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  • J.K. Rowling is a never-ending vault of stories, so it's no surprise that her fortune is similar.

  • The beloved Harry Potter author has done her best to keep the details of her wealth under the invisibility cloak.

  • But as of 2016, the New York Times estimated her net worth at $1.2 billion after taxes.

  • How J.K. Rowling makes and spends her fortune?

  • Rowling, who is known to be private when it comes to sharing financial details, has denied being a billionaire.

  • And Forbes estimated her fortune to be around $650 million in 2017.

  • Since the series started in 1997, 500 million copies of "Harry Potter" books have been sold worldwide.

  • The last book in the series "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" broke records to become the fastest-selling fiction book of all time.

  • By the New York Times' estimate, the Harry Potter novels have racked in at least $7.7 billion.

  • And if J.K. Rowling took a standard authors royalty cut of 15%, she would have made at least $1.15 billion.

  • And that's before accounting for the movie series, which have also grossed $7.7 billion.

  • And if she received the standard 10 net percent participation, then she likely earned $770 million.

  • And 2017 seems to be her best year to date.

  • 10 years after the final Harry Potter book and six years after the final film, Rowling was the highest paid novelist in the world.

  • And Forbes ranked her as the third highest paid celebrity, earning an estimated $95 million that year.

  • In 2018, she earned another $54 million, so it's safe to say she hasn't lost any steam.

  • Rowling kept her fans reading and watching with the production and script release of "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" in London and New York and the two "Fantastic Beasts" movies.

  • And while the new films have grossed far less than the original series, the first "Fantastic Beasts" made a worldwide gross of $814 million.

  • By Forbes' estimate, Rowling still received 10 million for the less-loved spin-off.

  • Her magical wizarding world has also been expanded through Universal Parks and Resorts Harry Potter attractions in Orlando, LA, and Japan.

  • Forbes estimates Rowling's received low double-digit millions from the parks, and she's released an entirely new book series under the author name Robert Galbraith.

  • The first three Cormoran Strike books have sold 1.2 million copies, earning $9.9 million.

  • Additionally, Rowling launched her self-proclaimed "digital heart of J.K. Rowling's wizarding world" website: Pottermore, in April 2012.

  • Pottermore brought in $19 million in revenue in 2016.

  • Through multiple partnerships to sell e-books and audiobooks.

  • Despite her huge success, Rowling's path to a magical fortune took more than a snap of her fingers.

  • In an interview, Rowling told Jon Stewart that she spent a few years living in the UK with government assistance as a single mother, barely avoiding homelessness.

  • After her success, she says she's now happy to stay in the UK and pay Britain's top tax rate of 45%.

  • Discussing taxes, Rowling said, "I'm indebted to the welfare state."

  • "When my life hit rock bottom, that safety net was there to break the fall."

  • Taxes aren't the only way Rowling pays back.

  • Her charitable donations over the years have reached at least $150 million.

  • Rowling founded the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic at the University of Edinburgh with a $16 million contribution.

  • The clinic's named for her mother, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and passed away before Rowling became a published author.

  • She's founded an international children's rights organization, the Lumos Foundation.

  • As well as the Volant Charitable Trust to alleviate social deprivation across Scotland.

  • But it's worth asking: how does the author treat herself?

  • Well, she owns homes in Edinburgh, Perthshire, and Kensington. Rowling sold her 19th century Victorian mansion in 2012 for over $3.6 million.

  • She and her husband, Neil Murray, had two interlinked, Hogwarts-like tree houses for their children built in the yard of their Edinburgh home for about $330,000.

  • The couple had to apply for planning permission in order to knock down a $1.3 million house next door to make room for the tree house.

  • And with countless movie premieres to attend, Rowling splurges on designer dresses, like this spring 2011 Oscar de la Renta gown.

  • With a third "Fantastic Beasts" movie set for a 2020 release and surely more lucrative projects on the horizon, it seems J.K. Rowling and her fortune aren't going to disappear.

