J.K. Rowling Net Worth: Is ‘Harry Potter’ Author Richer Than Queen Elizabeth?

It has been 20 years since J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone/Philosopher’s Stone” was published and enchanted reading audiences of old ages. Now, the success she found with the franchise may have helped propel the famous author to not only extreme wealth, but the kind that potentially puts her ahead of some other famous people to hail from England when it comes to her overall net worth.

Based on a series of estimates, Rowling may be wealthier than Queen Elizabeth, who holds the honor of serving as the United Kingdom’s longest-ruling monarch.

Read: 5 Facts About Queen Elizabeth II And Prince Philip’s Marriage

According to Bloomberg (via Forbes), when the Queen turned 90 in 2016, she had a personal net worth of around $425 million. The estimate included the value of her properties, including the Sandringham House (worth $65 million) and Balmoral Castle (worth $140 million). However, her value in terms of her income was starkly different, as it was noted that she also inherited those two properties, with her real income from the properties she and the rest of her family have in a trust only valued at only $54.5 million.

Reuters reports that the trust, known as the Crown Estate, has a total value of $16.5 billion, and the Queen and the rest of the royal family receive 15 percent of the money (an estimated $363 million) from it each year. Among the properties in the trust are the Crown Jewels, Buckingham Palace, nearly all of Regent Street in London, and half the buildings in St. James.

Rowling, however, has amassed her wealth almost entirely through the success of the “Harry Potter” franchise. Though she has never spoken about just how much money she has and keeps that information private, the success from the initial seven books in the series, the eight movies that were made based off of the books, a similar adaptation of her book “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” and several other deals regarding the franchise have likely propelled her to immense wealth—including rumors that she is personally worth over $1 billion.

After the success “Beasts” found at the box office after its Fall 2016 release in theaters, The New York Times did research into Rowling’s wealth, looking into every potential item she may have garnered an income from when it comes to the franchise.

Read: Five “Harry Potter” Plotlines J.K. Rowling Considered Changing

In their report, the publication estimated that Rowling would have earned $1.15 billion off of the seven “Harry Potter’ books alone, assuming she had a standard 15 percent author’s royalty on the estimated $7.7 billion revenue they earned. Every other figure used to determine her net worth is pure speculation, as she has kept all of the information closely guarded. Among the figures calculated by The Times were:

• From other books, including the “Harry Potter” spin-off novels and adult mystery books she writes under the pseudonym of Robert Galbraith: $50 million.
• From selling the film rights of the first four “Harry Potter” movies, and an estimated 10 percent net of the profits from all eight films combined: $652 million. That number only grows if a similar deal was struck for “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.”
• Receiving a portion of the income after selling the exclusive TV rights to her movies to NBC Universal for an estimated $250 million: $125 million if she received 50 percent of that profit.
• “The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter,” which includes attractions at Universal Studios theme parks in Orlando, Florida, Hollywood, California and Osaka, Japan, as well as an attraction at the Warner Bros’ Studios tour in London: $100 million total since the first attraction opened in 2010. Rowling served as a “Consultant” for the Universal attractions. Steven Spielberg, who also has that title for attractions related to his movies (like “Jurassic Park” and “ET”), earns 2 percent of ticket sales to the parks, as well as a percentage of gross sales of merchandise, food and beverages. The amount she has earned is based off the assumption she has a similar deal.
• Additional income from the licensing fees that came from both the play and published book version of the script for “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” undisclosed licensing fees for all Harry Potter related merchandise, and the e-books rights to her novels, which are sold on her Pottermore website (which is expected to turn a profit for the first time in 2017): not factored in.

The total valuation came to a whopping $2.2 billion, but the number was adjusted down to $1.2 billion after assuming that Rowling paid Britain’s top individual tax rate of 45 percent.

It has previously been noted that Rowling, who has denied being a billionaire in the past, may not actually be one anymore due to her charitable contributions. In 2012, Forbes put her on their “Billionaire Dropoffs” list after funneling money into her own charity, Lumos, which helps institutionalized and disadvantaged children in Eastern Europe, and donating to One Parent Families, which empowers single-parent households. Between those, she was estimated to have given $160 million.

It is unclear if she has since regained her status as a billionaire despite those charitable contributions and the high tax rates on her income. Though if the New York Times valuation is correct, she seems to have climbed the charts of wealth again since then.

Regardless of Rowling’s status as either a millionaire or billionaire, she would seem to safely outpace the Queen when it comes to personal wealth either way. Since she won’t reveal those numbers on her own however, there is no way to determine if it’s really true.