Earnings of the wealthiest authors worldwide 2019

Topping the ranking of the world's highest earning authors in 2019 was J.K. Rowling, with an income of 92 million U.S. dollars. Rowling is best known for her 'Harry Potter' series, but came under fire in May 2020 for comments on Twitter which users felt were transphobic. The author quickly became embroiled in a social media row with fans and LGBQTIA+ rights advocates, as well as other renowned authors including Stephen King.

Harry Potter

Rowling’s ‘Harry Potter’ series consists of seven books which were published between 1997 and 2007. The literary series, once adapted into film, generated eight films in total, with a further two films now made and based on the 'Fantastic Beasts' books. The first film, entitled ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ which was released in 2001, generated a box office revenue of 974.76 million U.S. dollars worldwide. The final film in the series ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2’ was released ten years later in 2011 and generated 1.34 billion U.S. dollars worldwide, making it the highest earning film of the series.