From Rich To Richer: Stars Who Grew Up Wealthy

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Lars Ulrich—Then

THEN: Before Lars Ulrich became a hairband mainstay, he was just a typical Danish kid from an upper-middle-class family. Rather than a pair of sticks, the future drummer spent his youth swinging a tennis racket, just like his professional tennis player father.

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Lars Ulrich—Now

NOW: Lars is still busy touring with Metallica, and he hopes the group will release a new money-making album—even if it won’t happen in the near future. “It would surprise me if the next full-length Metallica record would come out before 2015,” he says. “It takes us awhile to make records, and we’re also so busy with so many other things. But we’ll get around to it eventually.”

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Angelina Jolie—Then

THEN: It’s hard to believe Angelina Jolie wasn’t always famous, though since the day she was born she’s been very rich. Her father is actor Jon Voight and her mother, who passed away from ovarian cancer in 2007, was the actress Marcheline Bertrand.

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Angelina Jolie—Now

NOW: Angelina has propelled her career and fortunes forward through a series of interesting films choices. She delivered a breakout performance as a troubled model in the 1998 film Gia and followed it up by earning a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award the next year for Girl, Interrupted. Since then she’s played everyone from adventurer Lara Croft to Mariane Peark, the wife of murdered journalist Daniel Pearl. Her bank account certainly wasn’t hurt when she infamously landed Brad Pitt, one of the hottest and wealthiest actors in Hollywood.

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Chastity Bono—Then

THEN: Chaz Bono grew up as Destiny, Cher and Sonny Bono’s daughter, who seemed to have it all just by being born to the right parents. Despite her seemingly good fortune, Destiny struggled with a secret. “To say that being in the public eye is a double edged sword is a cliché, but it happens to be the truth,' wrote Chaz. “At times it's very difficult, like when I began to realize that I was transgender. I thought, ‘How am I going to transition with the whole world watching?’”

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Chaz Bono—Now

NOW: Destiny transitioned to Chaz, and he used the experience to draw attention to transgender issue—and make some money. “I wasted years worried about what other people would think if I transitioned, and now I wish I had those years back,” says Chaz. Regardless, he made up for lost time by appearing on shows like Dancing with the Stars and releasing a book about his life, Transition: The Story of How I Became a Man.

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Adam Levine—Then

THEN: Adam Levine was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. His father founded a successful chain of fashion boutiques called M. Frederic. The singer grew up in the ritzy Pacific Palisades neighborhood, and he attended school with other celebrities like Jake Gyllenhaal.

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Adam Levine—Now

NOW: Adam continues to enjoy a charmed life. He’s traded the Pacific Palisades for life in the Hollywood Hills, and Adam’s group, Maroon Five, has earned several Grammy Awards and sold millions of records. Not content to hog all the glory, the star now gives back to young hopefuls (and makes even more cash) as a judge and coach on the hit NBC singing competition The Voice.

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Kelly Osbourne—Then

THEN: Though Kelly Osbourne grew up fabulously rich, she had a childhood that not many would envy. Her parents, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, were often literally at each other’s throats. Ozzy, the lead singer of Black Sabbath, famously battled booze and drugs during his daughter’s formative years.

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Kelly Osbourne—Now

NOW: Kelly wisely used her family’s name and MTV show The Osbournes as a springboard to launch her own moneymaking career in music, fashion and television. Though in the past she’s battled some of the same addiction demons as her father, today she’s come out on top. She’s now best known as a co-host on the E! Entertainment show Fashion Police.

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Willow Smith—Then

THEN: Willow Smith grew up in the lap of luxury as the daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. But Willow isn’t one to rest on her laurels.

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Willow Smith—Now

NOW: The little diva began making a name for herself at just 7-years-old after she starred alongside her father Will in I Am Legend. And a few years later, when Willow finished whipping her hair back and forth, she looked up and realized her song “Whip My Hair” had become a huge hit due to what Willow said was “all my hard work paying off.”

