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The Top 40 Richest Authors of all time

Do you love writing? Writing is not an easy job as walking in the garden or a park, right? It requires a lot of patience, hard work, and dedication.

In the same way, writing also depends upon your level of creativity, talent, and of course, your patience.

A few make a good fortune from writing while the rest struggle to stay cozy through their work.

Let’s check out the world’s top 40 wealthiest authors of all time.

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The Top 40 Richest Author of all time

40. Rick Riordan

Rick  Riordan is an American writer famous for Percy Jackson & the Olympians series.

He has published more than 34 books, and eighty-six million copies are sold worldwide.

His novels are based on Fantasy, detective fiction, mythology.

The net worth of Richard Russell Riordan is $35 million.

39. Cormac McCarthy

Cormac McCarthy has written more than ten novels, and most of them are adopted in movies.

He has also written two plays and short stories in western style. Graphic depictions of violence can be primarily seen in writing.

His best-selling novel is The road which has received Pulitzer Prize in 2007. His net worth is $35 million.

38. David Baldacci

David Baldacci is an American writer and one of the bestselling novelists of American Literature.

His novels are based on suspense and legal thrillers.

He has published more than 47 books, and one hundred and thirty million copies are sold. His net worth is $45 Million. Absolute power is his best-selling novel among others.

37. Eric Carle

Eric Carle was an author, designer, and illustrator.

An American Writer has published more than 70 books and sold hundred and twenty-five million copies worldwide.

His books have been translated into more than 66 languages. 

He is best known for The Very Hungry Caterpillar. His net worth is $60 million.

36. Anne Rice

Anne Rice is an American writer, Christian literature and erotic literature.

She is best known for The Vampire Chronicles series. The novel has been adapted into the big screen with, Interview with the Vampire and Queen of the Damned.

Anne Rice has sold more than a hundred million copies worldwide, and bestselling is The Vampire Chronicles series. Her net worth is about $60 million.

35. Eckhart Tolle

Eckhart Tolle is a German-Candian writer best known for his work The Power of Now and A New Earth. He is a spiritual teacher.

Eckhart Tolle has published more than 11 books based on spiritual knowledge.

He has sold more than twenty million copies. His net worth is $70 million.

34. Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel)

Theodor Seuss Geisel, an American writer, was a politician, cartoonist, poet, animator, and filmmaker.

He has published more than 60 books and has sold six hundred fifty million copies worldwide.

His bestsellers book is The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham. His net worth is $75 million.

33. George R. R. Martin

George Raymond Richard Martin is an American writer, screenwriter, television, and short story producer.

He is known for A Song of Ice and Fire, which HBO adapted in series on the big-screen titled The Game of Thrones.

George Raymond Richard Martin’s net worth is $80 million.

He earns more than $25 million a year selling the book and from its royalties. He also made $15 million from the HBO series The Game of Thrones.

32. Suzanne Collins

An American Suzanne Collins is best known for the Hunger Game and The Underland Chronicles series.

It is The New York Times bestselling series. She is a television writer and a journalist.

The Net worth of Suzanne Collins is $80 million. She has sold more than a hundred million copies of The Hunger Games Trilogy. Most of her books are adopted on the big screen.

31. Bill O’Reilly

An American Writer Bill O’Reilly is Actor, Journalist, and television host. His net worth is $85 Million.

He has published more than 40 books and has sold more than 6.8 million copies of his book.

His bestseller book is Culture Warrior. He is best known for writing historical book series.

Read About: Bill O’Reilly’s Net worth: Television Career & Lifestyle

30. Jeff Kinney

Jeff Kinney is an American writer and Cartoonist.

He has published more than 16 books. He has sold 200 million copies worldwide.

Similarly, he is best known for his work Diary of a Wimpy Kid series and one of his bestselling of all time

His net worth is $100 million. 

29. Jack Higgins

Jack Higgins is a British writer with a net worth of $86 million. He has published more than 85 novels.

The novels have sold more than two hundred and fifty million copies and are translated into 55 languages.

His Novels are mostly based on mystery, Thriller, and espionage.

