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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=487&e=17&u=/ap/britain_harry_potter_riches
J.K. Rowling Estimated Richer Than Queen
Sun Apr 27, 9:19 AM ET
LONDON (AP) — Harry Potter (news - web sites) author J. K. Rowling is now richer than the Queen, according to an annual survey that estimates the fortunes of Britain's wealthiest people.
Rowling, 37, has more than quadrupled her personal fortune in the past two years, according to the survey by The Sunday Times newspaper.
The newspaper survey, posted Saturday on its Web site and to be published in its Sunday editions, estimates Rowling's fortune at $444 million — based on what is believed to be her earnings from the sales of her books, the two Harry Potter movies and merchandising.
That placed her at 122 in the "Rich List," 11 places ahead of the Queen, whose worth was estimated by the newspaper to be $397 million.
The extent of the Queen's wealth is widely disputed, mostly because many of her personal assets cannot be liquidated or are priceless and therefore difficult to evaluate.
With the fifth book in the Harry Potter series due out in June, Rowling's current financial circumstances are very different from those she faced after the birth of her first child, Jessica, just 10 years ago.
After her first marriage broke down, the single mother lived on welfare in a two-bedroom apartment in Scotland, writing most of her first book, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," in a cafe.
Since then sales of the Harry Potter series have topped 190 million copies worldwide, making her the richest female author in the world.
The newspaper said Rowling first entered the "Rich List" in 2001, four years after the publication of her first book, with personal wealth of $103 million. In 2002, she had accumulated $359 million, the newspaper estimated.
The Duke of Westminster, who owns huge swaths of land in central London and elsewhere, topped the list for the third successive year, with $7.7 billion
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Someone richer than the queen? mmm....
J.K. Rowling Estimated Richer Than Queen
Sun Apr 27, 9:19 AM ET
LONDON (AP) — Harry Potter (news - web sites) author J. K. Rowling is now richer than the Queen, according to an annual survey that estimates the fortunes of Britain's wealthiest people.
Rowling, 37, has more than quadrupled her personal fortune in the past two years, according to the survey by The Sunday Times newspaper.
The newspaper survey, posted Saturday on its Web site and to be published in its Sunday editions, estimates Rowling's fortune at $444 million — based on what is believed to be her earnings from the sales of her books, the two Harry Potter movies and merchandising.
That placed her at 122 in the "Rich List," 11 places ahead of the Queen, whose worth was estimated by the newspaper to be $397 million.
The extent of the Queen's wealth is widely disputed, mostly because many of her personal assets cannot be liquidated or are priceless and therefore difficult to evaluate.
With the fifth book in the Harry Potter series due out in June, Rowling's current financial circumstances are very different from those she faced after the birth of her first child, Jessica, just 10 years ago.
After her first marriage broke down, the single mother lived on welfare in a two-bedroom apartment in Scotland, writing most of her first book, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," in a cafe.
Since then sales of the Harry Potter series have topped 190 million copies worldwide, making her the richest female author in the world.
The newspaper said Rowling first entered the "Rich List" in 2001, four years after the publication of her first book, with personal wealth of $103 million. In 2002, she had accumulated $359 million, the newspaper estimated.
The Duke of Westminster, who owns huge swaths of land in central London and elsewhere, topped the list for the third successive year, with $7.7 billion
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Someone richer than the queen? mmm....
