Gigi Hadid’s millionaire father sparks debate after claiming supermodel is ‘self-made’

26-year-old supermodel has an estimated net worth of $29m

Gigi Hadid’s father sparks debate after referring to her as self-made (Getty Images for Meesika)

Gigi Hadid’s father, a millionaire real estate developer, has sparked a debate online after referring to the supermodel as “self-made” while insisting that she has never taken a “single dollar from her parents”.

This week, ahead of Hadid’s birthday on Friday, her father Mohamed Hadid celebrated his daughter on Instagram, where he shared a list of “20 things that you did not know about Gigi Hadid”.

According to the 72-year-old, the first thing that fans should know about his 26-year-old daughter is that she has achieved everything on her impressive resume through her own hard work.

“Self-made… never took a single dollar from her parents,” the real estate developer, whose net worth is estimated to be between anywhere from $5m to $200m, wrote in first place on the list.

The supermodel’s mother, a formerReal Housewives of Beverly Hills star and former model, Yolanda Hadid, has a reported net worth of $45m, according to Celebrity Net Worth. 

While the post prompted praise and birthday wishes from many of Hadid’s fans, others suggested that the model, who is worth an estimated $29m and one of the highest-paid models in the world, and whose siblings Bella Hadid and Anwar Hadid are also successful models, could not technically be considered “self-made” due to her privileged upbringing.

“Self-made? Born privileged more like it…” one person commented.

Another said: “Self-made? Her mom’s a model which is the only reason she got signed as well as Bella and you’re a rich developer who built mansions all over Beverly Hills and Bel Air... she was born into money sis.”

In response to the comment, one person defended Hadid on the basis that she has still worked hard in her career and that it is not “her fault she was born into money,” prompting someone else to reiterate that being born into a life of privilege contradicts claims of “self-made”.

“No but her parents set her up to be successful using their connections, money and started her modeling career for her from a young age. Self made that is not,” they wrote.

The claim that Hadid reportedly never relied on money from her parents was also questioned in the comments, with one person recalling an episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills during which Yolanda helped move her daughter into a New York City apartment.

They wrote: “Did Yolanda not pay for her apartment and do the whole place up for when she first moved to NY? It was on RHOBH? That’s not ‘never taking a dollar from her parents.’”

On the list, Hadid’s father also praised his daughter for accomplishments such as becoming a model for Baby Guess when she was just months old, and for becoming a “junior Olympic volleyball contender” and “accomplished equestrian junior Olympic contender”.

The father-of-five pointed out his daughter’s modelling achievements as well, adding: “She has the highest number of Vogue magazine covers worldwide, around fifty.” In 2018, the supermodel had been featured on the cover of Vogue 35 times, according to BuzzFeed, with the new mother recently appearing on the cover of US Vogue again last month.