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15 celebrities you didn't know grew up superrich

29 October 2026 at 15:12
Blythe Danner, Bruce Paltrow, and Gwyneth Paltrow stand together at an outdoor event.
Gwyneth Paltrow with parents Bruce Paltrow and Blythe Danner.

Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

  • The families of celebrities like Anderson Cooper and King Princess have been rich for generations.
  • Some families, like the Gyllenhaals, became wealthy through the entertainment industry.
  • Others, like the Delevingnes, have connections to royals.

Many celebrities have built their wealth from the ground up, but some were born into luxury.

Among these wealthy families are celebrities like Anderson Cooper, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Nick Kroll, who have had access to vast wealth and opportunities from an early age.

These stars were set up for success before stepping into the spotlight, which, in some cases, shaped their path to fame and fortune.

Here are 15 celebrities who were raised in wealthy families before they became famous.

1. Nick Kroll
Jules B. Kroll, Nick Kroll and Lynn Kroll in 2016.
Jules B. Kroll, Nick Kroll and Lynn Kroll in 2016.

Noam Galai/Getty Images

Kroll is an actor, comedian, writer, and producer known for Comedy Central's "The Kroll Show" and for creating and starring in Netflix's "Big Mouth" and "Human Resources," among other hit shows, but he's not the only success story in his family. 

His father, Jules Kroll, founded a corporate investigation company, Kroll Inc., which he sold in 2004 for almost $2 billion, Forbes reported in 2014.

Nick Kroll grew up in Westchester County, New York. In 2009, he told The New Yorker that he and his siblings had a relatively normal childhood. He also said that although he was grateful that his father made time for him despite his job, he felt embarrassed when Jules would arrive at his Little League games in a limousine.

2. Anderson Cooper
Anderson Cooper in 2022.
Anderson Cooper in 2022.

ANGELA WEISS/Getty Images

Journalist and commentator Anderson Cooper is a direct descendant of the Vanderbilts.

His great-great-great-grandfather, Cornelius Vanderbilt, built his fortune primarily through investing in steamships and railroads.

"He had more money than the US Treasury," Cooper told CBS in 2021.

Cooper's mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, grew up an American socialite because of her family's status. She later became an artist, actor, designer, and author. She died in 2019.

His father, Wyatt Emory Cooper, was Vanderbilt's fourth husband. Before he died at the age of 50, he worked as an author and an actor.

3. Gwyneth Paltrow
Bruce Paltrow, Blythe Danner, and Gwyneth Paltrow in 2002.
Bruce Paltrow, Blythe Danner, and Gwyneth Paltrow in 2002.

Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images

Gwyneth Paltrow comes from a family of entertainment-industry natives. She spent her childhood at prestigious private schools in Los Angeles and New York City before dropping out of college to act.

Bruce Paltrow, her father, was a nine-time Emmy-nominated director and producer. His most notable titles include "St. Elsewhere" and "White Shadow." Meanwhile, her mother is Emmy- and Tony-winning actor Blythe Danner of "Meet the Parents," "Meet the Fockers," and "The Last Kiss."

Despite her parents' success, Paltrow refers to herself as "completely self-made." 

"People think, 'She's just a rich kid.' Until I was 18, I was. Then I was broke. I've never taken a dime off my parents. I'm completely self-made," she told Glamour in 2016.

4. Cara Delevingne
Cara Delevingne, Charles Delevingne, and Pandora Delevingne in 2014.
Cara Delevingne, Charles Delevingne, and Pandora Delevingne in 2014.

David M. Benett/Getty Images

Supermodel and actor Cara Delevingne is the daughter of Charles Delevingne, a successful real-estate developer, and Pandora Delevingne, a socialite. Her paternal grandmother was a socialite, and her paternal grandfather was a notable lawyer and politician.

But that's not where it ends. According to Vogue, Cara's maternal grandfather, Sir Jocelyn Stevens, owned Queen magazine, which is now Harper's Bazaar. Further, her maternal grandmother, Janie Sheffield, was a lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret, the sister of Queen Elizabeth II.

5. Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Gerard "William" Louis-Dreyfus in 2014.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Gerard "William" Louis-Dreyfus in 2014.

Mike Pont/Getty Images

Julia Louis-Dreyfus is the great-great-granddaughter of Léopold Louis-Dreyfus, who founded the Louis Dreyfus Company, a merchant firm that deals primarily with agriculture, food, and shipping.

Her father, Gerard Louis-Dreyfus, eventually became chairman of the company. In 2006, about 10 years before his death, Forbes estimated his net worth at $3.4 billion and ranked him the 200th-richest billionaire in the world.

