Shania Twain turns dirt-poor childhood into $590m global real estate empire

Shania Twain has turned a dirt-poor childhood surviving on stale bread into a $590m ($US400m) global real estate empire.

The 60-year-old superstar overcame difficult upbringing, poverty and a high-profile marriage breakdown to build a luxury property portfolio spanning Switzerland, the Bahamas, New Zealand, New York and Florida.

Long before she became the Queen of Country Pop, the You’re Still The One singer grew up in Timmins, Ontario, where her family frequently rationed food and struggled to keep the heating on.

The five-time Grammy winner revealed her mother Sharon and stepfather Jerry Twain financial stress fuelled constant, violent fights at home.

Shania Twain has turned a dirt-poor childhood surviving on stale bread into a $US400m global real estate empire. Picture: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for ABA

“Our house would shake. Those walls would shake. It gets loud and scary, like a really bad thunderstorm,” Twain revealed on Wild Card with Rachel Martin.

“They would argue over, ‘Can’t pay the bills. Now we’re gonna run out of heat, and now, whose fault is that?’”

Twain’s childhood home in Timmins, Ontario. Picture: Supplied

Money was so tight that from age eight, Twain sang in local bars to help put food on the table.

When her parents died in a car accident in 1987, the You’ve Got a Way singer took on full responsibility for her younger siblings. She performed at a local resort until landing a record deal with Mercury Nashville in 1992.

Shania Twain and Robert ‘Mutt’ Lange on their wedding day.

Her financial situation changed after marrying music producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange in 1993.

The pair built a dream home and studio in Ontario on Dexter Lake, which they bought for $4.8m ($US3.25m).

The pair built a dream home and studio in Ontario on Dexter Lake, which they bought for $US3.25m. Picture: Supplied

As hits from her record-breaking album Come On Over rolled in, the couple added Château de Sully in Switzerland, to their real estate portfolio.

In 2004, the pair bought Mahu Whenua, a sprawling $31.7m ($US21.5m) retreat in New Zealand’s South Island featuring private cottages, stables and a helipad.

Rooms at the luxury estate now rent for up to $15,000 a night.

The couple added Château de Sully in Switzerland, to their real estate portfolio. Picture: Google Earth

However, her personal life imploded in 2008 when Lange had an affair with her close friend and assistant, Marie-Anne Thiébaud.

In 2004, the pair bought Mahu Whenua, a sprawling $31.7m ($US21.5m) retreat in New Zealand’s South Island. Picture: @mahuwhenua / Instagram

The betrayal plunged Twain into severe depression.

“I didn’t want to live anymore,” Twain admitted in an interview with Oprah Winfrey.

In a stranger-than-fiction twist, Twain found solace with Marie-Anne’s ex-husband, Swiss business executive Frédéric Thiébaud.

Twain found solace with Marie-Anne’s ex-husband, Swiss business executive Frédéric Thiébaud. Picture: Getty

Thiébaud was the one who initially broke the news of the affair to Twain.

The pair bonded over their shared heartbreak, fell in love, and married on a Puerto Rico beach on New Year’s Day in 2011.

Today, Twain and Thiébaud live in a private estate in Corseaux, Switzerland, overlooking Lake Geneva.

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