Gigi Hadid, a Millionaire Before Age 30, Says She Got Her Work Ethic From Her Parents

The press and the public just can’t get enough of Gigi Hadid, apparently! The model has been all over the headlines lately, whether it’s because of her 2024 Met Gala look (that apparently took 13,500 hours to put together), her appearance at a Taylor Swift concert (at which she reportedly made out with Bradley Cooper), or a new song from ex Zayn Malik (in which he seemingly references their breakup). Yes, Gigi is one of the most successful models on the planet, and she has a net worth to match.

But Gigi got a big head-start as one of the children of luxury real estate developer Mohamed Hadid and model and former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Yolanda Hadid, his ex-wife.

“I know I come from privilege, so when I started, there was this big guilt of privilege, obviously,” Gigi told Vogue Australia in 2018. “I’ve always had this big work ethic, because my parents came from nothing, and I worked hard to honor them.”

Gigi was only 2 years old when she got a modeling gig for Guess Jeans, according to The Business of Fashion. She signed to IMG Models in 2011, made her runway debut at New York Fashion Week in 2014, and has posed for campaigns for Fendi, Missoni, Versace, Valentino, and other fashion labels. She also co-hosted the second season of the reality competition series Next in Fashion. After all that success, Gigi’s fortune stands at an estimated $30 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

In the Vogue Australia interview, Gigi talked about how her mother, Yolanda, would send money from her U.S. modeling career back to her family members in Holland. “There are so many girls who come [from] all over the world and work their asses off and send money home to their families like my mother did, and I wanted to stand next to them backstage and for them to look at me and respect me and to know that it’s never about me trying to overshadow or take their place,” she said.

Gigi brought up that same biographical detail again at a Reebok event that same year. “People say that I don’t deserve to be where I am because I come from this successful family, but my parents were f---ing hardworking,” she told the crowd, per Daily Mail Australia. “My dad was a refugee, my mom was on a farm, went to New York, and worked to send money back to her family. They worked their asses off, and they’ve given me a life because of their hard work, and I work hard to honor that.”

And Gigi said that she has met privileged children who don’t have such a hardworking mentality. “I’ve worked with them,” she said. “They suck. So work hard, and be nice.”