Dolly Parton, whose family announced her death earlier this week, built an estimated $650 million fortune through music, acting, Dollywood and careful control of her songwriting rights. She began singing at age 6, recorded her first single, "Puppy Love," by age 13 after co-writing it with her uncle at age 11, and appeared at the Grand Ole Opry after an introduction by Johnny Cash. After high school, she moved to Nashville, where she wrote "Jolene" and "I Will Always Love You" on the same day. Her 1967 partnership with Porter Wagoner helped bring national recognition. Parton founded her own publishing company in 1966 and retained nearly all of her publishing rights, allowing her to receive larger royalties when songs were played or covered. She declined Elvis Presley’s 1974 request to record "I Will Always Love You" after his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, demanded half the publishing rights. Whitney Houston’s version later became a global hit in the 1990s, while Parton’s estimated $150 million music catalog, royalties and co-ownership of Dollywood contributed substantially to her wealth. Dollywood reportedly draws roughly 3 million visitors and generates hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue. Parton founded the Dollywood Foundation in 1988 to support children in Sevierville, Tennessee, and made multimillion-dollar donations to disaster relief, medical research and scholarships. She received the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy in 2022.