Rowling's wealth earns her list place

Published on Thursday 12 June 2008 10:59

HARRY Potter author JK Rowling has emerged as one of the highest earners on a list of the world's most powerful celebrities.

The Edinburgh-based novelist made $300 million in the past year, according to the Forbes Celebrity 100 list.

The writer was ranked ninth on the list, where she features alongside footballer David Beckham and golfer Tiger Woods.

Rowling, who released the final book in the Harry Potter series last year, finished above Hollywood heartthrob Brad Pitt but behind TV presenter Oprah Winfrey, who topped the poll, and actors Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie.

Hip-hop star Jay-Z also appeared on the list, as did 1980s group The Police, thanks to a money-spinning world tour. A Forbes spokesman said: "The list is designed to reflect the influence of a celebrity in any one year.

"It looks at how much a celebrity is paid and how much other people are paying attention to them." The magazine takes into account a celebrity's earnings along with appearances in newspapers and television programmes, as well as the amount of online interest generated.

Earlier this week, a hand-written prequel to the Harry Potter books sold at auction for 25,000.

The 800-word story was written especially for the event, which raised money for dyslexia charity PEN.

The prequel comes a year after the last book of the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, hit the shelves.

It is set three years before Harry's birth and centres around his father James and godfather Sirius Black.