1
general::
Phrase(s): from rags to riches
Fig. from poverty to wealth; from modesty to elegance. • The princess used to be quite poor. She certainly moved from rags to riches. • After I inherited the money, I went from rags to riches.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
2
general::
From being poor to being wealthy, especially through one's own efforts. For example, The invention catapulted the scientist from rags to riches. Horatio Alger (1834-1899) popularized this theme in some 130 best-selling novels, in which the hero, through hard work and thrift, pulled himself out of poverty to wealth and happiness.
American Heritage Idioms