Better Capitalism in Action: Dolly Parton
Updated: Oct 1
Better Capitalism includes a range of perspectives on money, politics, and religion. We value freedom of expression and artistic license aimed toward creating a better world by helping create a better capitalism. When you have a differing perspective, we invite you to converse with us at info@bettercapitalism.org. Thanks for being part of meaningful civic dialogue.
The news that Dolly Parton died a couple of weeks ago hit my co-workers particularly hard. On that Tuesday afternoon, you could hear audible gasps and "oh nos!" echoing across the office as people learned the news. One administrative coordinator came around with "condolence candy." Another put Dolly's picture outside her door, and the restaurant I had lunch at last week honored her memory by drawing her image on their front window.
What made Dolly such a beloved figure? One might think first of her music, which has enduring singles such as Here You Come Again, Islands in the Stream, I Will Always Love You, and Jolene. There were also her memorable performances in the blockbusters Steel Magnolias and 9 to 5. There was the bubbly, optimistic personality that never seemed to skip a beat, even toward the end of her life, and the self-admitted "gaudy, flamboyant, and fun" style that was uniquely hers.
Each of these elements contributed to the positive impression she left on people from all walks of life; however, I'm going to lean into the philanthropic side of her legacy. Born the fourth of 12 children in a sharecropping family in eastern Tennessee, Dolly knew what it was like to live without what most of us would consider necessities. The two-room cabin she grew up in had neither indoor plumbing nor electricity. The Parton's were so poor that even Dolly's impoverished schoolmates taunted her about her homemade clothing, a story she recounts in her favorite song, Coat of Many Colors.
From this meager background, Dolly went on achieve the American Dream. Through talent, persistence, and plain hard work, she built a small empire that left her estate with a net worth of between $450-650 million. Like every successful story, though, there were many people in the background helping her to achieve her ambitions. When interviewed about this aspect of her life, Dolly said, “I've been lucky and made some really good choices. but I've got a lot of good people that's helped me a lot, too. I owe a lot of my success to a lot of smart people.”
Throughout her rise to fame, Dolly remembered the place where and the people with whom she grew up. Instead of trying to forget her childhood poverty, she went back and created Dollywood. The theme park continues to be the largest employer in Sevier County, directly providing over 4,000 jobs during peak season and fueling an estimated 23,000 jobs in support industries.
Besides this mutually beneficial business venture, Dolly gave back in a number of other ways:
1. Education & Literacy
The Dollywood Foundation & Imagination Library: Founded in 1988, her foundation holds significant assets (reported at $141 million recently). Its flagship program, the Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, has gifted more than 300 million free books to children globally.
The Buddy Program & Scholarships: Through her foundation, Sevier County middle school students are given $500 if they finish high school. The program has successfully decreased the dropout rate there from 35% to 6%. High school seniors are also provided with $15,000 college scholarships annually.
2. Healthcare & Medical Research
Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Dolly made at least $3 million in major direct donations here. This included $1 million in 2020 that directly funded early research for the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, $1 million in 2017 to the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital, and $1 million in 2022 for pediatric infectious disease research.
LeConte Medical Center: She raised and contributed $1 million in 2007 to build a new hospital and cancer center in Sevier County, Tennessee, which now features the 30,000-square-foot Dolly Parton Center for Women's Services.
East Tennessee Children's Hospital: Following major financial backing, the Knoxville facility renamed a portion of its network the Dolly Parton Children's Hospital to honor what was deemed a "generational" contribution.
3. Disaster Relief
My People Fund: Established by Dolly within 48 hours of the devastating 2016 Great Smoky Mountain wildfires. The fund distributed $13 million in direct recovery funds, including providing $1,000 a month for six months (plus a final $5,000 check) to families who lost their homes.
Mountain Ways Foundation (Hurricane Helene Relief): In 2024, Dolly personally donated $1 million to flood relief. Her properties, including the Dollywood Parks & Resorts, matched it with another $1 million, totaling $2 million for East Tennessee flood victims.
