Top 15 Richest Authors In The World and Their Wealth Right Now

Top 15 Richest Authors In The World and Their Wealth 2022/2023

Writing is a career in which it is notoriously difficult to achieve success. May authors spend years writing novels and sending them to publishers only to receive letters of rejection. Having the ability to think of a storyline that will captivate a reader and write it in such a way that publishers are keen to work with you and readers are compelled to buy your books is something that many writers find close to impossible. However, those who do make the big time in the world of publishing can find that their efforts are extremely fruitful. In fact, the top authors often rank in lists of the world’s richest people. These talented writers have the ability to create interesting books that encourage people to buy the next books they write. The richest authors have also often created a story that is worthy of adapting into a movie or having products manufactured.

According to Indeed, the national average salary for novelists is just $49,046 per year. While most writers struggle to make a comfortable living from their work, a lucky handful have made a fortune off their literary talents. Here are the 15 richest authors in 2022/2023:

Who are the Richest Authors In The World 2022/2023?

1. Elisabeth Badinter - $1.3 Billion

2. JK Rowling - $1 billion

3. James Patterson $800 Million

4. Jim Davis - $800 Million

5. Candy Spelling - $600 million

6. Matt Groening - $600 million

7. Paulo Coelho - $500 million

8. Stephen King - $500 million

9. Danielle Steel - $400 million

10. John Grisham - $400 million

11. Nora Roberts - $390 Million

12. Pleasant Rowland - $310 million

13. Barbara Taylor Bradford - $300 million

14. Grant Cardone - $300 million

15. Jeffrey Archer - $200 million

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Top 15 Richest Authors In The World and Their Wealth 2022/2023

1. Elisabeth Badinter - $1.3 Billion

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Elisabeth Badinter is the richest author in the world, with an estimated net worth of $1.7 billion. She is a French author, historian, feminist, and professor who wrote the European bestseller The Conflict: How Modern Motherhood Undermines the Status of Women. Even though she makes a lot of money from selling books, her significant stake in Publicis Groupe makes the most considerable portion of her wealth. The outfit was founded in 1926 by her late father, Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet, and she has been the chairman since 1996. The company banks $9 billion in sales. So, this answers the question, "who is the richest author in the world in 2022?"

2. JK Rowling - $1 billion

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J.K. Rowling “Joanne Kathleen Rowling” is a British author who is the 2nd richest author. British author J.K. Rowling is best known for the Harry Potter series — the series has sold more than 500 million copies, cementing Rowling's place in the billionaires club. The blockbuster movie franchise went on to wow muggles around the world. The Harry Potter franchise is the highest-grossing film series of all time.

JK Rowling is one of the wealthiest private citizens in the United Kingdom and the first author in the world to achieve a net worth of $1 billion. It should be noted that J.K. is extremely private about her personal finances and has denied being a billionaire. That might be possible if she has secretly donated a large portion of her wealth to charity. For the record, it is known that she has donated at least $150 million to charity to date.

3. James Patterson - $800 Million

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Patterson is an American popular fiction novelist best known for his Alex Cross series (first published in 1976) about a psychologist. He’s a masterful storyteller who has spawned his talent of spinning tales to other genres, including non-fiction, young adult and romance novels, selling more than 300 copies along the way, worldwide. As if those numbers weren’t impressive enough, he holds the Guinness World Record as well as The New York Times record for the most bestselling hardcover fiction titles by a single author - a total of 76. He has 95 novels under his belt.

Bestseller James Patterson is known for his thriller novels, including The Noise: A Thriller and the bestselling legal thriller The Jailhouse Lawyer.

4. Jim Davis - $800 Million

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Jim Davis is an American cartoonist who has a net worth of $800 million dollars. Davis is most widely recognized for his internationally successful comic strip, "Garfield," which has been in syndication since 1978 and chronicles the daily affairs of the cat Garfield, his owner, Jon Arbuckle, and Jon's dog, Odie. He produced the CBS series "Garfield & Friends," which aired from 1988 to 1994, and he has written numerous "Garfield" television specials; he wrote and produced several direct-to-video "Garfield" films as well. Jim has also worked on the comic strips "U.S. Acres," "Gnorm Gnat," "Tumbleweeds," and "Mr. Potato Head."

5. Candy Spelling - $600 million

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Candy Spelling has a net worth of $600 million. However, not all her fortune is from her work as an author. She is also an heiress, an entrepreneur, actor, philanthropist, theatrical producer, and socialite. She was born in Beverley Hills, California, on September 20, 1945. She was married to producer and entertainment mogul Aaron Spelling until he died in 2006. When she wrote her autobiography, ‘Stories from Candyland’, it was listed as a New York Times bestseller.

Aaron Spelling was the creator and owner of dozens of very popular television shows including 90210, Melrose Place, The Mod Squad, and many more. Upon his death, Candy inherited Aaron's entire estate, including several notable homes and his vast syndication royalties streams. Aaron notably did not leave a significant amount of money for his daughter Tori Spelling who, years after his death, would claim to be nearly destitute.

6. Matt Groening - $600 million

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Matt Groening is an American animator, author, television producer, and cartoonist who has a net worth of $600 million. He is perhaps best known as the creator of the popular show "The Simpsons", which is the longest-running primetime-television series in history. When he first moved to Los Angeles in 1977 at age 23 to become a writer, he had to take on normal day jobs to make ends meet. At that time he made a self-published comic book for his circle of friends describing that life, titled Life in Hell. His first professional comic sale came a year later, and some 11 years later, on December 17, 1989, the half-hour show premiered and the rest is history.

