Dolly Parton is country music’s wealthiest woman. A new ranking of the most successful female entrepreneurs, executives and entertainers finds Parton in the Top 100.
She’s not a billionaire — there’s just one of those who made her living in song or on stage — but she is country music’s wealthiest woman, however, and it’s not even close. No other country ladies make the Top 100.
What Is Dolly Parton’s Net Worth?
Forbes’ new list of America’s Richest Self-Made Women finds Parton at No. 59. She’s tied with Reese Witherspoon, both of whom have a net worth of $440 million. The two women are on very different trajectories, however.
Parton’s net worth jumped from $375 million between 2022 and 2023.
Witherspoon’s net worth remained flat ($420 million to $430 million) in the last year. Her big jump came between 2020 ($200 million) and 2022, when she sold her Hello Sunshine Production company.
→ Swipe to see more articles
Celine Dion ($480 million), Beyonce ($540M), Madonna ($580M), Taylor Swift ($740M) and Rihanna ($1.4 billion) are the only musicians ahead of Parton on the Forbes list.
How Did Dolly Parton Make Her Money?
A deeper look into Parton’s net worth shows that more than one-third ($150 million) of her wealth is in her song catalog. The bulk of the rest is from her 50 percent stake in Dollywood, which Forbes reported was worth $165 million in 2021. Additionally, she is co-owner of nearby Splash Country and DreamMore Resort and Spa, worth about $20 million and $15 million to her, respectively.
While the 77-year-old is closing in on a half-billion dollars, she’ll need to multiply that by a factor of 30 to catch the No. 1 woman on this list. ABC Supply chair Diane Hendricks is worth $15 billion, Forbes says. There’s far more money in roofing than country music, it would seem.
