Rowling ranked the second richest woman in global entertainment
Saturday, 20 January 2007
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She started out as a single mother struggling to make ends meet, but J K Rowling is now the world's second richest women in entertainment with an estimated fortune of more than £500m, according to Forbes magazine.
The best-selling novelist, who created the Harry Potter series, is the only British woman to feature in a list of the top 20 richest female stars, which is dominated by Hollywood celebrities and American musicians.
Rowling has not only earned millions after her novels about a boy wizard captured the imaginations of children and adults across the world, but also makes a considerable sum of money from royalties from the film adaptations of the books.
The list, which ranges across the world of music, television, film and publishing to determine which women have, over the course of their careers, amassed the greatest fortunes in entertainment, is topped by Oprah Winfrey, America's favourite talk show guru, who is believed to be worth £740m.
Although there are other "old timers" who have huge personal fortunes as a result of their entertainment careers, Forbes has disregarded those who they consider not to be making an "active living" such as Barbra Streisand and Elizabeth Taylor, who are classed as "non-working celebs who essentially live off royalties".
The businesswoman and lifestyle guru, Martha Stewart, who was sent to prison in 2004 for accusations relating to insider trading but released in March 2005, has since revived her fortunes, coming third on the list. Her almost £325m fortune is based almost entirely on the 28 million shares she owns in the company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Although her brief stint in prison forced her to relinquish the chief executive title, she still collects upwards of £1m-a-year from the firm.
She is followed by Madonna, sometimes considered an "honorary Brit" after settling in West London with her two children and husband, Guy Ritchie. Since beginning her career in the early 1980s, Madonna has sold some 200 million albums worldwide as well as owning an impressive portfolio of properties. She briefly ran her own record label, Maverick, and is estimated to be worth £165m.
The singers Celine Dion, Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson feature in the top 10 as well as the actress and singer Jennifer Lopez, who also boasts lucrative perfume and fashion lines.
Hollywood's most bankable actresses including Nicole Kidman, Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Aniston, Sandra Bullock and Renée Zellweger all feature in the list.
The richest actress on the list is Julia Roberts, who built her estimated £70m fortune after becoming the first actress in Hollywood to command a $20m (£10m)-per-film pay deal.
Britney Spears appears at number 12 on the list despite a relatively short musical career. Since the release of her hit single "Baby One More Time" in 1999, she has sold more than 75 million albums to gain her £50m fortune and hasa profitable line of perfumes and endorsement deals.
