Forbes presents the richest writers of the world 2016

August 4, 2016

This year’s Forbes list of the world’s richest authors has James Patterson, Jeff Kinney, and J.K. Rowling at the top three and with the top 12 earning more than £200 million ($200.6 million).

With more than £71 million ($95 million) James Patterson leads the chart, he is the author of the detective series based on the leading character Alex Cross.

Jeff Kinney came in second. The author of the children and young adults books The Diary Of A Wimpy Kid earned more than £14.6 million ($19.5 million).

Famous Harry Potter’s series author J.K. Rowling was the third in the Forbes list earning earned £14.2 million ($19 million). Rowling also wrote the first follow-up of the Harry Potter book series, The Cursed Child, and was released at the end of July.

James Patterson is the richest writer in the world according to Forbes. Image credit: Lat Times

Between the top ten appears E. L. James, the creator of the Fifty Shades Of Grey series. Besides the profits from book sales, she also received some extra money when the story made it to the big screen.

Her newest book, Grey, written from the perspective of the lead character Christian instead of the other that focused on the female character, make her earn more than £10.5 million ($14 million).

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Also, Game Of Thrones writer George R.R. Martin appears on the list with £7.1 million ($9.5 million) earned from the sales of the books and money from the famous HBO series, which is to have two more seasons.

Books have inspired many of the most popular movies in the last decade

The writers on the top of the list have something in common, and that is that their creations have inspired TV shows and successful movies.

The most famous of them all is Harry Potter. The book series created the concept of wizardy and inspired eight popular films that gave shape to pop culture. Rowling expanded Harry Potter’s world with ‘Fantastic Beasts and how to find them.’

She recently released a new book subtitled ‘The cursed child’ which is already very famous. It would be safe to expect a movie adaptation very soon.

Another lady, Veronica Roth, is the mastermind behind the Divergent book series which has captured the imaginations of many with its depiction of a futuristic society.

Shailene Woodley played ‘Tris’ in the movies which have been quite popular among the audiences whether they have read the books. In total, Ms. Roth has pocketed £7.5 million, and there is a new movie coming on 2017.

Former financial journalist and newcomer Paula Hawkins, the author of ‘The Girl On The Train’, made the list with earnings of £7.5million ($9.5million). Her book also inspired an adaptation for the big screen to be released later this year and starring Emily Blunt.