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.).
Read more about Rags To Riches: Classic Times, Modern Times, Criticism
Famous quotes containing the words rags and/or riches:
“The Beggar’s Rags, fluttering in Air,
Does to Rags the Heavens tear.”
—William Blake (1757–1827)
“All, or the greatest part of men that have aspired to riches or power, have attained thereunto either by force or fraud, and what they have by craft or cruelty gained, to cover the foulness of their fact, they call purchase, as a name more honest. Howsoever, he that for want of will or wit useth not those means, must rest in servitude and poverty.”
—Sir Walter Raleigh (1552–1618)