Dolly took her sizable profit and used it open a company called “The Dollywood Company”. She invested much of her income in that company. She began to grow considerable assets including a theme park, a dinner theater restaurant, Dolly Parton’s Stampede, the Dollywood’s Splash Country waterpark, and the Dream More Resort and Spa.
Dolly Parton’s theme park is the world’s 24th most popular theme park in the United States and averages more than three million annual visitors. It’s quite clear that Parton has done a great job securing her assets and creating generational wealth for her children and their children too. As of 2019, the popular singer, actress, and businesswoman is worth around $500 million.
Dolly and Whitney's Relationship
Almost everyone will admit that Whitney Houston’s version of “I Will Always Love You” was not only much more successful but also better received than Dolly’s original rendition. This led tabloids and other gossip channels to create rumors that Dolly was jealous of Houston, and harbored ill feelings towards her. This wasn’t only inaccurate, it was actually the opposite of the truth.
Both Parton and Houston admired and loved each other. In 1993, Houston told Rolling Stone that she had personally thanked Parton at one point. Houston said that Paron thanked her and was honored that she covered her song.
She’s Extremely Talented Financially
Dolly treats money differently than most people. Her rough background and inspirational parents led her to adopt a very financially responsible position and she has benefited greatly from it. From the minute she started making money she invested it wisely and saved it for a rainy day.
Dolly Parton’s business mentality and unwillingness to let luck control her destiny led to an accumulated net worth of over half a billion dollars. She still makes great money and works hard to earn it despite having more than she could ever do anything with. The singer earned a reported $37 million between 2016 and 2017 mostly from touring and her theme park.
Dolly Stays Away From Amusement Parks
You’d think that someone who owns one of the world’s most successful theme parks would be a huge fan of the attraction, but not Dolly. With Dolly, things are never quite so simple. The singer claims that she stays as far away from them as possible. And it has nothing to do with her being too successful to wait a few minutes in line.
The actual reason is that she tends to get motion sickness quite easily. Her daddy used to say, that she could never be a sailor, a miner, or a pilot. Dolly says she used to get sick on the school bus and despite that she somehow managed to create an incredible theme park of her own. Go figure…
She Lost a Dolly Parton Contest to a Look-Alike
Dolly Parton has such a unique and easily identifiable look that it would be almost impossible to miss her on the street. Her face was always highly recognizable and her puffy hair and distinct figure help a lot too. A few decades ago, the singer heard that a Dolly Parton Look-Alike contest was being held on Santa Monica Boulevard.
The participants were all dressed in exaggerated blonde wigs, a lot of makeup, and her signature fashion style. Parton decided to go visit the event and try to compete in her own competition. According to her, she walked on stage and tried to see if people would recognize her. Not only did nobody notice it was Dolly, but she actually lost the competition by a wide margin!