28. Paul Mckenna

Paul McKenna is a British Writer. He is also a behavioral scientist, television and radio broadcaster.

The author has a net worth estimate of $100 million.

He is a non-fiction writer. His best-selling books include I can make you thin, Instant Confidence, and  I Can make you rich.

27. Clive Cussler

Clive Cussler, an American writer, is best known as the best seller in the New York times in the fiction list more than 20 times.

Her net worth is $120 Million. His novels are based on the thriller genre.

He has published more than 80 books, and a hundred million copies are sold out worldwide. He is best known for Raise the Titanic.

26. Janet Evanovich

Janet Evanovich is an American writer with a net worth of $120 million. She has published around 40 books.

200 million of her books have been sold worldwide in 40 languages.

She is best known for the Stephanie Plum series. Most of her Novels are based on Romance, suspense, mystery.

25. Stephenie Meyer

The American Novelist Stephenie Meyer is best known for her work Twilight book series. The book has been translated into 37 different languages and sold over 100 Million Copies.

The fiction-writing author is one of the highest-selling writers with a net worth of $125 Million.

24. Mary Higgins Clark

 Mary Higgins was an American writer, best known for the bestselling of suspense novels.

Her net worth is $140 Million. She has published over 51 books, and 24 are novels out of them.

All of her 21 novels have sold more than 100 million copies. She is best known for her work; A stranger is watching.

23. Dean Koontz

Dean Koontz is an American writer with a net worth of $145 million.

The writer has published more than 131 books, of which more than 135 are novels.

Around 500 million of his books have been sold worldwide.

His novels are based on suspense thrillers. But often, the novels can be horror, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and satire genre base.

The writer is best known for the Watchers series, which has been adapted by movies and comics.

22. Deepak Chopra

Deepak Chopra is an Indian-American-based writer who is well known for his multi-profession.

He is also known for his bestseller Seven Spiritual Laws of Success.

He has published around 90 books, and twenty million copies are sold globally. The net worth of an Indian-American-based writer is $150 million.

21. David Oyedepo

David Oyendepo is well-known as Winners’ Chapel International.

The Nigerian author is also a businessman, architect, and the founder and presiding Bishop of the megachurch Faith Tabernacle.

He has a net worth of $150 million as of December, 2023. 

Some of his work include Satan Get Lost! Outstand, Success in Marriage, and Braking Financial Hardship.

20. Dan Brown

The net worth of Dan Brown is $160 million.

An American author is renowned for his best-selling novel The Da Vinci Code. Two hundred fifty million copies of the novel are sold worldwide.

19. Jacki Collins

The net worth of Jacki Collins is $180 Million. Almost 8 of her novels have been adapted by movies and television shows.

British Novelist Jacki Collins is known for writing Romantic novels.

All of her 32 novels have appeared on The New York Times Bestsellers list. Globally five hundred Million copies of Jacki Collins novels have sold.

18. Jeffrey Archer

The net worth of British novelist Jeffrey Archer is $200 million.

British novelist Jeffrey Archer is better known for his political background.

He was a member of Parliament before stepping into the world of writing.

17. R.L Stine

Robert Lawrence Stine is an American Novelist, Television producer, screenwriter, and editor.

His net worth is $200 million. He is best known for writing horror stories for children and is often compared to Stephen King.

His great works are a Space Cadets trilogy, two Hark gamebooks, and dozens of joke books for children.

Stine’s books have sold over four hundred million copies.

16. Nigel Blackwell

British Novelist Nigel Blackwell is famous for writing novels on love themes.

The net worth of a British Novelist is $292.5 Million.

Nigel Blackwell jointly writes with Diane Capri making both New York Times bestsellers.

The writers jointly write on short stories adding supernatural, mystical, and thriller elements.

15. Kenneth Copeland

An American Writer Kenneth Copeland has published more than 72 books so far.

He is also a public speaker, preacher, televangelist, and gospel recording artist.

The net worth of Kenneth Copeland is $300 million and is best known for The Blessing of the Lord: Makes Rich And He Adds No Sorrow with It.

