Authors Net Worth Statistics – WordsRated (2024)

Authors by highest net worth

Of the listed top 20 authors by net worth, Mystery/Thriller authors represented 40%.
Romance authors represented 25%.
Fantasy authors represented 15%.
65% of the listed authors with the highest net worths were American.
30% of the listed authors were British.
In terms of gender, the listed authors are split 50/50 between male and female.
The author with the highest net worth listed was Élisabeth Badinter who had a net worth of 1.3 billion.
Her hit title “The Conflict: How Modern Motherhood Undermines the Status of Women”, had sold more than 200,000 copies in France alone, as of 2012.

#	Nationality	Name	Genre	Net worth
1	French	Élisabeth Badinter	Nonfiction	$1.3 billion
2	British	J.K. Rowling	Fantasy	$1 billion
3	American	James Patterson	Mystery/Thriller	$560 million
4	American	Nora Roberts	Romance	$420 million
5	American	Stephen King	Mystery/Thriller	$400 million
6	American	Danielle Steel	Romance	$310 million
7	British	Barbara Taylor Bradford	Romance	$300 million
8	American	John Grisham	Mystery/Thriller	$220 million
9	British	Jeffrey Archer	Mystery/Thriller	$195 million
10	American	Dan Brown	Mystery/Thriller	$178 million
11	American	Dean Koontz	Mystery/Thriller	$145 million
12	American	Stephenie Meyer	Fantasy	$125 million
13	British	Paul McKenna	Self-help	$100 million
14	American	Deepak Chopra	Spirituality	$80 million
15	American	Janet Evanovich	Mystery/Thriller	$80 million
16	American	Meg Cabot	Romance	$80 million
17	American	Suzanne Collins	Fantasy	$80 million
18	British	E.L. James	Romance	$60 million
19	British	Ken Follett	Historical fiction	$55 million
20	American	David Baldacci	Mystery/Thriller	$45 million

A graph is given below to show the highest net worth authors listed by nationality:

Authors Net Worth Statistics – WordsRated (2)

A graph is given below to show the highest net worth authors listed by genre:

Authors Net Worth Statistics – WordsRated (3)

Highest net worth US authors

James Patterson

As of 2022, James Patterson’s books have sold over 425 million copies.
He was also the first person to sell over 1 million e-books.
It was estimated that he earns upwards of $50 million each year.

Stephen King

Stephen King has sold more than 400 million book copies worldwide as of 2022.
Based on his book of the same name, “The Shining” released in 1980 grossed over $47 million worldwide.
As of 2022, his annual income was estimated to be over $48 million.

Nora Roberts

It is estimated that Nora Roberts has sold over 500 million copies of her books.
Nora Roberts has sold over 1 million Kindle books, making her the third person to do so.
As of 2022 it was estimated that she earns over $30 million each year.

Danielle Steel

As of 2022, Danielle Steel has published more than 190 books.
From these books, she has sold more that 900 million copies globally.
As of 2022, it was estimated that her annual income exceeds $20 million.

John Grisham

John Grisham’s books have sold over 300 million copies worldwide.
“The Firm” by John Grisham was adapted into a film starring Tom Cruise in 1993, which grossed over $270 million worldwide.
As of 2022 it was estimated that he earns upwards of $50 million per year.

Dan Brown

Three of Dan Brown’s books (“The Da Vinci Code”, “Angels & Demons” and “Inferno”) have been adapted into films, which together grossed more than $1.5 billion worldwide.
As of 2012, his books had sold over 200 million copies.
As of 2022, it was estimated that his annual income is over $10 million.

Dean Koontz

From Dean Koontz’s works, he has sold over 500 million copies.
His works have also been adapted into 17 movies.
As of 2013, his annual income was estimated to be $20 million.

Stephenie Meyer

As of 2022, Stephenie Meyer has sold over 160 million copies of her “Twilight” series of books.
From the series, its movies have grossed over $3.3 billion dollars globally.
As of 2012, her annual earnings were estimated at $14 million.

Deepak Chopra

As of 2023, he has sold more than 20 million copies of his books globally.
As of 2021, he had written more than 91 books.
His hit title “The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success” has sold more than 3 million copies.

Janet Evanovich

Janet Evanovich has more than 200 million publications in print globally.
The film rights to her title “One for the Money” were sold to Columbia TriStar for $1 million.
As of 2022, it was estimated that she earns upwards of $20 million each year.

Meg Cabot

Meg Cabot has sold over 25 million copies of her books globally.
Her series “The Princess Diaries” was adapted into two movies that grossed over $300 million worldwide in total.
She credits the films for helping to increase her overall book sales.

Suzanne Collins

As of 2020, Suzanne Collins’ novels have sold more than 100 million copies around the world.
Her “Hunger Games” series was adapted into four movies which grossed over $2.97 billion worldwide in total.
As of 2015, her annual income was estimated to be around $13 million.

David Baldacci

David Baldacci has sold more than 150 million copies of his books worldwide.
The worldwide book and movie rights to his novel “Absolute Power” were sold for an estimated $5 million.
The movie grossed $82 million globally.

Highest net worth UK authors

J.K. Rowling

J.K. Rowling’s “Wizarding World” series, consisting of “Harry Potter” and “Fantastic Beasts”, is the fourth-highest grossing film series ($9.66 billion) of all time, as of 2023.
As of 2023, her books have sold more than 600 million copies worldwide.
As of 2022, it was estimated that she earns at least $50 million annually.

Barbara Taylor Bradford

As of 2021, Barbara Taylor Bradford had sold 90 million copies of her books.
Ten of her publications have been adapted into TV movies/drama series.
As of 2022, her annual income was estimated to be over $25 million.

Jeffrey Archer

In total, Jeffrey Archer’s books have sold more than 320 million copies around the globe.
His novel “Kane and Abel” released in 1979 alone has sold an estimated 34 million copies.
As of 2011, he had earned an estimated $33 million in book royalties.

Paul McKenna

Paul McKenna’s books have sold more than 10 million copies globally.
His self-help book “I Can Make You THIN” is the best selling book of its genre in UK history.
He is also considered to be the world’s #1 hypnotherapist.

E.L. James

E.L. James is renowned for her “Fifty Shades” series which has sold over 125 million copies worldwide.
In the US alone it has sold over 35 million copies.
In total, movie adaptations of the series have grossed upwards of $1.32 billion globally.

Ken Follett

Ken Follett has sold more than 188 million copies of his works.
“The Pillars of the Earth” became his best selling work, and was adapted into a mini-series and video game.
Its sequel, “World Without End”, was also adapted into a mini-series.

Authors Net Worth FAQ

How much do authors make per book published?

For talented first-time authors, publishers can look to pay between $5,000 and $10,000 as an advance.
The amount of money earned by the author greatly depends on the size of the advance, the number of copies sold and the agreed royalty rate.
Find out more about how much authors make here.

Why are advances used?

Advances are indicative of the publisher’s anticipated success of a publication.
After an advance is given, the author will need to at least break even after the cost of printing and distribution is incurred.
Once this has been achieved, royalties can be paid out to the author. A common royalty rate is around 10%.

Do all authors receive advances?

Although commonplace, not all authors receive advances. It is possible for other types of agreements to be put into place between publishers and authors.