Most Successful Entrepreneurs of the World - Part 4 - J.K. Rowling

J.K. Rowling

Born: July 31, 1965
Chipping Sodbury, England
English writer

J. K. Rowling is an English author of novels for young people, and caused an overnight sensation with her first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (… Sorceror's Stone in the United States) , which rose to the top of the children's best-seller lists in 1998. Even before publication, publishers in the United States were competing for rights to the book, with the top bidder paying one hundred thousand dollars—the most ever for a first novel by a children's book author.

J.K. Rowling is the creator of the Harry Potter fantasy series, one of the most popular book and film franchises in history.

Who Is J.K. Rowling?

Joanne Rowling (born July 31, 1965), who goes by the pen name J.K. Rowling, is a British author and screenwriter best known for her seven-book Harry Potter children's book series. J.K. Rowling was living in Edinburgh, Scotland and struggling to get by as a single mom before her first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, was published. The children's fantasy novel became an international hit and Rowling became an international literary sensation in 1999 when the first three installments of Harry Potter took over the top three slots of The New York Timesbestseller list after achieving similar success in her native United Kingdom. The series has sold more than 450 million copies and was adapted into a blockbuster film franchise. Rowling published the novel The Casual Vacancy in 2012, followed by the crime novel Cuckoo Calling under the pen name Robert Galbraith in 2013. In 2016, she released a play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and a movie, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Born near Bristol, England, Joanne K. Rowling grew up with a younger sister and an intense interest in storytelling. Rabbits played a large part in her early tales, for Rowling and her sister badly wanted a rabbit. Her first story, at age five or six, involved a rabbit named, quite logically, Rabbit, who got the measles (a contagious virus that occurs in children) and visited his friend, a giant bee named Miss Bee. Rowling said in J. K. Rowling: The Wizard Behind Harry Potter , "Ever since Rabbit and Miss Bee, I have wanted to be a writer, though I rarely told anyone so. I was afraid they'd tell me I didn't have a hope."

Two moves took the Rowling family eventually to the town of Tutshill near Chepstow in the Forest of Dean along the border of England and Wales. This brought a longtime country-living dream to reality for Rowling's parents, both Londoners, and the nine-yearold Rowling learned to love the countryside. She and her sister could wander unsupervised amid the fields and play along the River Wye. Rowling once noted that the only problem with her new life was school. It was an old-fashioned school with roll-top desks and a teacher who frightened Rowling.

From Tutshill Primary, Rowling went to Wyedean Comprehensive School. A quiet and unathletic child, English was her favorite subject, and she created stories for her friends at lunchtime, tales involving heroic deeds. Contact lenses soon sorted out any feelings of inferiority in the young Rowling; writing became more impulsive and less of a hobby in her teenage years. Attending Exeter University, Rowling studied French after her parents had advised her that bilingualism (speaking two languages) would lead to a successful career as a secretary.

Working at Amnesty International, Rowling discovered one thing to like about life as a secretary: she could use the computer to type up her own stories during quiet times. At age twenty-six, Rowling gave up her office job to teach English in Portugal. It was there that she began yet another story that might become a J. K. Rowling.
Reproduced by permission of AP/Wide World Photos.book, about a boy who is sent off to wizard school. All during the time she spent in Portugal, Rowling took notes on this story and added bits and pieces to the life of her main character, Harry Potter. In Portugal she also met the man who became her husband, and they had a daughter. They later got divorced.

Significant Life Milestones of Her

J.K. Rowlig was born as Joanne Rowling to James and Anne Rowling in Yate, Gloucestershire, England. Her parents were blessed with a second daughter Dianne just a month prior to Joanne’s second birthday.

Academically proficient, she attended the St Michael's Primary School before enrolling herself at the Wyedean School and College. For further studies, she admitted herself at the University of Exeter for BA in French and Classics.

Her tryst with writing fiction tales started when she was five - her first ever written story being ‘Rabbit’. Ever since then, she continued to pursue her love for writing by penning numerous stories.

Graduating in 1986, she moved to London and took up the job of a researcher and bilingual secretary for Amnesty International. Meanwhile, she penned a short essay titled, ‘What was the Name of that Nymph Again? or Greek and Roman Studies Recalled’ that was published in the University of Exeter's journal Pegasus.

Significant Career Milestones of Her

While on a journey from Manchester to London, a daring thought envisioned and captured her heart and mind like never before and she went on to dream a little more, thus forming the caricature of the bespectacled boy Harry Potter and his antics.

The adrenaline rush that she felt about the wizardry boy and his world left her bemused so much so that she did not waste time about penning her thoughts and rather kept on forming a more concrete idea. The same evening, she started penning 'Philosopher's Stone', the first of the Harry Potter series.

