The 16 Richest Authors In The World
Tom Clancy, the American author behind 17 No. 1 New York Times best-sellers, died Tuesday night at age 66.
Clancy was celebrated for his technically detailed books on espionage and military science. His works "The Hunt for Red October," "Patriot Games," "Clear and Present Danger," and "The Sum of All Fears" were adapted into major Hollywood films.
His net worth today is reported to be around $300 million.
Earlier this summer, Forbes released its list of the World's Top-Earning Authors. Clancy did not place, as his greatest hits were published in the '80s and '90s.
"50 Shades Of Grey" author E.L. James debuted at No. 1 on the list, managing to knock long-time top-earner, James Patterson.
James, a former television exec, raked in $95 million from sales of her kinky, chick-lit trilogy, which sold more than 70 million copies in 2012. James made $5 million for her seal of approval on a film adaptation, due in theaters August 2014.
Patterson, who made $91 million in the last year, writes one of every 17 hardcovers released in the U.S. every year, according to Forbes.
Here's the full list of the Top-Earning Authors, with some of their best-sellers noted:
1. E.L. James, "50 Shades of Grey" - $95 million
2. James Patterson, "Maximum Ride," "Witch & Wizard" - $91 million
3. Suzanne Collins, "Hunger Games" - $55 million
4. Bill O'Reilly, "Killing Lincoln," "Killing Kennedy" - $28 million
5. Danielle Steel, romance novels - $26 million
6. Jeff Kinney, "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," "The Third Wheel" - $24 million
7. Janet Evanovich, Stephanie Plum detective novels - $24 million
8. Nora Roberts, "Thankless in Death," "Dark Witch" - $23 million
9. Dan Brown, "Inferno," "The Da Vinci Code" - $22 million
10. Stephen King, "Under the Dome," "The Shining," - $20 million
11. Dean Koontz, "Odd Thomas," "Odd Hours" - $20 million
12. John Grisham, "The Racketeer," "A Time to Kill" - $18 million
13. David Balducci, "Camel Club," "Simple Genius" - $15 million
14. Rick Riordan, "Percy Jackson & the Olympians" series - $14 million
15. J.K. Rowling, "Harry Potter" series - $13 million
16. George R.R. Martin, "Game of Thrones" series - $12 million