There is still a lot of money to be earned by the richest authors in the world through writing books, even though the publishing industry has had trouble in recent years coming up with good books.
Take for instance JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series, it’s hard to find new novels with a good storyline like those these days. You can however read them over and over because the stories are really good.
In this article, we look at the top 10 richest authors in the world now. Keep reading In case you’re interested in discovering more rich authors around the world.
Elisabeth Badinter, $1.3 Billion
Author, philosopher, and historian Elisabeth Badinter is from France. Badinter is well known for her esoteric writings about feminism and women’s place in society. She was rated “France’s most influential intellectual” in a 2010 Marianna news magazine poll.
Publicis Groupe, a global firm that specializes in advertising and public relations, counts Badinter as its largest shareholder and supervisory board chair. She inherited these shares from her father, Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet, who created the business.
She is currently the richest novelist in history. Elisabeth Badinter has a net worth of almost $1.3 billion.
J.K. Rowling, $1 Billion
The second-richest author is a British author named J.K. Rowling (Joanne Kathleen Rowling). The reason Rowling is so well-known is that she created the immensely popular Harry Potter series. The highest-grossing movie franchise of all time is the Harry Potter trilogy.
Over 600 million copies of the Harry Potter book have been sold, it has been translated into 84 languages, and it has inspired a global media phenomenon that includes films and computer games. Additionally, Her debut adult novel was The Casual Vacancy (2012).
J.K Rowling also uses the pen name Robert Galbraith for writing the ongoing crime novel series Cormoran Strike. J.K. Rowling’s net worth is projected to be $1 billion as of July 2023.
James Patterson, $560 Million
American author James Patterson specializes in thriller literature. As seen by his 20 2010 blockbusters, Patterson has a keen sense for what will sell like hotcakes.
He wrote several series, including Alex Cross, Michael Bennett, Women’s Murder Club, Maximum Ride, Daniel X, NYPD Red, Witch & Wizard, Private, and Middle School, as well as numerous stand-alone thrillers, non-fiction books, and romantic novels.
He was the first author to sell one million e-books, and his novels have sold more than 425 million copies. He is the third richest author on the list, with a net worth of almost $560 million.
Stephen King, $400 million
The popular author of modern suspense, fantasy, horror, and science fiction is Stephen King. King is one of the most well-known authors in the world and has an accomplished English bachelor’s degree.
His writings, which have earned him the title “King of Horror” have sold more than 350 million copies as of 2006. They have also been made into several films, television shows, miniseries, and comic comics.
King has written over 65 novels and novellas, seven of which were published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. He has also written five non-fiction books. About 200 short stories that he has written have also been published, the majority of them in book collections.
Stephen King’s net worth is projected to reach $400 million as of July 2023.
Nora Roberts, $390 Million
With more than 200 romantic novels to her credit, Nora Roberts is a bestselling American author. Roberts started writing in the late 1970s, and in 1985 her book “Playing the Odds” became a blockbuster.
In February 1979, she started writing when there was a blizzard. She quickly produced six manuscripts after falling in love with the writing process, but Harlequin, the top publisher of romance novels, consistently rejected them.
To continue with the same characters, she frequently writes trilogies, finishing three books in a row.
With a net worth of almost $390 million as of July 2023, Nora Roberts ranks as the fifth richest novelist in the world.
Danielle Steel, $310 million
With more than 800 million copies of her books sold, American novelist Danielle Steele is the best-selling living author in the world, according to Forbes. Steel now ranks as the fourth most successful author of all time.
Her stories frequently feature wealthy families in peril, threatened by sinister forces like imprisonment, fraud, blackmail, and suicide. Along with forming a foundation to support organizations dealing with mental illness, Steel also wrote and published children’s poetry and fiction.
She has had 22 of her works adapted for television, two of which have been nominated for Golden Globes, and her books have been translated into 43 different languages.
An estimated $310 million is Danielle Steel’s net worth.
Barbara Taylor Bradford, $300 million
One of the fewest English novelists with a large following is Barbara Taylor Bradford. She has more than 80 million copies of her books sold worldwide.
After the 1979 release of A Women of Substance, Queen Elizabeth II honored the author with the OBE in 2007.
A Woman of Substance, her first book, went on to become an enduring bestseller and is currently in the top ten best-selling books of all time, according to Reuters. 38 other bestsellers in England and the US followed, all of which were bestsellers.
Barbara Taylor Bradford is predicted to rank as the 7th richest author in the world as of July 2023 with a net worth of $300 million.
Nigel Blackwell, $292.5 Million
In 2006, Blackwell Publishing was sold for 572 million euros. Almost all of that was earned by Toby and his nephew Nigel.
He enjoys reading, has a Ph.D. in physical chemistry, and is an expert at pointing out the obvious. He is presently working on thrillers as well as short stories with eerie and magical aspects. The first title in this collection is By The Light.
The estimated value of Nigel Blackwell’s net worth is $292.5 million.
John Grisham, $220 million
American author John Grisham, who is well-known throughout the world, represented Mississippi in the House of Representatives when he was also an attorney.
Grisham has penned 37 straight novels that have debuted at number one in the fiction bestseller charts, according to the American Academy of Achievement, and his books have amassed 300 million copies in print worldwide. One of just three authors, including Tom Clancy and J. K. Rowling, Grisham has sold two million copies of a book on its initial printing.
John Grisham is the ninth richest author on the list as of July 2023 with a net worth of over $220 million.
Jeffrey Archer, $195 Million
Author and former politician Jeffrey Archer is from England. Before he started his writing career, Archer served in the British Parliament. With over 330 million copies of his books sold globally, Archer established his fortunes as a best-selling novelist.
With an estimated 34 million copies sold worldwide, his 1979 novel Kane and Abel is still one of the best-selling books ever written. More than 320 million copies of his books have been sold globally overall.
Jeffrey Archer has an estimated net worth of $195 million as of July 2023.
Conclusion
Did your favorite author in the world appear on this list of top 10? Well, these are the top 10 highest-paid authors in the world. Their works are some of the greatest with no doubt. Of course, some other amazing authors are equally wealthy such as Dan Brown, Jack Higgins, Stephanie Meyer, and Janet Evanovich. They however don’t come close to the candidates we listed in the top 10.
