J.K. Rowling Still Wealthiest Author

Posted on October 4, 2008

The press loves to chronicle the net worth of J.K. Rowling: they definitely keep a sharp eye on her fortune. A new article in Forbes reveals that -- shock of all shocks -- she's still really wealthy.

The $300m JK Rowling pulled in over the last year will make sickening reading for the majority of authors who are struggling to earn a living.

Rowling made $571 a minute between June 1 2007 and June 1 2008, according to Forbes's ranking of the world's best paid authors, thanks to last July's publication of the final novel detailing the adventures of her boy wizard, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The book has sold around 44m copies since publication, including 15m in its first 24 hours on sale, said Forbes.

Labour party supporter Rowling made a whopping six times more than second best paid author James Patterson, whose not-so-paltry $50m was drummed up through a combination of thrillers, romance and children's books. Patterson is now publishing up to eight books a year thanks to an army of "writing partners", and is also developing a computer game of his Women's Murder Club series.

$571 a minute, eh? Well, she earned every penny of it. If anything, her success should be inspiring to writers everywhere. After all, before the first Harry Potter book was published, she was on welfare barely making ends meet. Now she's richer than the Queen of England. Who doesn't love a story like that?

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