The Wheel of Fortune

The wheel of the fortune always turns around and around, and takes someone in rags to riches, meantime, takes others who are rich into rag. Any dog may have its day, or just like a Chinese saying, "30 years river east, another 30 years turns to river west."

Here are some celebrity stories, which may be an inspiration or a warning for you.

For some, it took a childhood of hardship to get them to fabulous superstardom: from rags to riches, from nothing-to-unbelievable-something. Here are some stories of the past few years that reveals where the stars came from, and how far they've come.

Some of the hottest Hollywood celebrities started out as far away from tinsletown as they could get. Demi Moore started her life in a trailer park in Roswell, New Mexico, a far cry from the $3.5 million dollar LA home just jogging distance from her boyfriend Ashton Kutcher. Her father left her mother, Victoria, before Demi was born. Her stepfather, Danny Guynes, didn't add much stability to her life, either. He frequently changed jobs and made the family move a total of 40 times. The parents kept on drinking, arguing and beating, until Guynes finally committed suicide. Demi quit school at the age of 16 to work as a pin-up-girl.

Oscar-nominated starlet Naomi Watts grew up in Shoreham, England. Her father died when Naomi was seven and she began to follow her mother and her brother around England, living off the kindness of relatives when her mother was unable to provide for her and her brother, until they settled in Australia when she was fourteen. Naomi now enjoys the pampered Hollywood life, wearing a $46,000 diamond Bulgari watch to her Le Divorce premiere and spending $80 for one ounce of Jan Marini C-esta cream.

And Sex in the City star Sarah Jessica Parker spent her early life as far from the city as possible - born in Nelsonville, OH, Parker's parents divorced early on in Parker's life and her mother remarried Paul Forste. Parker grew up with her mother, stepfather, and she was one of 8 children and hand-me-downs was a way of life. Now, Sarah Jessica is a fashion icon and on the speed dial of some of the world's best designers.

The Hollywood actress loved the town of Braseltown so much, that she brought it for $20 million, hoping to develop it as a tourist attraction. But she soon ran into financial difficulties, especially after being sued for pulling out of the film Boxing Helena. The $8 million damages she had to pay forced her to file for bankruptcy in 1993. The damages were later reduced and she went on to resume her successful acting career.

The parachute-panted rap star earned an estimated $33 million dollars on the back of his smash hit single U Can't Touch This and it's accompanying album Please Hammer Don't Hurt Em. But he splashed out on a $12 million crib, helicopters and a 300 strong entourage who claimed wages totalling $500,000 a month. However the MC was unable to repeat his success and it was under-the-hammer time as he was forced to file for bankruptcy with debts of $13 million. He has since turned to God and now is working as a preacher, hosting his own TV show on a Christian network.

With pop star looks and sublime skill, it's no wonder Bestie became football's first real superstar. Dubbed "The Fifth Beatle", he expanded his portfolio by opening up nightclubs and boutiques. However his playing career was a generation before today's superstar wages and he quickly sqaundered his cash on drinking, gambling and womanising - the rest of the money "he wasted", as he was fond of saying. Bankruptcy soon followed and he spent the rest of his life battling his demons, finally succumbing to liver disease in 2006.

With Bat Out Of Hell, the larger-than-life rock star made one of the best selling albums of all time. However, he fell victim to unscrupulous managers, who not only stole all his money, but also had the audacity to sue him for breach of contract, forcing Meat Loaf to declare bankruptcy. He looked to be on the road to recover when he released the album Blind Before I Stop - only problem was that the producer had put a dance beat on every track, alienating his rock fanbase. The failure of the album forced him to go bankrupt for a second time, his fortune only reversing when Bat Out Of Hell 2 became a bestseller in 1993.

When you are the most successful artist of all time, how could you possibly go broke? If you spent money like Michael Jackson you could. Once described as having "a billionaire spending habit for only a millionaire's spending budget", the prince of pop was seen to blow $6million in a matter of a few hours on the Martin Basiir documentary Living With Michael Jackson. His spending, coupled with mounting legal bills has seen him default on a $23million dollar loan. If he doesn't pay up, he could be close to losing his opulent Neverland Ranch.