According to a list of the UK’s most wealthy individuals, controversial Harry Potter author JK Rowling is approaching billionaire status once more.
JK Rowling penned the famous Harry Potter novels (Image: GETTY)
JK Rowling, who is best known for creating the beloved Harry Potter book series, is reportedly close to becoming a billionaire again. The news that she is “approaching UK billionaire status” comes after her actions on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, have caused controversy in recent years.
The author, who has seen her fortune swell by £70m in the past year, penned the first Harry Potter novel in an Edinburgh cafe back when she was a single mum earning a modest income. Now, she is said to have a net worth of £945 million and has been placed in 8th position on the Sunday Times Rich List for Scotland, which is set to be published this weekend.
While she has been named a dollar billionaire in the past, Rowling is yet to reach that milestone in the UK. She has also previously prevented herself from becoming a billionaire in the past by donating a sizeable portion of her fortune to charity.
Some reports claimed she gave away as much as £160 million. She also famously founded the Lumos charity to help orphaned children and the Volant Charitable Trust, which aids disadvantaged people in Scotland.
The writer was also named one of the UK’s highest tax-payers earlier this year and the franchise she began continues to grow. Just recently, Rowling signed a deal with Warner Bros Discovery to produce a seven-part series based on her books, while a new edition of Harry Potter audiobooks is also on the way.
JK Rowling could soon be a billionaire once again (Image: GETTY)
While Rowling is still popular among money, she has also faced plenty of backlash in the past following her comments on gender and the rights of trans people.
Her remarks on Twitter have caused an online storm on more than one occasion, with child actors from the Harry Potter series including Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson condemning her views.
However, the author has insisted she is not concerned about how the backlash might affect her legacy.
Interviewed by Megan Phelps-Roper on the podcast titled The Witch Trials of JK Rowling last year, she said: “I think you could not have misunderstood me more profoundly.
Daniel Radcliffe has spoken out against Rowling’s views on trans people (Image: GETTY)
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“I do not walk around my house thinking about my legacy, what a pompous way to live your life thinking about what my legacy will be.
“Whatever! I’ll be dead, I care about now, the living.”
Meanwhile, Harry Potter’s main star Radcliffe has since said of Rowling: “It makes me really sad, ultimately.
“Because I do look at the person that I met, the times that we met, and the books that she wrote, and the world that she created, and all of that is to me so deeply empathic.”
Rowling continues to divide her fans and people across the world, but that doesn’t mean she won’t reach billionaire status once again.
