discover how much she's really worth today, and why her fortune could have been much larger.
All dollar amounts in US dollars unless otherwise stated.
With over 100 million records sold worldwide, Parton has made a phenomenal fortune from her music. However, one business-savvy decision early in her career set her up for the staggering success she enjoys today.
In 1966, one year before the release of her debut album Hello, I'm Dolly, Parton and her uncle, the late songwriter Bill Owens (pictured), founded the Owe-Par Publishing Company. With only a few exceptions, Parton owns all her music publishing rights via Owe-Par.
Parton estimates she has written around 3,000 songs, including country music chart-toppers such as Jolene, 9 to 5, and I Will Always Love You. According to Forbes, Parton's music catalogue is worth around $150 million (£119m), with the singer-songwriter raking in between $6 million (£4.8m) and $8 million (£6.4m) each year from royalties.
In fact, the shrewd songstress was so determined to hold onto her music catalogue that when Elvis Presley asked to cover I Will Always Love You in the 1970s, she refused. Why? Because Presley's manager wanted her to sign over half of the publishing rights to the track, something Parton refused point-blank to do.
It proved to be a wise move. When Whitney Houston covered the track almost two decades later, Parton retained the publishing rights and made a fortune. She told Country Music Television in 2006 that when Houston's version was released, she "made enough money to buy Graceland." (Graceland is Presley's former home in Memphis, which around 650,000 Elvis fans still flock to each year).
Instead of buying the iconic residence, Parton poured some of the proceeds from the hit into a Black community in Nashville.
The country crooner ventured into the theme park industry in 1986, partnering with Herschend Family Entertainment to convert its Silver Dollar City amusement park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, into Dollywood.
Featuring Southern-themed restaurants, a theatre that can host over 1,700 people, and the Smoky Mountain River Rampage raft ride, Parton's star power drew 1.3 million visitors to the park in its debut season alone. This marked an impressive 75% increase over Silver Dollar City's season the previous year.
Today, Dollywood is Tennessee's most popular tourist attraction, drawing in around three million visitors each year. According to Forbes, the bulk of Parton's massive fortune comes from her stake in the park.
Dollywood has expanded since opening its doors in 1986. Around $110 million (£87m) has been spent on new additions over the years, including investments in the nearby Splash Country Water Park and DreamMore Resort & Spa. Parton is a co-owner of both, with her respective stakes in the businesses estimated to be worth a cool $20 million (£15.8m) and $15 million (£11.9m) respectively.
And that's not all. Last year the park opened a new hotel, Dollywood’s HeartSong Lodge and Resort. The glitzy new expansion is the first stage of a $500 million (£396m) 10-year investment plan for the park.
The multi-talented Parton is a star of the screen as well as the stage. Her first film role dates back to 1980 when she co-starred in the comedy 9 to 5 (pictured) with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. Since then, she's racked up an impressive filmography spanning TV and cinema.
This includes the 1984 musical-comedy movie Rhinestone, which she featured in with Sylvester Stallone, and the 2015 made-for-TV flick Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors, based on Parton's early life. She's even lent her star power to Disney's Hannah Montana, appearing in episodes as "Aunt Dolly" alongside her famous goddaughter, Miley Cyrus.
In 2018, Parton signed a major deal with Netflix to produce and star in original content for the streaming platform. This includes the 2019 Emmy-nominated anthology series Dolly Parton's Heartstrings and the 2020 Emmy-winning movie Dolly Parton's Christmas on the Square.
It's unknown how much the country starlet received from Netflix, but it's safe to assume it was a sizeable sum. While appearing on the talk show Mr. Nashville Talks in February 2022, she noted that the best things about collaborating with the streaming giant were that they "pay good" and give her creative control over her projects.
Parton also rakes in a fortune from her product lines. In 2019, she inked a multi-year partnership with licensing business IMG to expand her brand into consumer products. Releases include a bakeware collaboration with Duncan Hines (pictured) and a festive-themed collection for cookware brand Williams Sonoma.
The music icon plans to expand her lifestyle brand to include everything from clothes to homeware. Announcing her partnership with IMG in May 2019, Parton tweeted: "I am excited to be working with IMG on a global scale to give my fans products that they will cherish for years to come. You might even see my mug on a mug!"