A vacancy of the position of a teacher led to her relocating to Portugal, wherein she spent the night teaching English. During the day, she assimilated thoughts and penned the first three chapters of her book.

Facing personal turmoil, she moved to Scotland in 1993 to live near her sister Dianne. Being at a major crisis situation with no job and a disrupted personal life, she inspired herself to write for this was the only passion that was left in her.

In 1995, she completed her manuscript of the legendary book, ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’. After facing rejection from about 12 publishers, editor, she finally got green signal from Barry Cunningham of Bloomsbury.

Meanwhile, to support herself financially, she took up a teacher training course at the Moray House School of Education, at Edinburgh University. One thousand copies of the first edition of the book were printed, of which 500 were distributed to libraries.

The superlative success of the first of the Harry Potter series helped her gain an 8000 grant from the Scottish Arts Council. Additionally, she also gained money by selling the rights of publishing the book in the US to Scholastic Inc.

Moving to a flat in Edinburg, she immersed herself further into the series, chronicling about the life of Harry Potter, his school Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and his friends, knot-it-all Hermione Granger and the confused Ron Weasley.

She came out with the sequel of the book in 1998, titled, ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’. Much like its predecessor, the book was very well received and captivated the mind of the audience who kept craving for more.

The wait wasn’t a very long one as she published the third book of the series, ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’ in 1999. By the summer of 2000, the three of the seven book series had already done a business of $480 million, with over 35 million copies in print in 35 languages

The craze and fan frenzy for the Harry Potter series had multiplied manifold so much so that she had to withdraw the fourth book of the series from contention to give the other books a fair chance.

Meanwhile, the overwhelming success of the Harry Potter series made it the single most profitable franchise for filmmakers. As such, capitalizing on the success of the written works, Warner Bros signed a deal with her to come up with film adaptation of the same.

On July 8, 2000, she released her fourth book, ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’. The book crashed all the previous records and set new milestones in the literary world of fiction. It sold as many copies in the first day as ‘Prisoners of Azkaban’ sold in its first year!

In 2001, the film version of ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ was released. The film was greatly received at the box office, earning $90.3 million in its first weekend itself. Year 2002 witnessed the release of the next film of the series, ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’.

In 2003, she came with her fifth novel of the series, ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’, while the sixth book titled, ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ came in 2005. It further created new records in the literary world by selling nine million copies in its first day itself.

In the meantime, the demand for the film adaptation of the novels also peaked.

In 2004, ‘Harry Potter and Prisoner of Azkaban’ was released while in 2005 came ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’.

The final book of the series came on July 21, 2007, titled, ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’. It became the fastest selling book of all time, with 11 million copies sold on its first day of release in UK and the US. The same year, film version of the ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’ was released.

Year 2009 witnessed the release of the film ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’. The last book of the series was adapted in two instalments. While the first part was released in November 2010, the second and final part hit the theatres in 2011.

After the epic success of the Harry Potter series, she took a hiatus from the world of writing only to return to the bookstands in 2012 with ‘The Casual Vacancy’ aimed at adults. A dark comedy about local election in small English town of Pagford, the book received mixed reviews but nevertheless sold about 1 million copies in its first three weeks of release.

In 2012, she came up with a website Pottermore, which included some previously undisclosed information on characters, places and objects in the Harry Potter universe. Furthermore, she even started working on the encyclopaedia of Harry Potter penning various unpublished notes and materials.

In 2013, she came up with yet another adult book, ‘The Cuckoo’s Calling’ under the pseudonym, Robert Galbraith. A crime detective novel, it was first modestly received at the bookstands. However, the revelation of the fact that Rowling was its true writer escalated the sales by 4000 per cent.

Presently, she is supposedly working on two types of novels - one aimed for children while the other for adults. The work aimed at children is for a younger age group than the Harry Potter readers.

J.K. Rowlings Books

J.K. Rowling’s New Book
In July 2017, J.K. Rowling announced on her website that she would publish two new books for an exhibition at the British Library that celebrates the 20th anniversary of the publication of her first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. The books, Harry Potter: A History of Magic (described as the adult version) and Harry Potter: A Journey Through a History of Magic (the kid-friendly version), were released on October 20th and feature manuscripts, original illustrations and an exploration of the Harry Potter characters and magic.

'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone'

After a number of rejections, J.K. Rowling finally sold her first book for the equivalent of about $4,000. (The word "Philosopher" in the book’s original title was changed to "Sorcerer" for its publication in America.) The book, which first hit shelves in June 1997, was the start of a seven-book series chronicling the life of the young wizard Harry Potter and his motley band of cohorts at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'

The second book in the Harry Potter series came out in July 1998.

'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'

The third book in the series hit shelves in July 1999. By the following summer, the first three Harry Potter books had earned approximately $480 million in three years, with over 35 million copies in print in 35 languages.

