麻雀变凤凰

By Shannon Quinn

There is a saying that “you need money to make money.” This is true for the vast majority of millionaires and billionaires who were born into rich families and started their own businesses.

Education， wise investments， and access to opportunities unavailable to most people make it easy for rich kids to continue making a lot of money. However， there are a few wealthy individuals who truly work hard to rise above their humble2 beginnings and become extremely rich.

Peter Dinklage3

Fans of Game of Thrones will know and love Peter Dinklage for his portrayal of Tyrion Lannister. Looking at his talent， its easy to assume that he always had success in life.

The reality is that he was born in New Jersey to parents who didnt have a lot of money. He had aspirations to be an actor， so he went to college and got a degree in theater. After graduating， he had a huge amount of student loan debt. He couldnt afford an apartment， but at least his friends let him stay on their couches in New York City.

Dinklage started getting day jobs cleaning. When he finally pulled together enough money to share rent on an apartment， it was only enough to earn him a permanent spot on the floor. After two years of searching for work， he finally got a full-time office job doing data processing. The money he made was only enough to stay in an industrial loft4 without heat.

He hated this job， couldnt find a girlfriend， and drank constantly to ease the pain as he snuggled5 with his cat， Brian， in the cold apartment. When he turned 29， he promised himself that he would take the next acting job and leave his miserable data processing job behind.

Even then， it took years of building his acting resume to land the lucrative role in Game of Thrones， which eventually paid him over $1 million per episode.6

During a speech， he said， “Dont search for defining moments. They will never come. […] Dont wait until they tell you youre ready. Get in there. I waited a long time out in the world before I gave myself permission to fail. Please. Dont even bother asking. Dont bother telling the world you are ready. Show it. Do it.”

Gabrielle Chanel7

A young girl named Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel was born in 1883 but abandoned by her father at an orphanage8 in France at a very young age. At the orphanage， nuns taught her how to sew， and she was able to use those skills as a professional seamstress9.

At night， she worked as a singer at a bar for extra income. At the time， women were not allowed to open bank accounts， vote， or own property on their own. Determined to succeed， she met a rich man at the bar and began living with him as a mistress when she was 23 years old. This helped her learn how to speak and act like a wealthy woman so that she fit in with high society.

Once she firmly established friendships in the upper class， she set out to create clothing made with “poor” fabrics. At the time， women were wearing feathers， corsets， and heavy brocade fabrics.10 Chanel called this “vulgar” and began creating comfortable sportswear and simple， chic dresses.11 Her designs in Paris influenced fashion everywhere in the world. She opened boutiques12， and soon enough， she never needed to seek the help of a man again.

Today， Chanel products are incredibly expensive and a symbol of total luxury. The current owners of Chanel are worth $19 billion.

J. K. Rowling13

Joanne Rowling grew up with two parents who struggled financially. She went to college with the dream of becoming a novelist， but her parents always told her that it was a pipe dream14.

As an adult， Rowling had to flee an abusive15 relationship in Edinburgh， Scotland， as a single mom. She was very nearly homeless， relying on government assistance to survive.

Hitting rock bottom was the inspiration for her to dive into writing stories， so she focused on finishing her idea of Harry Potter， which had been brewing in her mind for a long time.16 Multiple publishers rejected her manuscript17. Finally， when she was 32， Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone18 was published in the United Kingdom.

Today， she is the most successful novelist in the world. The Harry Potter franchise has grossed at least $7.7 billion，19 and she is personally worth $650 million.

1. rags to riches： 白手起家。

2. humble：（级别或地位）低下的。

3. Peter Dinklage： 彼特·丁拉基，美国演员，患侏儒症，身高仅有135厘米，因在美剧《权力的游戏》（Game of Thrones，改编自美国作家乔治·R. R. 马丁长篇小说《冰与火之歌》）中饰演“小恶魔”提利昂·兰尼斯特（Tyrion Lannister）一角而闻名全球。

4. loft： 阁楼。

5. snuggle： 依偎，紧贴。

6. land： 获得；lucrative： 获利多的，赚大钱的；episode：（电视连续剧中的）一集。

7. Gabrielle Chanel： 加布埃尔·香奈儿，法国时尚设计师，香奈儿品牌创始人。

8. orphanage： 孤兒院。

9. seamstress： 女裁缝。

10. corset：（尤指旧时妇女束腰的）紧身内衣；brocade： 锦缎。

11. vulgar： 粗鄙的；chic： 时髦的。

12. boutique： 精品时装店。

13. J. K. Rowling： J. K. 罗琳，英国著名女作家，《哈利·波特》系列小说作者。

14. pipe dream： 白日梦，脱离实际的梦想。

15. abusive： 虐待的。

16. hit rock bottom： 跌入低谷；brew： 酝酿。

17. manuscript： 原稿。

18. Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone：《哈利·波特与魔法石》，《哈利·波特》系列小说第一部。

19. franchise： // 特许经销权，在这里指的是《哈利·波特》小说及衍生影视产品的授权等；gross： 赚得……总收入。