J.K Rowling, author of Harry Potter and his journey to becoming a billionaire

Although introduced to the world nearly 2 decades ago, the Harry Potter earthquake by female writer J.K Rowling has not stopped sweeping all fronts of book lovers and fantasy literature lovers. In particular, with the resounding success of the movie of the same name, from an unknown author, J.K Rowling suddenly became a star in the art industry with huge assets of over 500 million pounds and thousands of dollars. series of prestigious awards. However, perhaps most of us do not know that, in order to be able to touch glory, Harry Potter’s mother has cast spells on her dark life many times.

1. Biography and family of writer J.K Rowling – author of Harry Potter

J. K Rowling was born on July 31, 1965, her full name is Joanne Rowling. She is a British female writer, screenwriter, philanthropist, film producer, author of the world-famous Harry Potter fantasy series with about five hundred million copies sold and countless awards. honor. Born in Yates, Glouceshire, Scotland, from a young age, Jo’s passion for writing literature was instilled in her blood as an indispensable part of life.

This is the origin of Harry Potter later. The idea for Harry Potter’s birth was first sparked in 1990, when she was a secretary and PhD student for Amnesty International. During 7 turbulent years, I was immersed in family tragedies that seemed impossible to overcome: the death of my biological mother, the birth of my first child amid the breakdown of family happiness with my first husband. , it was the reality of hardship that gave wings to the female writer’s pen to flourish to create the masterpiece Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, published in 1997 after being rejected 12 times.

Since its first release, J.K Rowling’s brainchild has continuously broken records. Starting with the first publication “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” to the final work of this series “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” – the British female writer’s work became a best-selling fantasy book series. most in history. In addition to the charm of Harry Potter, J.K Rowling is also a novelist for adults such as detective series such as Cormoran strike or The Casual vacancy with his second pen name Robert Galbraith.

Discussing the life of Harry Potter’s mother, it is no exaggeration when we use the phrase “from misery to hell.” Many documents about the female writer’s biography have shown that, when she first started her writing career, it was none other than J.K. Rowling who had to receive subsidies from the government until she became a writer. became a billionaire after successfully releasing the Harry Potter series and taking on a new role as a film producer in the last two parts.

According to many news outlets from the foggy country such as The Sun Times, by 2024, J.K Rowling will hold over 820 million pounds and be among the top richest people in the UK as well as become a role model. highly influential and inspirational faces of success, life values, and ethics voted by many famous newspapers.

2. Family and career of talented female writer J.K Rowling

2.1. Boring childhood

J.K Rowling was born into a well-off family with father Peter James Rowling – an aeronautical engineer and mother Anne Rowling – a scientific technician. The female writer’s parents first met in 1964 on a train from King’s Cross to London. The address where her parents’ love arose became the station that appeared in many later Harry Potter scenes, the station where the secret path connecting the Muggle world and the magical world emerged. for the first reunion of Harry’s close friends, Hermione and Ron Weasley. After a year of meeting, her parents moved in together and had little girl JO (JK Rowling’s family name) in 1965. The female writer also has a younger sister named Dianne Rowling born in 1967.

When little Jo was 4 years old, her family moved for the first time to Winterbourne – a village in the south of Gloucestershire, England. Here, she attended St. Michael’s private school. At this school, JK Rowling took the principal’s prototype to send it to Harry Potter and successfully built the powerful Professor Dumbledore – the head of Hogwart’s magic academy. Born into a family with a technical tradition, but Literary passion is what helps little Jo’s childhood become colorful. From a young age, she practiced writing and composing fairy tales. However, because of her literary talent and desire to only spend all her time on her favorite subject, J.K Rowling encountered many troubles. Especially when her family moved a second time to Church Cottage, Gloucestershire village.

Because her mother worked in the school laboratory, it was not difficult for Harry Potter’s future creator to enroll in a class at the school. Although recognized as very bright and skilled in languages, J.K. Rowling was never a favorite among teachers, as she rarely focused 100% during lessons and spent most of her time at school writing. In fact, one teacher harshly criticized her, saying, “You’re smart. That’s true. But your grades will never be good because you don’t stand on the ground like the rest of us. You sit on a cloud!” Besides being reprimanded by teachers for her different interests, being teased by classmates was also a painful memory when she reflected on her childhood. But that wasn’t all; the author herself admitted that her childhood was not particularly memorable, especially when her mother was seriously ill and she had conflicts with her father.

