Rags to riches refers to any situation in which a person rises from poverty to wealth, or sometimes from obscurity to fame. This is a common archetype in literature and popular culture (for example, the writings of Horatio Alger, Jr.).
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Famous quotes containing the words rags and/or riches:
“Life is nothing but rags and tags and filthy rags at that.”
—Christina Stead (1902–1983)
“Enthusiastic partisans of the idea of progress are in danger of failing to recognize ... the immense riches accumulated by the human race.... By underrating the achievements of the past, they devalue all those which still remain to be accomplished.”
—Claude Lévi-Strauss (1908–1990)