7. Paulo Coelho - $500 million

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This Brazilian novelist, musician, journalist, theater director, and lyricist has a net worth of $500 million. He was born in Rio de Janeiro on August 24, 1947. At the age of 16, his parents sent him to a mental institution and he escaped several times before he was released after spending four years there. He studied at law school for a year before dropping out so he could travel. He initially wrote lyrics for bands before publishing his first book in 1982, although this had only limited success. He then traveled around Spain and chronicled his experiences in one of his books, ‘The Pilgrimage’. One of his most famous books is ‘The Alchemist’. Not only was this a best-selling book, but it is also the most translated book by a living author.

8. Stephen King - $500 million

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Stephen King is a prolific American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, and fantasy novels who has a net worth of $500 million. His books have sold more than 350 million copies worldwide. King has published 61 novels (including seven under the pen name Richard Bachman) and six non-fiction books Many of them have been turned into popular films or mini-series, including "Carrie," "It," "Stand by Me," "The Shawshank Redemption," "The Stand," "Misery," and "The Shining." He is often called the King of Horror.He has won more than 50 literary awards.

When "Carrie" was published King received a $2,500 (equal to $14,525 today) advance for the book. The paperback rights to the book sold for $400,000, which is equal to $2.3 million today.

9. Danielle Steel - $400 million

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Even if you haven’t read her many works, you may recognize the name. She is a well-known American romance novelist and having spent most of her childhood in France, she first took to writing with poetry. She impressively penned her first manuscript at nineteen, and following the birth of her first daughter, turned to Copywrite at an ad agency and subsequently worked for a public relations firm. In a classic art-imitating-life scenario, Steel has had several dramatic and well-publicized marriages and divorces, which inspired several works. She has written over 174 novels and works of fiction, which include picture books and children’s literature. In 1989 she got on the Guinness Book of World Records for having a book on the New York Times Bestseller List for 381 consecutive weeks.

10. John Grisham - $400 million

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The famed American writer John Grisham, well known all over the world for his stunning legal thrillers, was published worldwide and translated in 42 languages. If that leaves you wondering, you should know that before becoming an author, he served as an attorney on the House of Representatives for Mississippi.

Known for his popular legal thrillers, Grisham was first an attorney before penning his now-famous works. The author earns $50-80 million per year in book royalties and advances alone. He has sold over 300 million copies of books worldwide, and several works have been turned into movies, including The Firm, The Pelican Brief, and The Client. His bestseller A Time To Kill was his first novel written in 1987, and was initially rejected by many publishers before finding a home with Wynwood Press.

As of 2022, John Grisham’s net worth is roughly $400 million, making him the 10th richest author on the list.

11. Nora Roberts - $390 Million

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Another American author on this list, Roberts is one of the most prolific romance novel authors, although she was initially rejected by Harlequin. 1985 saw her first bestseller with, Playing the Odds. Her books have appeared on The New York Times Bestseller List a total of 861 weeks at the time of this writing, with nearly 200 of these weeks being #1. In addition to romantic novels, she also writes romantic suspense under the pen name, J.D. Robb, and in the U.K. she is known as Sarah Hardesty. She is known for writing eight hours a day, each day of the week and even with 209 novels to date, continues to be a prolific writer. She is one of the best-paid authors in the world.

12. Pleasant Rowland - $310 million

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Pleasant Rowland was born in Chicago in 1941 and has a net worth of $310 million. She is an American author, educator, entrepreneur, and reporter. She is best known as the creator of the American Girl brand which includes dolls, books, and related merchandise. While she clearly hasn’t made most of her money from her writing, it’s safe to say that her writing endeavors most certainly contributed to the American Girl brand and its inception.

She founded the Pleasant Company in 1986. The company makes American Girl dolls, accessories, and books. Rowland sold the company to Mattel in 1998 for $700 million. In 2001 she purchased the bankrupt MacKenzie-Childs and then sold it in 2008. Rowland founded the Rowland Reading Foundation in 2004. Pleasant and her husband Jerome Frautschi donated a $205 million gift to build the Overture Center for the Arts in Madison, Wisconsin. Rowland is one of America's richest self-made women.

13. Barbara Taylor Bradford - $300 million

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This British-American novelist is worth $300 million. Barbara Taylor-Bradford was born in Leeds, England, on May 10, 1933. Her debut novel was ‘A Woman of Substance’ which was published in 1979 and remains one of her best-known books. It was the first book in the Emma Harte saga and six books followed in this series. In addition to her novels, Bradford-Taylor has also authored a series of children’s books and a series of interior design books.

The book has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide and is one of the Top 10 bestselling novels of all time. A Woman of Substance was the first in Bradford's The Emma Harte Saga which also includes Hold the Dream, To Be the Best, Emma's Secret, Unexpected Blessings, Just Rewards, and Breaking the Rules.

14. Grant Cardone - $300 million

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Cardone is an author, motivational speaker, and automobile salesperson whose own life story served his trajectory onto the list of richest authors. Early on in his life, Grant developed a drug addiction and at 25 entered rehab. Within five years of leaving rehab, he was a millionaire. He has authored five books, including If You’re Not First, You're Last, which made numerous bestsellers lists, including The New York Times and Amazon.

15. Jeffrey Archer - $200 million

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This English author and politician have a net worth of $200 million. He was born in London on April 15, 1940. He has sold over 250 million copies of his books internationally. However, he is most famous for serving a prison sentence for perjury and perverting the court of justice. His time in prison inspired the series of prison diaries. Another famous series of books written by Archer was the ‘Kane and Abel’ series. Most recently, he has written a series of books called the ‘Clifton Chronicles.

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