In 2018, the "Seinfeld" star told The New Yorker that her father's wealth is overestimated by the press and that she finds the term "billionaire heiress" to be "heinous."

6. Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Stephen Gyllenhaal, Naomi Foner, and Jake Gyllenhaal in 2005.
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Stephen Gyllenhaal, Naomi Foner, and Jake Gyllenhaal in 2005.

Donald Weber/Getty Images

Their father, Stephen Gyllenhaal, is an Emmy-winning director who has worked on films such as "Paris Trout," "Homegrown," and "A Dangerous Woman." Their mother, Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal, is an Academy Award-nominated, Golden Globe-winning screenwriter whose most notable film is "Running On Empty."

The Gyllenhaal siblings, Maggie and Jake, have had prolific careers since their costarring breakout roles in "Donnie Darko" in 2001.

In 2010, Jake told The Guardian, "My mother would say that there are people who have so much money who don't give any of it away, and there are other people who have much less money, who give more than the richest people in the world. It should all be about giving something back."

 

7. King Princess
King Princess in 2022.
King Princess in 2022.

NBC/Getty Images

Pop artist King Princess — or Mikaela Mullaney Straus — is the great-great-grandchild of Isidor and Ida Straus.

Before the couple fell victim to the Titanic's sinking, Isidor served in the United States Congress and co-owned Macy's with his brother. Isidor and Ida Straus have been depicted in multiple movies and have a memorial garden in New York City.

In 2019, King Princess told Rolling Stone that she didn't inherit their money.

"They were very rich and Jewish, [but] I didn't inherit any of this money. It was a little frustrating, but whatever," she said.

The pop star's father, Oliver Straus, is also successful. He owns a recording studio in Brooklyn called Mission Sound, where world-famous bands like the Arctic Monkeys have recorded music.

8. Armie Hammer
Armie Hammer in 2019.
Armie Hammer in 2019.

Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images

Armand Hammer, Armie Hammer's great-grandfather, was an oil tycoon who managed Occidental Petroleum Corporation. In 1986, Forbes estimated Armand Hammer's net worth to be $200 million.

However, Armand Hammer's biographer, Neil Lyndon, referred to him as "the most satanic man of the second half of the 20th Century" and the "embodiment of sin [and] ruthless ego" in a 2022 docuseries, "House of Hammer."

Armie Hammer has also been mired in controversy. In 2021, multiple women accused him of sexual and emotional abuse. At the time, Armie said any interactions with his partners were consensual and denied the allegations. The Los Angeles Police Department investigated a claim of sexual assault, but he was not charged. In 2023, he told Air Mail he'd been emotionally abusive to his accusers. 

9. Lana Del Rey
Lana Del Rey and Robert Grant in 2014.
Lana Del Rey and Robert Grant in 2014.

Marc Piasecki/Getty Images

Lana Del Rey, whose given name is Lizzy Grant, is the daughter of Rob Grant, the founder of WebMediaProperties.com. According to Who API, Grant's company operated 1,600 websites and owned about 800 domain names as of 2012.

A 2012 article in The Guardian by Paul Harris discusses how Lana Del Rey hid her real identity as she rose to stardom.

"People were suspicious of the way Grant's failed album, and all her social media websites appeared to have been scrubbed from the internet just before Del Rey appeared," Harris wrote. 

The same article also claims that her father backed her career when she was just starting out.

10. Nicola Peltz Beckham
Nelson Peltz, Elon Musk and Nicola Peltz Beckham attend the Premiere of "Lola" on February 03, 2024 in Los Angeles.
Nelson Peltz, Elon Musk and Nicola Peltz Beckham at the Premiere of "Lola" on February 03, 2024 in Los Angeles.

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Actor Nicola Peltz Beckham, who has appeared in TV shows like "Bates Motel" and "Welcome to Chippendales" and movies including "Transformers: Age of Extinction," married Brooklyn Beckham — son of Victoria and David Beckham — in 2022. But even before her wedding day, she was part of a high-profile family known for its influence in business and social circles.

She was born in 1995 to parents Claudia Heffner and Nelson Peltz in Westchester, New York — her father is the founder of the investment firm Trian Fund Management and has an estimated net worth of $1.5 billion according to Forbes.

In a 2024 interview with WWD, Peltz Beckham acknowledged that she didn't have an upbringing like that of her character in "Lola," in which she starred as a stripper.

"I wanted to write a story from a person's perspective and another point of view that was not my personal view and not my upbringing. I am an actress and my dream is to get to look at the world from different perspectives," she said.

