Forbes: The World's Highest Paid Authors

From The Guardian:

The world's highest-paid authors, according to Forbes:

1. James Patterson: $94 million
2. Stephen King: $39 million
3. Janet Evanovich: $33 million
4. John Grisham: $26 million
5. Jeff Kinney, $25 million
6. Bill O'Reilly: $24 million
7. Nora Roberts: $23 million
8. Danielle Steel: $23 million
9. Suzanne Collins: $20 million
10. Dean Koontz: $19 million
11. JK Rowling: $17 million
12. George RR Martin: $15 million
13. Stephenie Meyer: $14 million
14. Ken Follett: $14 million
15. Rick Riordan: $13 million

I could live with being number 16! :p

Read more here: Forbes richest authors list 2012: James Patterson takes the crown.

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Photo credit: James Patterson

Highest Paid Writers of 2011

The earnings below are from sales made between May 2010 and April 2011.

#1 James Patterson: 84 million
- Alex Cross series
- Maximum Ride series
- Many, many, others

#2 Danielle Steel: 35 million
- Jewels, The Ghost, Matters of the Heart

#3 Stephen King: 28 million
- The Shining, Salem's Lot, It

#4 Janet Evanovich: 22 million
- Stephanie Plum

#5 Stephenie Meyer: 21 million
- Twilight Series

#6 Rick Riordan: 21 million
- Percy Jackson and the Olympians series

#7 Dean Koontz: 19 million
- Demon Seed, Strangers

#8 John Grisham: 18 million
- The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Runaway Jury

#9 Jeff Kinney: 17 million
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid

#10 Nicholas Sparks: 16 million
- The Notebook, Nights in Rodanthe, A Walk to Remember

This information is based on these articles:
- Highest Paid Authors of 2011
- James Patterson brand makes him worlds best-paid writer
- James Patterson tops Forbes list of top-earning writers