Parton's debut fragrance, Scent From Above, was launched in summer 2021 and became the fastest-selling perfume in a decade on the shopping site HSN.
If that's not enough to demonstrate Parton's unstoppable selling power, Scent From Above also achieved the highest-ever single-day sales that HSN had ever seen.
The multi-talented musician teamed up with acclaimed fiction writer James Patterson to co-author the thriller novel Run, Rose, Run. A heart-tugging tale about a young country singer trying to pursue her dreams while harbouring a dark secret, the book instantly became a number one bestseller upon its March 2022 release.
In the same month, Parton released a companion album to the book, also titled Run, Rose, Run. Unsurprisingly, that was also a hit, peaking at number 4 on the US Top Country Albums chart and taking top spot on the UK Country Albums chart.
Production company Hello Sunshine, founded by Hollywood star Reese Witherspoon, is set to transform Run, Rose, Run into a major movie. Parton and Patterson will serve as producers on the film alongside Witherspoon, and Parton is also tipped to have a starring role.
Parton said at the time: "I’m proud, excited, and honoured to be working with my good friend Reese Witherspoon and Hello Sunshine on the movie of Run, Rose, Run, from the novel I co-wrote with James Patterson. James and I love Reese and look forward to working with her and her wonderful team."
Dolly released her latest book, Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones, in October 2023. Her new tome offers fans an inside glimpse into her iconic sense of style.
The book features stories from Dolly's life and career, along with photographs that reveal her private costume archive, which naturally includes skyscraper heels, glamorous wigs, and bejewelled stage costumes.
“I am happy, proud, and excited to present my book Behind the Seams to the public," Dolly shared in a statement about her new release. "It is my hope that you will enjoy a look at my life in costume and hair and get to know some of the great people who have helped shape my life and my look. Enjoy!”
Parton was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in November 2022 (pictured). She began her acceptance speech by joking, "I’m a rock star now", before going on to say she felt "honoured" and "so proud."
The humble star shocked fans by initially declining the honour back in March, explaining: "Even though I am extremely flattered and grateful to be nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, I don’t feel that I have earned that right."
The music icon eventually had a change of heart in April, sharing that she was "grateful" to fans for voting.
In November 2023, Parton took her music in a whole new direction with the release of her 49th studio album. Aptly titled Rockstar, the record marks Parton's debut in the rock genre.
The exciting new release features nine original tracks and 21 covers of rock 'n' roll classics. The album also includes collaborations with an array of artists, spanning legends such as Steven Tyler and Debbie Harry to modern-day music stars Miley Cyrus and Lizzo.
The album achieved Parton's highest-ever chart position on the Billboard 200, rocketing to the number three spot.
Shortly after releasing her new rock album, Parton performed at the halftime NFL show for the Dallas Cowboys versus the Washington Commanders on Thanksgiving Day. The fashionable songstress graced the stage in a sparkling Dallas Cowboys cheerleader costume (pictured), sending her fans wild.
Parton performed two of her most iconic songs, Jolene and 9 to 5, before ending her set with Queen mash-up We Are the Champions/We Will Rock You, which is featured on her new Rockstar album.
Given her long and prolific entertainment career and astute business decisions, it's little wonder that, according to Forbes, Parton is estimated to have a fortune of $440 million (£350m). However, some wealth experts believe the national treasure could have reached billionaire status if it wasn't for one significant factor...
A famed philanthropist, Dolly Parton has funded everything from children’s literacy programmes to environmental conservation. Her Imagination Library organisation gives free books to children worldwide from birth until the age of five. It's funded by Parton and community partners in America, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Ireland. To date, Imagination Library has donated an incredible 200 million books worldwide.
Her Dollywood Foundation also tackles a number of issues, including the high drop-out rates in schools in her hometown of Sevierville, Tennessee. The organisation's "Buddy Program" gives $500 (£395) to every student who completes high school. A huge success, it lowered the drop-out rate from 35% to 6%.
In 2020, Parton donated $1 million (£795k) to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center to aid its research into COVID-19. It was later revealed that her generous gift helped to fund the life-saving Moderna vaccine.
