A Closer Look At J.K. Rowling’s Vault Finds She’s Richer Than We Thought

J.K. Rowling is an extremely rich person. Just how rich remains a mystery, because she’s been tight-lipped on the subject matter after telling a TV interviewer in 2005 that, “I’ve got plenty of money, more money than I ever dreamed I would have. But I am not a billionaire.”

Forbes dropped her off its billionaires list in 2012 (after eight years of being there), citing high British taxes and large charitable contributions as eating into her Harry Potter-sized fortune.

The New York TimesJames Stewart now reckons Forbes needs to revise. He did the math, and estimates that even by accounting for a large margin of error, Rowling’s fortune now sits north of $1 billion.

Obviously 2016 has been an extremely busy for Rowling and the Potter franchise alike: the ‘Cursed Child‘ play opened (and is sold out for months), the accompanying script shot to the top of the bestseller list, the first ‘Fantastic Beasts‘ opened to a tidy gross sum, and Warner Bros recently licensed the Harry Potter television rights to NBCUniversal for a rumoured $250 million.
(Yes, HARRY POTTER THE TELEVISION SHOW. No word yet, but if there is any kind god it’ll be a top quality production that doesn’t drop entire characters like Peeves, Winky and Ludo Bagman, and takes two fucking minutes to explain how Professor Lupin knew how to work the Marauder’s Map.)

Here’s how Stewart did the math:

(NB: the amounts are in US dollars, and they’re conservative estimates based on available data.)
  • The seven ‘Harry Potter’ books: $1.15 billion.
  • The Robert Galbraith series: “at least another” $50 million.
  • The first four ‘Harry Potter’ films: $250 million.
  • The second four ‘Harry Potter’ films: $400 million.
  • The first ‘Fantastic Beasts’ film: $50 million.
  • Licensing fee from Universal Studios: $60 million to $80 million, plus annual development fees.
  • Universal Studios revenue percentage since opening: $100 million.
  • NBCUniversal television rights: $125 million.
TOTAL: $2.2 billion.
Assuming she paid the UK’s top individual tax rate of 45%, that’s $1.2 billion (AU $1.62 billion).

Fuck me dead. Not bad for a lil’ tale about a bespectacled git who can’t stop waving his wand around, hey.
Source: NY Times.
Photo: Harry Potter.

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