'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'

The phenomenal response to Rowling's books culminated in July 2000, when the fourth volume in the series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, became the fastest-selling book in history. The book saw a first printing of 5.3 million copies and advance orders of over 1.8 million.

'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'

After a postponed release date, the fifth installment hit bookstores in June 2003.

'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'

The sixth installment, released in July 2005, sold 6.9 million copies in the United States in its first 24 hours, the biggest opening in publishing history.

'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'

Prior to its July 2007 release, the seventh and final installment in the Harry Potter series was the largest ever pre-ordered book at Barnes & Noble and Borders bookstores and at Amazon.com. Rowling does not plan to write any more books in the series, although she has not entirely ruled out the possibility.

'The Tales of Beedle the Bard'

This collection of five fables mentioned in the Harry Potter book series was released on November 4, 2008 at a tea party for 200 schoolchildren at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh. Rowling donated all royalties from the book to the Children's High Level Group (which has been renamed Lumos), a charity that she co-founded to support institutionalized children in Eastern Europe.

'The Casual Vacancy'

Rowling's first book aimed at adults was published in September 2012. The novel, a dark comedy about a local election in the small English town of Pagford, received mixed reviews. A book review in The New York Times called the novel "disappointing" and "dull." A review in The Telegraph, however, gave the book three out of five stars, stating that “Jane Austen herself would admire the way [Rowling] shows the news of Barry’s death spreading like a virus round Pagford."

'Cuckoo Calling,' 'The Silkworm,' and 'Career of Evil'

In April 2013, Rowling broke into a new genre, crime fiction, with a novel she published under the pen name Robert Galbraith. In its first few months of release, the novel had modest sales and received positive reviews. Sales for the work skyrocketed in July when its author's identity was discovered. According to Bloomberg News, Rowling said that "I had hoped to keep this secret a little longer, because being Robert Galbraith has been such a liberating experience. It has been wonderful to publish without hype or expectation, and pure pleasure to get feedback under a different name."

Rowling published two more books under the pen name Robert Galbraith: The Silkworm and Career of Evil, both released in June 2014.

'Very Good Lives' (Rowling’s Harvard commencement speech)

In April 2015, Rowling’s 2008 Harvard commencement speech was published in book form as Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination. The self-improvement guide offers personal anecdotes and advice on how to embrace failure and use your imagination to succeed. Proceeds from the book benefit Lumos, J.K. Rowling’s non-profit children’s organization.

Awards & Achievements

For her outstanding contribution to the literary world, she has been conferred with the prestigious L�gion d'honneur by French government and Order of the British Empire.

She is the proud recipient of the National Book Awards, British Book Awards, Hugo Award, British Book of the Year award, Locus Awar, Bram Stoker award, Hans Christian Anderson Literature award and many more. Furthermore, she has been offered honorary degrees from various universities and colleges.

J.K. Rowling’s Net Worth

According to The Sunday Times 2017 Rich List, J.K. Rowling’s net worth is £650 million (about $850 million) — making her wealthier than even Queen Elizabeth II. Forbes put her wealth at $650 million in 2017, in large part due to the 450 million copies of Harry Potter sold to-date and the subsequent movie franchise that has grossed $7.7 billion. (Her worth would've been more in Forbes if it were not for the $150 million she has donated to various charities.) In the first half of 2017, Rowling took home an estimated $95 million thanks to her new play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and movie, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Major Works

Today, the Harry Potter franchise is worth an estimated $15 billion. A global brand, it has created world records in literary circles and continues to be the most loved fiction tale. The last four books of the series have broken all records to become the fastest selling books in history, with the last one selling a record 11 million copies on the first day of its release in UK and the US. The books have been translated into 65 languages and made her UK best-selling author with an estimated sales of �238m and more.

Personal Life & Legacy

She tied the knot with a Portuguese journalist, Jorge Arantes on October 16, 1992. The following year, they were blessed with a baby girl. However, the two did not stay long together and separated on November 17, 1993. She filed for a divorce in August 1994

In 2001, she got married for the second time to Neil Michael Murray, an anaesthetist by profession. The couple was blessed with a son David Gordon Rowling Murray and daughter Mackenzie Jean Rowling Murray.

A notable philanthropist, she has been supporting various charities such as Comic Relief, One Parent Families, Multiple Sclerosis Society of Great Britain and Lumos.

On December 26, 2001, J.K. Rowling married anesthetist Dr. Neil Murray at the couple's home in Scotland. They have two children together, David (born in 2003) and Mackenzie (born in 2005). Rowling has one child, Jessica (born 1993), from her previous marriage.

J.K. Rowling’s Website
In 2014, Rowling published a short story about grown-up Harry Potter and a Hogwarts school reunion on her website Pottermore. Since the site launched, she’s added more stories and information about all things Harry Potter.