Inside Dolly Patron’s $2 billion tourism and hospitality empire
Following her death, Dolly Parton is being recognized for her significant business success in the tourism industry. Her empire, anchored by the Dollywood theme park, represents a major portion of her personal wealth.
Why it matters
This highlights the intersection of celebrity branding and successful long-term business investment in the US tourism sector.
Share article Days after her death, Dolly Parton isn’t being remembered as only a country music star but also as businesswoman and mogul in the US travel and tourism industry .
More than half of the singer’s estimated $US400 million to $US650 million ($625 million to $900 million) personal net worth was directly tied to her 50 per cent equity stake in her tourism and hospitality businesses.
Dolly Parton wasn’t just a country music star, she was a mogul in the US travel in tourism industry. Getty
The Jolene singer, who died on August 25 in Nashville, started her venture into tourism in 1977. She purchased a small, unassuming theme park in the Great Smoky Mountains in East Tennessee, in a joint partnership with Herschend Family Enterprises.
They first named it Silver Dollar City before renaming it Dollywood in 1986.
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