Introduction

Danielle Steel is an American professional writer with an estimated net worth of $600 Million. 

Quick Facts

• Earned an estimated $201 million between 2010 and 2018
• Peak annual income of $35 million in 2011
• A former bookkeeper allegedly stole $2.7 million from her in 2009
• 67th richest self-made woman in America

Net Worth History

Although not a billionaire, Forbes has been tracking Danielle Steel’s net worth for over a decade because she is a member of America’s Richest Self-Made Women. In 2016, she had an estimated net worth of $310 million, and for the next several years, this figure grew by $10-20 million annually. In 2024, her net worth jumped from $420 million to $500 million, and at the time of writing, she’s ranked as the 67th richest self-made woman in America, with an estimated net worth of $600 Million.

Earnings History

According to reports, between 2010 and 2018, Danielle Steel earned approximately $201 million from all endeavors. She often earned substantial annual sums from book advances, film and TV rights, and royalties. This included estimated earnings of $32 million in 2010 and $35 million in 2011, which were her highest-earning years of the decade. During the 2010s, Steel’s earnings gradually declined, dropping to between $22 million and $26 million in the mid-2010s and to $12 million by 2018. 

Legal Issues & Lawsuits

In 1993, Steel filed a lawsuit against author Lorenzo Bene, who was going to disclose that her son had been adopted by her husband at the time, John Traina. California law states that adoption records must remain sealed to protect adoptive families and can only be opened under very special circumstances. Generally, the records can be disclosed for medical purposes or with the consent of the adopted child once they reach adulthood. Steel believed that if her son’s adoption went public, it would violate her family’s privacy.

Despite her arguments, the state supreme court ruled in favor of opening the adoption record, which was highly unusual given that her son was still a minor at the time. Controversially, the court decided that, because of Steel’s public profile, privacy standards didn’t apply to her and therefore agreed that the records could be opened.

Theft By Former Assistant

In 2009, Steel was the victim of theft after her bookkeeper stole approximately $2.7 million from her. Kirsty Watts had worked for Steel for 15 years when, in November 2008, Steel discovered irregularities in the way Watts had handled credit cards and subsequently terminated her employment. An investigation later revealed that Watts had stolen the money by writing herself cheques and paying herself bonuses. She also used Steel’s credit card reward points to buy flights and gift cards for her family.

Watts was sentenced to 33 months in prison after pleading guilty to stealing over several years and agreed to surrender her assets to help repay the money. So far, she has returned the majority of what she stole, mainly through the sale of her home, its contents, and her family’s vehicles.

Real Estate

Danielle Steel and her husband, Thomas Perkins, own the Spreckles Estate in San Francisco, California. The property has a significant history. It was initially split into four units before Steel acquired it and began her restoration efforts. She also reportedly purchased approximately 25 parking permits for guests in the adjoining streets.

While we don’t know precisely how much Steel paid for the home, recent estimations place its current valuation at roughly $19.2 million. Public records show that the annual property taxes range from $130,000 to $140,000. Over at least twenty-five years of ownership, the couple is estimated to have spent at least $2.5 million on property taxes alone. 

Introduction

John Grisham is an American novelist, politician, and activist with an estimated net worth of $400 Million. 

Quick Facts

• Typically earned between $14 million and $18 million per year
• Earned at least $308 million between 1993 and 2018
• Peak annual income of $36 million in 1997
• Donated $5 million to help Mississippi recover from Hurricane Katrina

Earnings History

In the 2010s, John Grisham was a frequent name on Forbes’ list of the World’s Highest-Paid Authors, typically earning between $14 million and $18 million per year. That said, he also frequently appeared on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list, which the publication released annually from the 1990s to the 2000s. During our research, we found fifteen years in which Grisham appeared on these lists. To the best of our knowledge, he first appeared on the list in 1993 and last appeared in 2018. 

During this period, John Grisham’s estimated earnings totaled $308 million; however, information is still missing for eleven years. Beginning in 1993, Grisham earned an estimated $17 million, followed by a similar sum of $16 million in 1994. At the time, his books frequently occupied the New York Times Bestseller list. This includes releases such as The Firm, The Pelican Brief, and The Client, all released between 1991 and 1993. It’s also worth mentioning that Grisham received additional income from selling the film rights to these novels, which is why his income was so high at the time. 

Grisham’s earnings peaked at $36 million in 1997, by which point he was dubbed Hollywood’s favorite author. Since then, he’s realized several other lucrative years, often earning between $25 million and $26 million per year. However, as we mentioned above, his earnings have consistently ranged between $14 million and $18 million in the most recent years for which estimates are available.

Legal Issues & Lawsuits

Copyright Infringement Lawsuit

In 1996, attorney Polly Nelson filed a lawsuit alleging copyright infringement against Grisham. She claimed that his 1994 novel, The Chamber, unlawfully copied elements from her biography, Defending the Devil: My Story as Ted Bundy’s Last Lawyer. Nelson had previously represented serial killer Ted Bundy during his final death row appeals. She claimed Grisham’s novel borrowed heavily from her personal and professional experiences.

The case was heard in the U.S. District Court, with Nelson arguing that both books shared themes of capital punishment. She also stated that the books featured lawyers defending controversial death row inmates. However, the court found no legal grounds for her claim and dismissed the lawsuit without further action.

Defamation Lawsuit

Grisham had another lawsuit filed against him in 2007. Former Pontotoc County District Attorney Bill Peterson and two investigators filed defamation, invasion of privacy, and conspiracy claims. They were unhappy with how they were portrayed in The Innocent Man. The book was Grisham’s nonfiction account of the wrongful convictions of Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz.

