# From Harry Potter to The Simpsons: How Authors Built Billion-Dollar Empires

You'd be surprised how rich some writers actually are. While most people think of tech billionaires or real estate moguls, the publishing world has quietly created some seriously wealthy individuals.

Here's the top 10 richest authors by net worth:

**The Billion-Dollar Club:**
1. **J.K. Rowling** - $1 billion (The Harry Potter franchise is basically a money machine)
2. **James Patterson** - $800 million (140+ novels, 425M+ copies sold)
3. **Jim Davis** - $800 million (Garfield's been printing money since 1978)

**The $600M Tier:**
4. Danielle Steel - $600 million (180+ romance novels)
5. Grant Cardone - $600 million (Business books + 7 companies)
6. Matt Groening - $600 million (The Simpsons creator)

**The $500M Club:**
7. Paulo Coelho - $500 million (The Alchemist sold worldwide)
8. Rose Kennedy - $500 million (Kennedy family matriarch)
9. Stephen King - $500 million (King of Horror, 60+ books)

**The $400M Starter:**
10. John Grisham - $400 million (Legal thrillers turned blockbuster films)

The takeaway? Rowling became the first author ever to hit $1 billion. Patterson's basically a book-writing machine. And Groening proves that creative IP—whether it's books or cartoons—is where the real money is.

Interesting how many of these fortunes came from adaptations (movies, TV shows, merchandise) rather than book sales alone.