JK ROWLING, NET WORTH—$1 BILLION

J.K. Rowling, who created the Harry Potter universe, is someone who’s got a very interesting past. She was reportedly both penniless and unqualified for a loan while writing the future best-selling book series that eventually made her a billionaire. What’s also interesting is that she reportedly peddled her manuscript for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone to a number of publishers—12 in total—only for them to reject it.

One publisher took a chance, only because the 8-year-old daughter of the chairman read the chapter up for review and demanded to have the next. Since the series started back in 1997, over 500 million copies of her book have been sold worldwide. Indeed, J.K. Rowling is an endless vault of stories, that it’s not surprising that her fortune is similar. The beloved Harry Potter author did her best to keep the details of his vast wealth a secret, but it is estimated that she is worth $1.2 billion.