J.K. Rowling is a never-ending vault of stories, so it's no surprise that her fortune is similar.

Subtitles and vocabulary

B1 US potter harry fortune forbes edinburgh author

How J.K. Rowling Makes And Spends Her Fortune

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    Aniceeee posted on 2019/05/06
Video vocabulary

Keywords

deprivation

US /ˌdɛprəˈveʃən/

UK /ˌdeprɪˈveɪʃn/

  • other
  • The state of lacking or being denied something considered necessary.
  • The act of taking something away from someone.
  • The state of suffering from a lack of basic necessities.
  • noun
  • State of lacking something needed
multiple

US /ˈmʌltəpəl/

UK /ˈmʌltɪpl/

  • adjective
  • Having or involving more than one of something
  • Capable of handling more than one task or user at a time.
  • Consisting of or involving more than one.
  • Affecting many parts of the body.
  • More than one; many.
  • Having or involving several parts, elements, or members.
  • noun
  • Number produced by multiplying a smaller number
  • A ratio used to estimate the total value of a company.
  • A number of identical circuit elements connected in parallel or series.
  • A number that can be divided by another number without a remainder.
  • pronoun
  • More than one; several.
revenue

US /ˈrevənju/

UK /'revənju:/

  • other
  • The total amount of income generated by the sale of goods or services related to computing.
  • The income of a government from taxation, excise duties, customs, or other sources.
  • Income, especially when of an organization and of a substantial nature.
  • noun
  • A government department concerned with the collection of taxes.
  • Money that is made by or paid to a business
  • Money a government collects from its people
script

US /skrɪpt/

UK /skrɪpt/

  • noun
  • Written text of a book, play, film, or speech
  • Set of letters or characters of a written language
  • verb
  • To write a text for a movie, play or speech
permission

US /pɚˈmɪʃən/

UK /pəˈmɪʃn/

  • other
  • Authorization to do something.
  • Consent; agreement to allow something to happen.
  • Formal authorization from an authority.
  • noun
  • In computing, the access rights granted to a user or program.
  • Right to do something as allowed by another
estimate

US /ˈɛstəˌmet/

UK /'estɪmət/

  • noun
  • Guess or calculation of cost, size or value
  • An approximate calculation or judgment of the value, number, quantity, or extent of something.
  • An approximate calculation or judgment of the value, number, quantity, or extent of something.
  • A judgment or opinion.
  • verb
  • To guess or calculate the cost, size or value of
  • other
  • To roughly calculate or judge the value, number, quantity, or extent of something.
  • To form an approximate idea or judgment of.
celebrity

US /səˈlɛbrɪti/

UK /sə'lebrətɪ/

  • noun
  • A (famous) entertainer known by many people
  • A famous person, especially in entertainment or sports.
  • other
  • The state of being well-known or famous.
financial

US /faɪˈnænʃ(ə)l/

UK /faɪˈnænʃl/

  • adjective
  • Involving money
  • Relating to accounting or financial records.
  • Relating to the management of money and other assets by businesses or organizations.
  • Relating to companies that manage money.
  • Relating to the economy.
  • Relating to investments.
  • Relating to money or finance.
  • Relating to money or the management of money.
  • Relating to the planning and management of finances.
  • Relating to finance or money.
  • Relating to money, investments, or the management of funds.
  • Relating to the reporting of a company's financial performance.
  • Relating to the provision of funds or resources.
  • noun
  • A person who provides advice on financial matters.
  • other
  • Money provided to support a person or activity.
fantastic

US /fænˈtæstɪk/

UK /fænˈtæstɪk/

  • adjective
  • Extraordinarily good or attractive.
  • Strange or unusual in design or appearance
  • Very large, fast or great
  • Hard to believe; amazing
  • Based on imagination rather than reason; unreal
  • Extremely large
  • Very strange or unusual
  • Based on or existing only in fantasy; unreal.
alleviate

US /əˈliviˌet/

UK /əˈli:vieɪt/

  • verb
  • To lessen the severity of something

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