She also gave an additional $1 million (£795k) to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center to fund paediatric infectious disease research. Dolly said: "I love children. No child should ever have to suffer, and I'm willing to do my part to try and keep as many of them as I can as healthy and safe as possible."
The star had previously donated the same amount to Vanderbilt's Monroe Carell Jr Children’s Hospital in 2017 in honour of her niece, who was treated for leukemia there.
Dolly's kindness was recently recognised by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who bestowed the famed philanthropist with the Bezos Courage and Civility Award in November 2022. The prize is an eye-watering $100 million (£79m), which Parton can donate to charities of her choice over the next decade.
Bezos and his partner Lauren Sanchez began giving out the generous award in 2021, with World Central Kitchen non-profit founder Jose Andrés and Dream.org founder Van Jones among the previous recipients. Parton was chosen, according to Sanchez, because she is a "woman who gives with her heart."
"I try to put my money where my heart is. I will do my best to do good with this money," Parton posted to Twitter (now X) upon receiving the honour.
Also in 2022, Parton was honoured with the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy for her tireless efforts to make the world a better place.
Explaining why Parton was chosen as an honoree, the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy's selection committee said: "With her philanthropy and her artistry, she has empowered and lifted up the citizens of her Tennessee home county as well as millions more around the world." Parton is the first-ever female entertainer to be given the award.
Now that we've uncovered how Dolly Parton has amassed her enormous fortune and given much of it away, let's take a look at how the country queen likes to splash her cash...
Dolly Parton lives in a rather humble abode for someone who has $440 million (£350m) in the bank. The Southern belle and her husband, Carl Dean, bought their 3,324-square-foot (300-square-metre) mansion in Brentwood, Tennessee, for just $400,000 (£305k) back in 1999.
While perhaps modest in terms of other celebrity homes, Parton’s house still boasts a tennis court, a swimming pool, multiple gazebos, and even an on-site chapel. In 2018, Parton posted a clip on Instagram of herself and long-time friend Reese Witherspoon having a conversation in her kitchen (pictured), offering fans a rare glimpse into her home.
Parton also once owned a house in Hollywood, California. Presumably used as a base while working on her various projects in Tinseltown, she snapped up the homely-looking 1,091 square-foot (101-square-metre) property, pictured, for $1.2 million (£916k) in 2007.
She later broke even on the country-chic property, selling it in 2014 for $1.4 million (£1m).
If there's one thing Parton likes to splurge on, it's her glitzy appearance – particularly her show-stopping hair. She once famously observed: "I don’t know how many wigs I have. I wear one every day, so I must have at least 365".
Her hairstylist, Cheryl Riddle, creates each hairpiece by hand; custom wigs made with human hair typically cost around $5,000 (£3.9k) a pop.
As well as wigs, Parton spares no expense when it comes to her clothes. According to reports, most of her rhinestone-adorned garments are custom-made just for her.
Parton, who once denied being a "material girl", isn't blind to the outrageous amounts of money she spends on outfits and, unlike some stars, will happily re-wear an outfit. "I’ve got clothes that I’ve worn for years," she once said. "I always think of my daddy or my mama... They could have fed a family of 12 on what I would pay for a coat."
Born on the banks of the Little Pigeon River, Tennessee, Dolly Parton is the fourth of twelve children born to tobacco farmer Robert Lee Parton and homemaker Avie Lee Parton. She once described her family as "dirt poor", and their financial struggles are major themes in her hit songs, including Coat of Many Colors.
Despite her rags-to-riches journey, the Southern sweetheart has never forgotten her humble roots. It's been reported that Parton shares her huge fortune with her large extended family, paying for expenses such as tuition fees and medical costs. Parton is pictured here with her mother and 11 siblings.
Upon "making it", generous Dolly also ensured that her late parents, Robert and Avie (pictured), were well looked after.
She once said: "Money is like the tide: it rolls in and it rolls out. If you clutch it, you are not going to keep it. With the first money I ever made, I bought my mommy and daddy a car and helped them fix their house. It seems like the more I give, the more I get, and that is the way it is supposed to go in life".
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