As a kid, we are taught that reading is a good habit, and as we grow up this teaching stays the same. Reading allows you to enter a world of fantasy that an author skillfully creates. Most people have their favorite authors as they know the books written by them will be special. The best selling authors have a loyal fan base that enables them to make a decent income. In this article, we will inform you about some of the richest authors in the world and cover Stephen King net worth among many.
Richest Authors in the World with Net Worth
Take a minute and think about the best authors that you have come across. It can be someone whose book you read, someone whose book a friend recommended, or someone who is celebrated. Authors like James Patterson, Dan Brown, Nora Roberts, and Suzanne Collins would make the list for sure. The stories and writing styles of these richest authors in the world have connected with the masses and have made them millionaires. Let us begin our list.
1. Stephen King Net Worth
Stephen Edwen King is a 75-year-old American author who was born in Portland, Maine, U.S. on 21st September 1947. Some of the pen names used by him throughout his career are Richard Bachman, John Swithen, and Beryl Evans.
He has been present in the writing scene ever since 1967 and his work has catered to Horror, fantasy, supernatural, fiction, drama, gothic, genre fiction, dark fantasy, post-apocalyptic fiction, crime fiction, and suspense thriller genres. It is safe to say that he has won his fair share of awards for his work as an author.
Stephen King net worth stands at 500 million dollars all thanks to his more than 60 books which have sold a combined total of 350 million copies. His work has gotten him the title of King of Horror. His work has also inspired movies like The Shawshank Redemption, It, and more which put him on this list of the richest authors in the world
Being this rich has made it possible for the author to donate no less than 4 million dollars a year. Together with his wife, the author has 3 properties one of which was made in 1870 and is set to become a museum and the other two are a summer home and a waterfront mansion.
Carrie is a hit horror novel by Stephen King that helped him reach new heights in his career initially as the book was a huge success upon its launch and was also adapted into a movie. This book got him an advance of 2,500 dollars and the book’s paperback rights were sold for 400k dollars. In today’s time, these amounts equal 15,000 and 2.3 million dollars respectively.
2. James Patterson Net Worth
James Brendan Patterson is another 75-year-old American author and he was born in Newburgh, New York, U.S. on March 22nd, 1947. He is also one of the richest authors in the world as he has written a ton of books that belong to multiple genres like Mystery, young adult fiction, thriller, comedy, realistic fiction, romance, and science fiction.
As recently as 2016 the author was featured in Forbes’ list of highest-paid authors which was his third consecutive appearance on the list as he earned 95 million dollars that year.
James Patterson’s net worth is no less than 800 million dollars and considering his income of 90 million dollars plus in 2016 and his multiple appearances on Forbes’s high-earner list it all makes sense.
The author has written at least 140 novels which have sold a combined total of over 300 million copies. Records like being the first person to sell one million e-books and also having the record for the highest number of number 1 ranked best-selling fiction books sold by a single writer belong to him.
His other credentials include him being a novelist, film producer, and TV producer as well. His work has inspired or been adapted to films as well. He has won tons of awards for his work as an author over the years. In 2005 he started the James Patterson PageTurner award to gift cash to anyone who could come up with a new and effective way of spreading the excitement of books and reading.
3. Dan Brown Net Worth
Born on June 22nd, 1964, Daniel Gerhard Brown is a 58-year-old American author who was born in Exeter, New Hampshire, U.S. The novelist’s work belongs to Thriller, adventure, mystery, and conspiracy genres. By 2012 his work had sold as many as 200 million copies and his work was translated into no less than 57 languages.
His work has also been adapted into movies and a television show as well. He studied at Amherst College. His work mostly features treasure hunts that go over 24 hours. His work has constantly featured Christian themes and Historical fiction.
It is estimated that Dan Brown net worth is close to 160 million dollars or so and his yearly income is said to be 20 million dollars. 250 million copies have been sold of his books so far and one of the most famous of them is The Da Vinci Code which also was adapted into a movie. His other credentials include writing and acting.
Dan also tried his hands at music as he self-produced a child’s cassette tape and formed his own record company through which he self-published the CD. The cassette wasn’t a hit but managed to sell quite a few copies.
He has in the past also taught Spanish at a Preparatory school. However, his interest in writing developed in 1993 after reading a novel from another writer. Dan has featured on Time magazine’s 100 most influential people of the year list in 2005 along with achieving many other such feats while also winning a ton of awards. Dan also has an interest in charity and is a philanthropist which is why he donates money to various good causes.
4. Nora Roberts Net Worth
72-year-old Eleanor Marie Robertson who was born on 10th October 1950 can’t be left out of the list of richest authors in the world. She is an American author who has written no less than 225 novels which have been written using pen names such as Nora Roberts, J.D. Robb, Jill March, and Sarah Hardesty.
She has been in the writing industry since 1981 and her work fits under genres of Romance, fantasy, and suspense. She became the first author to be included in the Romantic Writers of America Hall of Fame which is no mean feat. Her work has been on the New York Times best-seller list for a combined total of 861 weeks of which her work has held the top spot for no less than 176 weeks.
Nora Robert net worth stands tall at 400 million dollars while her yearly income is understood to be 20 million dollars. No wonder she is on this list of richest authors in the world. Silhouette Books became the publisher that allowed her to make her debut and she wrote 23 novels for them from 1982 to 1984.
It is said that Nora writes every day of the week for at least 8 hours. It was a blizzard in February 1979 that made her try her hand at writing and that is when her love affair with writing took the driving seat.
Even though her work is not limited to the Romantic genre she is most famous for it. Of the many awards she has won for her work RITA and Quill awards are a few that she has won multiple times. All her novels since 1999 have featured in New York Times bestsellers while 29 of her novels have debuted in the top spot. Her work has also been adapted into films and movies and her work has been published in no less than 40 languages and countries.
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5. Suzanne Collins Net Worth
Suzzane Collins is an American author and television writer who was born in Hartford, Connecticut, U.S. on 10th August 1962. Her other credentials also include being a journalist. The writer of The Hunger Games has written content that falls under genres like Fantasy, science fiction, children’s literature, young adult fiction, and dystopian fiction. She got her Bachelors done from Indiana University Bloomington and her MFA from New York University.
Suzzane Collins net worth stands at 90 million dollars and her books which have sold a combined total of more than 85 million copies can be thanked for it. In her early days, the writer had worked for Nickelodeon among other places. Her first book was published in 2003 and she has never looked back since then. Her most popular work The Hunger Games got its first book in 2008 and in the following two years, the remaining two books of the trilogy followed. It made her one of the richest authors in the world.
The novel was adapted for film by herself with the help of a screenwriter and a director. The first movie went on to make 694.4 million dollars. In 2010 the author became one of Times magazine’s most influential people. In 2012 she became Kindle’s best-selling author of all time and by this time 29 of the 100 most highlighted passages in Kindle eBooks belonged to her. She has more recently written a prequel to the famous trilogy which is again set to be adapted for the big screen.