11. Stella Lefty
Stella Lefty sits onstage singing into a handheld microphone with drums and a bass guitar nearby.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 20: Stella Lefty speaks onstage at Spotlight: Stella Lefty at Grammy Museum on October 20, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Rebecca Sapp/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

Rebecca Sapp/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Singer Stella Lefty is the daughter of Eric Lefkofsky, CEO of Tempus AI and founder of Groupon. In Forbes' 2026 ranking of the 400 wealthiest Americans, Lefkofsky ranked 261st with an estimated net worth of $6.5 billion.

Business Insider's Callie Alhgrim reported a lot of negative online discourse about Lefty regarding her fame in relation to her father.

"Obviously, there's going to be this conversation around it, which I totally understand," Lefty told Vanity Fair in an interview published in August this year.

12. Jessica Pegula
Jessica Pegula smiles on a tennis court while holding a blue training stick during a match or practice setting.
Jessica Pegula at the Dongfeng Voyah Wuhan Open in October 2026.

Robert Prange/Getty Images

Tennis player Jessica Pegula is the daughter of Terry and Kim Pegula, who own the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres. Terry Pegula founded the oil and gas company East Resources, which he sold the majority of for $4.7 billion in 2010, according to Forbes.

Terry Pegula ranked 120th in Forbes' 2026 list of the 400 wealthiest Americans.

Jessica Pegula said in an episode of Netflix's "Break Point" that "some people get this image that it's really easy for me because my dad is very wealthy, but that didn't happen till I was 17 or 18," adding that "they gave me a great childhood and instilled a lot of work ethic in me."

13. Kate and Rooney Mara
Kate and Rooney Mara stand side by side against a mottled gray studio backdrop.
Rooney Mara and Kate Mara in September 2026.

Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for IMDb

Actors Kate and Rooney Mara are the daughters of Chris Mara and Kathleen Rooney, who come from NFL royalty.

Chris Mara's grandfather founded the New York Giants, and Rooney's grandfather founded the Pittsburgh Steelers, according to People.

In 2015, Forbes estimated the Rooney family's net worth at $1.2 billion.

14. Emma Navarro
A tennis player in a navy dress raises a fist beside the net on a crowded stadium court.
Emma Navarro at the 2026 US Open.

Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Tennis player Emma Navarro is the daughter of billionaire businessman Ben Navarro.

He cofounded Sherman Financial Group and has an estimated net worth of $3.2 billion, according to the Forbes 2026 World Billionaires list.

In a 2021 interview with Charleston Magazine, Emma Navarro said: "My dad has always been in my corner, getting me the coaching and training, whatever I needed."

15. Gracie Abrams
St. Vincent performs with a black acoustic guitar on a dark stage with a SiriusXM backdrop.
Gracie Abrams onstage in October 2026.

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for SiriusXM

Singer Gracie Abrams is the daughter of Katie McGrath and J.J. Abrams.

J.J. Abrams is a filmmaker behind shows like "Lost" and major films, including some in the "Star Wars" series. He is the co-CEO of Bad Robot Productions, which Katie McGrath also leads.

"I had a safety net, and that allowed me the ability to experiment and to concentrate, and I had the gift of time to dedicate to doing this thing I loved," Abrams said in an episode of The New York Times' Popcast.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Billionaires Have Already Paid Us Back. So Why Does California Want More?

29 October 2026 at 15:00
A $100 bill | Gary Lewis/Dreamstime

No matter what happens in Tuesday's elections, support for wealth taxes keeps growing. Its justification is based on the idea that the very rich owe all of us something, and taxing their fortunes is collecting on that debt. We're told their success fuels inequality and that it's selfish of them to keep so much, especially if they don't proclaim that they want to do more for society.

Former International Monetary Fund chief economist Olivier Blanchard of France recently gave this narrative a clear voice. Writing on X, he wondered why California's wealthiest are spending so heavily to defeat Proposition 40, the supposed one-time 5 percent tax on the net worth of billionaires. Blanchard added that billionaires "typically have not indicated that they are building their wealth to eventually make the world a better place."

The entire notion misunderstands how fortunes are made. In a market economy, people don't build great wealth first and redeem it later through good works. They build it by making the world better first.

When I buy an $800 smartphone, it's because I value the phone more than whatever else I would have bought with the money. The seller values my $800 more than they do the phone. We both walk away richer by our own measure. Neither owes the other anything more.

Repeat this exchange a few hundred million times, and vast fortunes take shape for the people who create amazing technology so abundantly and affordably that we take it for granted. More importantly, though, people hand over every cent of it voluntarily.

As my colleague Arnold Kling aptly explained over the weekend, "Profits are earned within a positive-sum game for society. Profits induce firms to serve consumers and to innovate." The drive for wealth taxes relies on "the opposite point of view. It regards profits as something that businesses take from the rest of us, as if we can take innovation and efficiency for granted. [It] acts as if we are in a zero-sum environment in which one person's gain is necessarily another person's loss."