Despite this, her love for reading and talent for languages helped Jo achieve high marks in subjects like English, French, and German. With this foundation, after graduating from high school in 1982, she was determined to attend the University of Oxford—one of the most prestigious institutions in England—in hopes of meeting progressive people. Unfortunately, she was rejected on her first application, which was a significant emotional shock that affected her subsequent steps as a writer.

Although a literature enthusiast, given her recent rejection and her parents’ advice to choose a more practical field, she opted to study French and Classical Literature at the University of Exeter. Fortunately, at this school, she found a kindred spirit who shared her literary passion, making her university experience enjoyable. In 1986, about a year after graduating, J.K. Rowling found a job in London but later moved back to Manchester to live.

On the 4-hour train ride, J.K came up with the idea for the opening of Harry Potter. The image of a boy with blue eyes, holding an owl’s nest, skinny and carrying trunks on the train platform is clearly reproduced in the writer’s works that poured out during this time. In 1990, pain struck the female writer when her mother died of multiple sclerosis. In the midst of an irreparable loss, J.K continued to compose and this time the sentences from the details of her work such as the pain of Harry Potter in the first pages were reproduced most clearly.

2.2. The tragedy of having a happy family break up and becoming a single mother after more than a year of marriage.

A childhood of being bored by teasing friends or being reprimanded by teachers is just a part of the dark times in her life. female writer Harry Potter. Tragedy officially struck her when she entered married life. This tragedy started with a job offer in the Guardian newspaper that there was a good job teaching English in Portugal. With good language skills and literary talent, JK Rowling was determined to go to this country to teach.

In a foreign land, she met Jorge Arantes—a television reporter. The two found many common interests and decided to start dating. However, even Joanne at that time could not have imagined that this would turn out to be her most serious mistake. Unlike the professional journalist he claimed to be, Jorge Arantes was an alcoholic, a gambler, unfaithful, and prone to violence against women. Even when she clearly saw these traits, her heart was still forgiving enough to fall for Jorge’s sweet marriage proposal.

After their wedding, her unfaithful husband quickly revealed his true nature, continuously abusing the writer. Unable to endure the terrible marriage any longer, she decided to leave Portugal, taking her four-month-old child to live near her sister in Edinburgh, Scotland. By the end of 1993, after a 13-month marriage, J.K. Rowling officially became a single mother. This was the most challenging time for the creator of Harry Potter, as she had to rely on social assistance.

Joanne went on to graduate school to apply for a better job. In the present time, she is participating in a graduate program at the University of Edinburgh and spends her evenings completing her work, before turning it into an artistic masterpiece that is loved by many people. young public.

3. J.K Rowling’s journey to becoming the richest female writer in the world

There would be no miracle strong enough to elevate the struggling single mother J.K. Rowling to the heights of fame and wealth without her perseverance. The work that launched her into the publishing world was “Harry Potter,” first introduced in 1995. However, before it became the best-selling book in history, this manuscript was rejected 12 times. In 1997, thanks to a bit of luck and her refusal to give up on her brainchild despite repeated rejections, she received approval from Bloomsbury Publishing, which ultimately turned into a global brand.

By 2024, the acclaimed seven-book series had generated over $7.7 billion in revenue, with more than 450 million copies sold. With a standard royalty rate of about 15% for authors, she earned approximately $1.15 billion. When the work was adapted into films, the first Harry Potter film series grossed over $3.5 billion, further enriching the author with around $250 million. With the subsequent four Harry Potter films, J.K. Rowling was projected to earn no less than $400 million from royalties and film production combined.

Not to mention Joanne can earn hundreds of millions of dollars from the Harry Potter image franchise model for games, TV channels that exclusively broadcast Harry Potter movie episodes or world-themed parks. magic. In addition to Harry Potter and its spin-off works, many book series have been adapted into outstanding films such as Beasts Fantastic, which can earn her over 500 million US dollars. With huge profits from book sales, J.K Rowling is constantly on the list of the best-earning writers in the world.

Although she is quite secretive about her assets and is not under the management of any company, according to billionaire websites such as Forbes or Times, her assets can reach over 1.2 billion USD.

Harry Potter’s biological mother bought these huge assets, including luxury real estate in England, Scotland and luxury yachts with a total value of over 45 million USD. In addition, she also often participates in charity activities. It is estimated that the amount of money she spent on her charity fund is over 160 million USD, including the opening of a clinic named after Anne Rowling at the University of Edinburgh. and donated 16 million USD to this clinic to perform research functions on diseases.