Notice a trend here? Each of these organizations has a direct tie to something in her childhood, either by location or experience. Dolly took the lemons in her life, made lemonade, then shared it with others; and she has not been the only celebrity to do so. Other notables include LeBron James, Tyler Perry, Rihanna, and Michael Sheen, all of who have contributed significantly to improving their childhood home's economy and services.
Not every successful person gives back in this way, though. In fact, some wealthy, well-known figures have publicly castigated the place from where they came. Noteworthy examples include Eminem, Sarah Jessica Parker, and JD Vance.
Vance's commentary on his Appalachian upbringing is particularly applicable to this post, as he grew up in the same environment as Dolly, though a bit later. His bestselling novel, Hillbilly Elegy, describes a tumultuous early experience that included family members' addiction, violence, and mental illness. Writer Bobi Conn, who had a similar upbringing in eastern Kentucky, comments on the reality of Vance's rise to success from this background:
Vance and I also both received valuable higher education due to the generosity of others who funded our scholarships. ....Vance attended Yale Law School on a generous scholarship, which is a benefit some of our nation’s top schools offer to low-income students. But it’s hardly well-known to most Americans who are just trying to survive. We were lucky to even have known about these schools, much less to get in.... (Note: see the benefits of education in our earlier post here.)
Vance and I are both lucky to have come out alive, much less as functional and successful adults. What we have in common is grit, yes, but we didn’t just save ourselves: our educational and even our job opportunities offered a path forward. Others who are just like us need mental health support, job training, and the benefits of being taught self-discipline and structure, like the Marines offered Vance.
While Vance has used political influence to bring economic opportunity to where he grew up, I was unable to find any personal investment he has made there. Maybe that commitment is coming, but it will probably take a tremendous change in perspective. There currently seems to be a fundamental difference between Vance's and Dolly's view of their success. One has a "bootstraps" narrative; the other credited the people in her life. One takes a seemingly harsh stance on people's personal struggles and poverty; the other looked on those situations with compassion and made a positive difference.
Ultimately, Vance and Dolly represent two characteristic attitudes of successful people. On the one hand, there are those who credit themselves with their success and develop a distain for people who are not as smart, talented, or fortunate. On the other hand, you have those who realize that every successful person is buoyed up by an invisible army that makes their success possible. These individuals not only display a more grateful and humble attitude, they look on others' struggles with compassion and become part of the solution.
I will always advocate for personal responsibility. People make their own choices and, for better or worse, have to live with the consequences. I also know that on balance, life is hard, and it's much harder for some people than it is for others. When someone is able to escape desperate circumstances, the most natural thing in the world is to want to forget or disparage them and the people who inhabit that space. That's what makes kind and generous people like Dolly Parton exceptional. It's also the qualities, I believe, for which people loved her most.
How do we view others and their life circumstances? It's easy to look at people who battle addiction, poverty, and other afflictions and dismiss them and their problems as being self-made. You don't have to be wealthy or famous to do so, either. Everyone who has been blessed in this life, including myself, must continually remind themselves that they don't know what another person's circumstances are. "There, but for the grace of God, go I." May we continue Dolly's legacy of kindness towards others in our own lives and do our part to make a difference.
Join Us
We write about capitalism done well—and how it can be done better—because we collectively have the capitalism we create, and we can collectively create a better capitalism. We’d love for you to join us on this journey of renewing capitalism. You can begin by reading our book, Better Capitalism, and by signing up for our weekly blog post.
Fix Capitalism. Fix the American Dream.
Our vision is to benefit society by transforming capitalism's current core ethic of 'maximize shareholder value' to the better core ethic of 'optimize mutual value.' We achieve our vision by impacting learning, opinion, beliefs, and policy. Institute for Better Capitalism, Inc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Our Amazon number 1 new release: Unleash more with Better Capitalism: Jesus, Adam Smith, Ayn Rand, & MLK Jr. on Moving from Plantation to Partnership Economics.
"This book merits close, sustained attention as a compelling move beyond both careless thinking and easy ideology."—Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary
"Better Capitalism is a sincere search for a better world."—Cato Institute
The Institute for Better Capitalism, Inc., is a 501(c)(3). We invite and are grateful for financial partners in this work. We invite you to donate here or contact us for more information. Thanks!