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Miley Cyrus—Then

THEN: Miley Cyrus started out life in the shadow of her famous country crooner father, Billy Ray. Though he made millions off his hit songs, like “Achy Breaky Heart,” Billy Ray kept his future superstar daughter on a $300 monthly allowance.

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Miley Cyrus—Now

NOW: Miley far surpassed her father’s earning power years ago, and she’s now worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The former Hannah Montana star oversees a massive merchandising empire, and she now has several chart-topping albums under her belt.

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Lisa Marie Presley—Then

THEN: Lisa Marie grew up in opulence thanks to the fact that she was the daughter of Priscilla Presley and arguably the world’s most famous man, Elvis Presley. When her parents split, Lisa divided her time between her dad’s estate Graceland in Memphis and her mom’s home in Los Angeles. But all the money in the world couldn’t keep Elvis from dying, an event that eventually sent Lisa on her own downward spiral that lasted for years.

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Lisa Marie Presley—Now

NOW: Luckily for fans, Lisa turned to music to cope with her pain. She released her first album, To Whom It May Concern, in 2003. Since then she’s continued to produce music. But it wouldn’t matter if she ever sang another note. Lisa Marie will see dollar signs for the rest of her life thanks to her role as co-trustee of her father’s estate.

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Lady Gaga—Then

THEN: Lady Gaga moved to New York City’s gritty Lower East Side before she hit it big, but she grew up in a tony duplex on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Gaga’s father, Joe Germanotta, became rich by investing in hotel Wi-Fi services.

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Lady Gaga—Now

NOW: Gaga attended the Convent of the Sacred Heart, a Manhattan private school that cost an estimated $35,000 per year, but the pop superstar still slams "everyone that was spitting in my face and making me feel so worthless." Worthless is exactly what Gaga isn’t. She’s amassed a giant fortune over the past few years.

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Kobe Bryant—Then

THEN: Kobe Bryant’s life seemed destined to be a slam-dunk success right from the start thanks to his position as the son of NBA star Joe “Jellybean” Bryant.

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Kobe Bryant—Now

NOW: Though Kobe was accused of sexual assault on a 19-year-old in 2003—rape charges were later dismissed and he settled a civil lawsuit out of court—the basketball player managed to bounce back. He helped the Lakers make the 2008 NBA Finals. They lost, but Kobe assisted in bringing them back to win the championship title the next year. Kobe scored two gold medals as part of the U.S. basketball team during the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, and the sports star is still going strong today.

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Gwyneth Paltrow—Then

THEN: Gwyneth didn't exactly luck into fame and fortune. The star is the daughter of the late producer-director Bruce Paltrow, and her mom is actress Blythe Danner. Like many jet-setting teens, Gwyneth grew up in L.A. and New York City, where she attended the elite all-girls Spence School.

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Gwyneth Paltrow—Now

NOW: Starring in megahits like Iron Man 3 and appearing on the 2013 cover of People magazine’s “Most Beautiful Woman” issue is only going to add to Gwyneth’s bottom line. It certainly doesn’t hurt that her soon to be ex-husband, Chris Martin, continues to rake in millions of dollars of his own thanks to the ongoing success of his group, Coldplay.

Drake—Then

THEN: Aubrey Graham, a.k.a. Drake, grew up on the not-so-mean streets of the ritzy Forest Hill neighborhood in Toronto, Canada. His father was a drummer for the rock icon Jerry Lee Lewis. Still, life wasn’t always easy for Drake despite his affluent upbringing. "Nobody understood what it was like to be black and Jewish,” he says, adding "being different from everyone else just made me a lot stronger."

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Drake—Now

NOW: Drake began his career in show business as Jimmy Brooks, a wheelchair-bound teen on Degrassi: The Next Generation. After Drake was no longer on the show, he devoted his time to music and hit it big in 2010 with his first album, Thank Me Later. He followed it up with Take Care and Nothing Was the Same. "This whole thing is unusual at this point," says Drake of his newfound fame and riches, "so we're just rolling with the fairytale vibe."