The Richest Authors of All Time

Archer is an English author and former politician. Having served as a member of parliament between 1969 and 1974, he didn’t seek re-election following a financial scandal that left him nearly bankrupt. While he remained in politics for some years after that, he was eventually convicted and imprisoned for perjury and perverting the court of justice. His time behind bars inspired his prison diaries. He has gone on to author other series, and has sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. If you think Archer’s career trajectory is pretty incredible, just take a look at the richest criminals of all time.

The famed Japanese Manga artist is best known for his series, One Piece (featuring the character Monkey D. Luffy, pictured here), which has been running since 1997. His is the bestselling manga series of all time, with more than 430 million copies sold worldwide. Oda’s home country of Japan is also where the wealthiest people in the world live.

In addition to being an author, Ramsey is a financial expert, entrepreneur, and radio host. His subject is finance, and he also often works in his Christian beliefs. He became well known following his first book, Financial Peace in 1992. His radio program “The Dave Ramsey Show” can be heard in both United States and Canada. And speaking of wealth, here is a rundown of just who was the richest man in the world each year from 1987 to 2018.

DuBois is an American author and medium, and is best known for the TV series based on her life, Medium. She states she first noticed her ability to communicate with the departed at six years old, and has worked with researchers and law enforcement to solve crimes. She has been profiled in a book by one university researcher, who supports her claims, and she has gone on to author several books of her own, including Don’t Kiss Them Good-Bye and We Are Their Heavens: Why the Dead Never Leave Us.  

A British-Mexican author, Harrison is the widow of famed ex-Beatle George Harrison. The two lived a relatively quiet existence until George’s passing in 2001. She worked on several biography projects of her late husband, and co-authored the book, George Harrison: Living in the Material World, released in 2011. While she didn't quite make the world’s richest women list, $275 million is nothing to scoff at.

Clancy was an American author and producer. He was a prolific writer and his novels have been turned into successful games and movies, including The Hunt For Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger and The Sum Of All Fears. Before making a living as a writer, he first worked at an insurance agency. He was also part owner of the Baltimore Orioles baseball team. Clancy passed away on October 1, 2013.

Copeland is an author, public speaker, televangelist and musician. He's best known for preaching on abundance and prosperity, which is commonly referred to as the prosperity gospel. It is primarily based on preaching through television, books, DVDs and CDs. He has been surrounded in controversy for purportedly using church funds to fuel his lavish lifestyle.

Cardone is an author, motivational speaker and automobile salesperson whose own life story served his trajectory onto the list of richest authors. Early on in his life, Grant developed a drug addition and at 25 entered rehab. Within five years of leaving rehab, he was a millionaire. He has authored five books, including If You’re Not First, You're Last, which made numerous best sellers lists, including The New York Times and Amazon.

This British-American novelist debuted her first novel A Woman of Substance in 1979. This book spawned an entire generation of fantastic fiction series. To date, she has written 35 novels, and sold 30 million copies worldwide. However, it’s her first work that sealed her spot as penning one of the top 10 bestselling novels of all time.

American educator, writer, reporter and entrepreneur perhaps best known for creating the “American Girl” doll brand (pictured). She was first a school teacher in the 1960s and then a reporter and anchor for an ABC affiliate, before founding the popular line of dolls, merchandise and books. Rowland sold the company to Mattel in 1998 for $700 million and is one of the richest self-made women.

Known for his popular legal thrillers, Grisham was first an attorney before penning his now-famous works. The author earns $50-80 million per year in book royalties and advances alone. He has sold over 300 million copies of books worldwide, and several works have been turned into movies, including The Firm, The Pelican Brief, and The Client. His bestseller A Time To Kill was his first novel written in 1987, and was initially rejected by many publishers before finding a home with Wynwood Press.