And, yes, the gains are divided more fairly than people think. Nobel laureate and Yale University economist William Nordhaus estimated that innovators in the U.S. business sector personally captured, on average, a mere 2.2 percent of the social surplus they created between 1948 and 2001. The other 97.8 percent went to everyone else in the form of lower prices, higher wages, better products and goods, and services that didn't previously exist.

In short, the world has already been compensated, many times over.

Those urging billionaires to acquiesce also err by blithely assuming that the state that grabs the money will use it well enough to "make the world a better place." The burden of proof is on them. California's government already spends roughly $350 billion a year. What will the extra few billion accomplish that the rest hasn't?

"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys," as journalist and satirist P.J. O'Rourke used to say. Maybe California's billionaires aren't eager to fund a Merced-to-Bakersfield rail line that the state prices around $35 billion and its inspector general puts closer to $48 billion. Perhaps they're hesitant to backfill pension funds like the California Public Employees' Retirement System, whose staff concedes is unlikely to hit an assumed 6.8 percent return without leaning on private equity.

Prop 40's revenue is earmarked for health care, but money is fungible. In the end, California has one budget. Every earmarked dollar frees another for something else. Some billionaires might simply have concluded that their philanthropy does more good elsewhere, or that their dollars are more beneficial when invested in private enterprises.

The tax also doubles down on California's worst habit: spend, spend, spend, and then tax, tax, tax. The money is never enough to cover all the spending. A one-time levy spent over five years doesn't fix that. It funds new commitments with temporary money. Some will want to make the tax permanent, which its intellectual architects clearly prefer and may have made possible. And yet that still won't be enough.

That's the commitment problem that Blanchard admits California can't solve. Billionaires are wise to distrust the "one-time" promise.

What worries me most is the moral framework. When a society convinces itself that the people making life better and less costly are the problem, we eventually stop getting those people.

Contrary to Blanchard's naive belief, billionaires aren't lacking in public spirit. Even if we ignore their often massive charitable giving, we can't forget that the market already collected their contribution and handed a large share of it to the rest of us. We should stop demanding they apologize for the other two cents.

COPYRIGHT 2026 CREATORS.COM

The post Billionaires Have Already Paid Us Back. So Why Does California Want More? appeared first on Reason Magazine.

Elon Musk says long-term saving is 'pointless' as he touts a future of abundance

29 October 2026 at 09:58
Elon Musk.
Elon Musk is the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX.

Apu Gomes/Getty Images

  • Elon Musk says it's "pointless" to save for the long term, as he expects "super intelligent abundance."
  • The Tesla and SpaceX CEO was replying to an X user who said they'd stopped stressing about spending.
  • Musk previously said that if he's right about the future, "saving for retirement will be irrelevant."

Elon Musk says it's not worth saving for the long term, as nest eggs won't matter.

"Saving money for the distant future is pointless with the advent of super intelligent abundance," Musk said in an X post on Thursday, doubling down on one of his most polarizing predictions.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO was replying to a user who said they weren't stressing over their "questionable financial decisions" because a future of abundance meant "most of it won't matter in a few years anyway."

@battleangelviv Saving money for the distant future is pointless with the advent of super intelligent abundance

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 29, 2026

The world's richest person — who has a nearly $1 trillion net worth — has previously advised against saving for decades to come.

"Don't worry about squirreling money away for retirement in 10 or 20 years," Musk said during a podcast episode released in January. "It won't matter."

"If any of the things that we've said are true, saving for retirement will be irrelevant," he added.

Musk said at the time that he expects progress in AI, energy, and robotics to supercharge productivity, resulting in plentiful resources so that "anyone can have whatever stuff they want."

In that world, he continued, everyone would have access to "better medical care than anyone has today," there would be "no scarcity of goods and services," and "you can learn anything you want about anything for free."

Business Insider spoke to seven personal finance and AI experts about those comments, and they all agreed people should keep saving for retirement given the risk that Musk may be wrong.

Musk laid out an even more utopian vision on a recent podcast, predicting that advances in robotics and space travel would lead to a multiplanetary economy, at which point "money becomes irrelevant" and "conventional currency will not matter."

Several other tech leaders have predicted AI and other technologies will transform the way we live.

Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates said on a recent podcast episode that AI will lead to "true abundance" with robots able to "build houses, grow food, do surgery."

But he also warned the next two decades will be "as tumultuous a period as there's been in human history," as technological advances will mean "none of the things that human labor provides to the economy will be necessary for most goods and services."

Similarly, Musk has predicted a "bumpy" transition to a brighter future. He's suggested government checks for all as the best solution to AI-fueled job destruction.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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