When people talk about billionaires, they usually picture tech bros and hedge fund managers. But plot twist: some of the world’s wealthiest people made their money by literally making stuff up.
J.K. Rowling tops the list with $1 billion net worth—the first author to hit that milestone. Grant Cardone follows close behind at $1.6 billion (though he’s more business guru than novelist). James Patterson and Jim Davis (Garfield creator) sit at $800 million each.
What’s wild? Stephen King ($500M) and John Grisham ($400M) literally turned their book royalties and Hollywood adaptations into fortune. Grisham pulls in $50-80M annually just from residuals.
The takeaway: If you’ve got a hit series that either sells 600M+ copies (looking at you, Harry Potter) or spawns a 30+ year TV franchise, you’re basically printing money. Not bad for just putting words on paper.
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Authors Are Richer Than You Think—Here's How Rich
When people talk about billionaires, they usually picture tech bros and hedge fund managers. But plot twist: some of the world’s wealthiest people made their money by literally making stuff up.
J.K. Rowling tops the list with $1 billion net worth—the first author to hit that milestone. Grant Cardone follows close behind at $1.6 billion (though he’s more business guru than novelist). James Patterson and Jim Davis (Garfield creator) sit at $800 million each.
What’s wild? Stephen King ($500M) and John Grisham ($400M) literally turned their book royalties and Hollywood adaptations into fortune. Grisham pulls in $50-80M annually just from residuals.
The takeaway: If you’ve got a hit series that either sells 600M+ copies (looking at you, Harry Potter) or spawns a 30+ year TV franchise, you’re basically printing money. Not bad for just putting words on paper.