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: SuppliedMoney was so tight that from age eight, Twain sang in local bars...