How Barbara Streisand Achieved a Net Worth of $400 Million

Most all of us know Barbra Streisand…singer, actress, and comedienne who wears many other hats, as well. She has a career that has spanned over sixty years, and it has been filled with success after success for the multi-talented star. Recently, she has been the topic of conversation among the masses due to the fact that her approximate net worth for 2020 is said to be over $400 million. An unfathomable number, to say the least, and we can’t help but wonder how she managed to get that number so high. Well, we could discuss in short and give you, our faithful readers, a general idea of what the last sixty years have been like for the diva, but the condensed version simply wouldn’t get the point across. There has been so much work accomplished, the winning of so many awards, and the gaining of so much recognition that simply mentioning a few points in brief wouldn’t do this woman’s career justice. The best way, we concluded, was to devote and entire article to Barbra and her career, an article that will basically bring that dollar into perspective for you by discussing some of the finer points regarding her life and accomplishments. So then, let’s take a look at one of the true show business icons of our time…Barbra Streisand.

From the Start…

Barbra was born on April 24, 1942 in Brooklyn, New York, where she was also raised. Her parents were Emanuel and Diane; Diane was a school secretary, but had been a singer who had deeply considered a career in music. Unfortunately, her father died when she was only a year old. She began singing professionally in the 1960s, with much success. Shortly thereafter she began acting, starring in such movies as ‘A Star Is Born’, ‘Funny Girl’, and ‘The Way We Were’. Like the music she released, her film career shot to the stars.

After the death of her father, Barbra’s family was poverty stricken; her mother took on work as a low-paid bookkeeper to pay the bills. During her younger years Barbra said she felt very much like an outsider, mostly due to the fact that her father had passed and was absent from the family. Also, her mother having to work outside the home resulted in her not receiving the attention she craved during her younger years. Rising above life’s adversity, Streisand continued her education, eventually graduating high school, but television and movies attracted her to a career in entertainment early on.

…To Getting Her Start.

Barbra’s career essentially started while she was still studying in school. She actually sang her first song publicly at a PTA assembly, though she had been known as the ‘one with the good voice’ in her neighborhood since childhood. Though she did, obviously, have a successful singing career, she states that her goal was always to be an actress, which she also accomplished in spades, as we know. The fact that she has won 33 awards in recognition of her work speaks for itself. Barbra has won two Academy Awards, six Golden Globe awards, ten Grammy awards, five Emmy awards, and a variety of others, including awards under the People’s Choice category, an honorary Tony award, an award for the American Music Awards, and more.

In other words, when taking into consideration her music, films, filmmaking accomplishments, and all the rest (awards included), it’s easy to see how Barbra Streisand amassed some wealth over the years. But $400 million? Rather than sit there and second guess the facts, let’s dig a little deeper into the choices she made that took her that far after she took the initial steps that led her into show business.

After A Star Was Born

Like we stated, Barbra had to go on to make further career decisions, even after she found the astronomical success we all know her to enjoy. $400 million is nothing to scoff at, obviously, but it is a number that seems truly out of reach. So, how did Streisand manage to reach it?

The truth of the matter is that she reached $400 million before the 2018 net worth issue put out by Forbes Magazine. It was there that the number was first announced to the public, so let’s take a look at what that particular article has to say about the subject. Certainly they’ll be able to give us some solid information about how she got to where she is today, financially speaking.

In a July, 2018 issue of Forbes, Barbra was named #48 on their list of America’s Richest Self-Made Women, thanks to her aforementioned fortune. They make mention of her many awards and honors, as well as her reception of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. All of these things point to one thing in particular: Barbra has continued to actively WORK. Even when trends and fads were rapidly changing, she got out there and made herself seen and known, making more music, and making more movies. Of course, her deep experience and talent enabled her to hold the attention of old fans while helping her to draw new ones into the fold, and those things paid off splendidly for the superstar. Even when the general public thought they had seen the last of her, Barbra managed to appear to them. Take her roles in the hit films ‘Meet the Fockers’ (with Dustin Hoffman) and ‘Little Fockers’, from the ‘Meet the Parents’ trilogy, which was wildly popular, and recent in release, to boot. Like we said, she seems to have a knack for keeping herself in the public eye, and with timing that is impeccable. This is just one reason for the fortune she possesses today.

Guilty? Only By Association…

Another reason for her insane continued popularity, which has led to the crazy number of zeros on her bank balance, is the acts and stars she is associated with. Streisand knows how to pick them, so it’s not just about appearances, which have the potential to leave her hanging on the line, but also the people she appears with (like Dustin Hoffman). Timing ties into this greatly, as one must not only know whom to pick for an association, but also when the best time to pick them is, as well.

Some of the acts associated with Barbra, which have helped her to keep her powerhouse ball rolling, besides the infamous and multi-talented Hoffman, include Phil Perry, Marilyn and Alan Bergman, Celine Dion, Barry Gibb, Diana Krall, and many, many more. Over the years she has not only appeared with these individuals in one hat or another, but she also maintained good professional, and sometimes personal, relationships with them. They have proven to be invaluable to her, both as a performer and a human being.

It is also very important to note that Streisand is a GIVER, and as we all have learned, it is more blessed to give than to receive, which leads to those who bless being blessed, as it were. Barbra is also active in charity, which is a wonderful avenue for given, and will also lead to a variety of differing forms of growth, including that which is financial. Barbra donated $16 million to aide in solving civil issues, women’s health issues, education, and the bettering of the environment, and that came from her 2017 concert tour alone. Over the years she has supported a variety of causes and has been a loyal contributor when it comes to aiding in the solving of the world’s problems.

Finally, Talent & Wisdom Really Help

It goes without being said that Barbra Streisand is an astronomical talent, with skills that reach into several areas of show business, and even beyond. But along with that she has displayed wisdom when it comes to the handling of her money. She has made wise career choices and shown great wisdom in who she chooses to associate with, and those two things alone, along with the financial decisions she has made, have been the greatest contributors to her wealth. When an individual of this level of talent and fame are also able to make correct decisions about what to do with the wealth she has gained, that wealth is bound to grow. And that is what you see with Barbra Streisand.

What does the future hold for her? Well, very likely she will remain active in one way or another for as long as she is physically and mentally able. This beautiful woman will likely find a way to remain visual, even in the midst of the problems that rack our world today, and that is the least we can hope for. So, who knows? Maybe she make yet another Forbes list, as she will almost certainly make the same one yet again next year. But it doesn’t matter. The amount of money she has ultimately means nothing over the fact that the world has been gifted with a wonderful woman, performer, and all-around human being. It is our hope that she continues to be blessed, as she has been a jewel in the world’s crown since the start. For that we are all very thankful.