J.K. Rowling Returns to Forbes’ Highest-Paid Celebrities List After Three-Year Absence

J.K. Rowling is no stranger to Forbes’ annual lists, which rank the wealth of the world’s most powerful figures, famously dropping off of their list of billionaires in 2012 because of her extensive donations to charity. While we don’t expect Rowling’s philanthropic tendencies to change any time soon, a year that saw the release of both Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has catapulted her onto Forbes’ Highest-Paid Celebrity List – all the way to the number three spot.

Rowling, earnings valued at $95 million, comes in behind Sean Combs in the number one spot and Beyoncé – another of our favorite queens – at number two.

Forbes also posted a short description of the author’s success:

The British novelist worked her magic again with ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.’ The co-written stage play was the bestselling book of 2016 with over 4.5 million domestic copies, and its West End production is sold out well into 2018. Rowling also conjured cash from her Harry Potter attractions at Universal Studios and her latest movie, ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.’

This is the highest position Rowling has ever held on this particular Forbes list, having landed the number six position in 2004 and the number nine position in 2008. Rowling most recently made the list in 2014, coming in toward the bottom at No. 84.

Jessica J.

I've been making magic at MuggleNet since 2012, when I first joined the staff as a News intern. I've never wavered from the declaration in my childhood journal, circa October 2000: "I LOVE Harry Potter! If I clean my room, my mom says she'll make me a dinner a wizard would love!" Proud Gryffindor; don't hate.