14. Barbara Talyor Bradford

British novelist Barbara Talyor Bradford’s net worth is $300 Million. The Nobel A Woman of Substance is one of her best works selling more than Thirty million copies worldwide.

Barbara Talyor Bradford is honored with 25 multiple awards for her writing achievements and philanthropy.

Today, her novels are being published in 90 countries in 90 languages estimating the sale of $90 million.

13. Tom Clancy

Tom Clancy, An American author, passed away in 2013, leaving a net worth of $300 Million.

He is best known for creating a story based on military science, which shows the world’s image during and after the cold war.

Tom Clancy’s books have been made into movies and video games.

12. Nora Roberts

Nora Roberts is an American writer with a net worth of $390 million. She usually writes romance novels.

She is the first writer to be introduced to the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame in 2011.

Similarly, she is also on The New York Times Best Seller List.

11. Danielle Steel

Daniella Steel is an American writer best known for the novels of Romance.

She is also the fourth bestselling fiction author of all time. The net worth of Daniella Steel is $400 million.

She has published 179 books, among which 146 are novels themselves. She has sold Eight Hundred million copies of her novels.

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10. John Grisham

John Grisham, an American Writer, is a novelist, attorney, and politician.

He mostly writes on the theme of legal thrillers. Till yet, his books have been translated into 42 languages worldwide.

The net worth of John Grisham is $400 Million.

He gets around $80 Million in royalties from movies and books.

He has sold Three Hundred million of his books worldwide.

9. Michael Crichton 

An American writer Micheal Crichton is best known for his novel Jurassic Park. Two hundred million copies of his books are sold worldwide. His dozens of novel stories have been adapted into movies.

Micheal Crichton has a net worth of $400 million. He usually prefers to write on science, technical and medical fiction, and feature technology.

8. Stephen King

An American writer Stephen King is one of the most talented writers of all time.

His writing is full of suspense, horror, gothic, and fantasy. The net worth of Stephen King is $500 million.

Most of his Novels are adopted on a big screen.

58 of his Novels are sold more than three hundred and fifty million copies worldwide.

7. Paulo Coelho

Paulo Coelho is a Brazilian writer famous for his novel The Alchemist. Most of his writing has the foundation of self-fulfillment and personal happiness.

His net worth is $500 Million.

Paulo Coelho’s book has been translated into 81 languages and published in 170 countries selling Sixtyfive million copies globally.

6.Candy Spelling

Candy Spelling is a Writer, socialite, theater producer, and entrepreneur with a net worth of $600 million.

Candy Spelling’s Candyland is listed in the New York Times bestseller list, along with her autobiography, and several stories.

5. Agatha Christie

The net worth of Agatha Christie is $600 million. The British writer is best known for her detective novels and 14 short story collections.

One of her longest-running plays is The Mousetrap. Over two million copies of her novels have been sold globally.

4. Robert Ludlum

The net worth of Robert Ludlum is $750 million. An American writer is best known for The Bourne Trilogy.

His novels are based on the thriller genre, and over 500 million copies are sold globally.

The Novels are published in 33 languages over 40 countries.

3. James Patterson

James Patterson is well known for his work Alex Cross. His net worth is $800 Million.

He has published more than 147 books, and three hundred and fifty million copies are sold to date.

His works are usually in stand-alone thrillers, non-fiction, and romance novels.

2. J.K Rowling

British Writer J.K Rowling is a movie and television producer and a screenwriter. 

She is most probably known for her work in the Harry Potter series. It has sold more than five hundred and three million copies worldwide.

Similarly, The novel is made into a series of movies. The British writer J.K Rowling earned around $1 billion from the Harry Potter series novels and movies.

1. Elisabeth Badinter

French writer Elisabeth Badinter is the wealthiest author with a net worth of $1.7 billion.

She is also an advocate of liberal feminism and women migrant workers’ rights.

She mostly gives her ideas in modern feminism. 

Elisabeth is also a philosopher, historian ad professor.

Her bestseller book is “The Conflict: How Modern Motherhood Undermines the Status of Women,” across Europe,

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