Even if you haven’t read her many works, you may recognize the name. She is a well-known American romance novelist, and having spent most of her childhood in France, she first took to writing with poetry. She impressively penned her first manuscript at nineteen, and following the birth of her first daughter, turned to copywriting at an ad agency and subsequently working for a public relations firm. In a classic art-imitating-life scenario, Steel has had several dramatic and well-publicised marriages and divorces, which inspired several works. She has written over 174 novels and works of fiction, which include picture books and children’s literature. In 1989 she got on the Guinness Book of World Records for having a book on the New York Times Bestseller List for 381 consecutive weeks.

Another American author on this list, Roberts is one of the most prolific romance novel authors, although she was initially rejected by Harlequin. 1985 saw her first bestseller with, Playing the Odds. Her books have appeared on The New York Times Bestseller List a total of 861 weeks at the time of this writing, with nearly 200 of these weeks being #1. In addition to romantic novels, she also writes romantic suspense under the pen name, J.D. Robb, and in the U.K. she is known as Sarah Hardesty. She is known for writing eight hours a day, each day of the week and even with 209 novels to date, continues to be a prolific writer. She is one of the best-paid authors in the world.

Brazillian novelist, musician and lyricist, Coelho is a prolific writer who knew he wanted to be a writer from a young age. Unfortunately, his parents sent him to what was at the time considered a mental institution, from which he escaped a number of times before finally being released four years later. He travelled the world, and took an extended trip through Spain which later lead to his story The Pilgrimate and The Alchemist - a national bestseller. He holds the Guinness World Record for penning the most translated book by any living author for the latter work, selling 65 million copies of it worldwide. He continues to write, and to date has sold more than 150 million copies.

Spelling is an American heiress, writer, socialite and entrepreneur. Born and raised in the 90210 zipcode since made famous by her even more famous husband, Aaron Spelling, who passed away in 2006. Spelling’s authobiography, Stories from Candyland made it to the New York Times bestseller list, and she regularly writes for several publications, including LA Confidential and the Huffington Post.

Perhaps also doubling as the world’s richest cartoonist, Davis is best known for his Garfield comic strips about a mischievous and wisecracking cat, his owner, Jon Arbuckle and Jon’s lovable but gullible dog, Odie. Garfield is the most widely syndicated strip, and Davis continues to write new adventures for these characters, including for a new CGI-animated series.

Patterson is an American popular fiction novelist best known for his Alex Cross series (first published in 1976) about a psychologist. He’s a masterful storyteller who has spawned his talent of spinning tales to other genres, including non-fiction, young adult and romance novels, selling more than 300 copies along the way, worldwide. As if those numbers weren’t impressive enough, he holds the Guinness World Record as well as The New York Times record for the most bestselling hardcover fiction titles by a single author - a total of 76. He has 95 novels under his belt.

The British author and movie producer is well-known for her Harry Potter series, making her one of the wealthiest private British citizens. What is less known about Rowling is that before she became one of the richest authors, she was first a researcher and English teacher. Rowling was also a true rags to riches story, as she was on welfare before purportedly conceiving the magical world on a train ride in 1990. The stories have been translated to 65 languages around the world, and the Harry Potter movies alone have grossed more $7.7 billion (not including merchandising).

Being one of the most prolific writers, at the time of this writing King has published 58 novels and six non-fiction books to-date, having sold more than 350 million copies worldwide. He is best known for writing and screenwriting horror, suspense, fantasy and gothic novels - many of which have been turned into award-winning films and mini-series. His best-known works include Carrie, It, The Shining and the short story Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption. He has won more than 50 literary awards.

This American novelist is partly known for being the former wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos (who himself became the richest person on the planet in 2018). However, the California-native has won accolades for her writing in her own right; an American Book Award in 2006 for The Testing of Luther Albright. She also wrote Traps. Her divorce settlement was finalized in April 2019. She got $35.6 billion in Amazon stocks. The settlement instantly boosted MacKenzie to the top of this list, and made her the richest women in the world since the split, even as her former partner became one of 19 billionaires who are single.