Peterson and the investigators claimed the book misrepresented them, which damaged their reputations. In 2008, U.S. District Judge Ronald White dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that the discussion of wrongful convictions was of public interest.

OpenAI Lawsuit

In 2023, Grisham joined a group of 16 authors, including Jodi Picoult and George R.R. Martin, in a class-action lawsuit against OpenAI. Filed by the Authors Guild, the lawsuit claims that OpenAI’s ChatGPT was trained on copyrighted books without the authors’ consent or compensation. The Authors Guild argued that it is large-scale copyright infringement and creates unfair competition by using authors’ original works to generate new content.

They also stated that using copyrighted material in this way undermines writers’ rights. OpenAI has filed motions to dismiss, arguing that using publicly available text for AI training constitutes fair use under U.S. copyright law. As it stands, the lawsuit remains unresolved.

Philanthropy

Grisham has been involved in many philanthropic endeavors throughout his lifetime. In 1993, Grisham and his wife, Renée, created the Grisham Writer-in-Residence program at the University of Mississippi to support emerging writers. Funded entirely by the Grishams, the residency offers writers a year-long post in Oxford, Mississippi, along with a regular payment and housing. Residents are only required to teach one class per semester, allowing them time to focus on their writing and research. Many also get involved in mentoring students and contributing to campus literary life.

Hurricane Katrina Donation

In 2005, Grisham and his wife donated $5 million to aid Mississippi’s recovery after Hurricane Katrina. They established the Rebuild the Coast Fund to support residents and local businesses severely impacted by the storm. To ensure the money went where it was most needed, they hired a team to review aid requests and direct funds to specific local needs. Although the Grishams typically keep their charitable work private, they chose to go public with this donation to encourage others to lend a hand.

Justice Reform

Grisham’s first nonfiction book, The Innocent Man, came out in 2006 and told the story of Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz, who were wrongly convicted of murder. Writing the book marked the beginning of Grisham’s involvement in the justice reform movement. After the book’s release, he joined the board of the Innocence Project, a nonprofit organization that works to exonerate people who have been wrongly convicted. Since then, Grisham has become a strong public advocate against flaws in the justice system.

Introduction

Edward Snowden is an American former computer intelligence consultant with an estimated net worth of $500 Thousand. 

Quick Facts

• Peak annual NSA salary of $200,000
• Received a $4 million advance for his memoir, Permanent Record
• Earned $1.2 million from speaking engagements between 2015 and 2019
• The United States DOJ filed a $5.2 million lawsuit against him in 2019

Contractor Salary

Edward Snowden began working as an NSA contractor in 2013, under the auspices of Booz Allen Hamilton, where he earned an average annual salary of $122,000. There was some confusion in the news regarding how much Snowden earned, as he’d previously told Glenn Greenwald he was earning $200,000 per year.

Snowden later clarified that the $200,000-per-year figure was his career high. This was likely back when Snowden was with the CIA or Dell. Edward took the pay cut specifically to gain access to the NSA’s top-secret systems. He spent three years with the CIA, lasting from 2006 to 2009, which could have earned him as much as $600,000 in compensation. 

Federal Charges

In June 2013, the United States Department of Justice filed federal charges against Edward Snowden under the 1917 Espionage Act, which carries a maximum sentence of thirty years in prison. The filing lists three separate charges:

• Theft of Government Property
• Unauthorized Communication of National Defense Information
• Willful Communication of Classified Communications Intelligence Information to an Unauthorized Person

Just before the charges were filed in a Virginia court, Snowden fled the United States to Russia. He was attempting to travel to Ecuador to seek asylum, but while in Russia, the United States revoked his passport. Edward was later granted temporary asylum in Russia and, in 2020, secured permanent residency in the country. In September 2022, Snowden became a Russian citizen. The charges are still looming over Snowden’s head, and he has not returned to the United States since 2013. 

Book Deal & Speaking Fees

As we’ll discuss in more detail shortly, the civil lawsuit filed by the United States government against Edward Snowden revealed how he built and subsequently forfeited the majority of his wealth. Edward reportedly received a $4 million advance for his memoir, Permanent Record. Metropolitan Books published the 352-page autobiography in September 2019, and it quickly became a bestseller in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany. In it, Snowden discussed his early life and his time working as a contractor for the CIA and NSA. But ultimately, the most popular topic he wrote about was his decision to leak classified documents related to the United States government’s mass surveillance program.

In addition, the suit listed details of Snowden’s earnings from various speaking engagements he attended between 2015 and 2019, leading up to the release of Permanent Record. Not just annual earnings, or overall earnings, but specific paychecks for individual events. This included the following:

• CLSA Event in Hong Kong – $50,000
• Kuwait Advertisement Agency – $35,000
• Portuguese Tourism Board – $32,000
• Canadian Motivational Consultancy – $30,000
• University of Colorado Boulder – $28,000
• Middlebury College in Vermont – $18,000
• Georgetown University – $12,000
• Deutsche Telekom – $10,000

In total, the filings mentioned 67 speaking engagements, totalling $1.2 million in fees. This is why, when the lawsuit below was filed, the Department of Justice sought $5.2 million to be forfeited (book advance and speaking fees combined).

Civil Lawsuit

In September 2019, after Snowden had earned millions of dollars from Permanent Record and speaking engagements, the United States Department of Justice immediately filed a civil lawsuit against him. The suit claimed that Permanent Record violated his NDAs, as such work is subject to review before being published. As expected, a year later, a judge ruled in favor of the DOJ, and Snowden was ordered to forfeit a total of $5.2 million in earnings from the book’s royalties, as well as any related speaking events that utilized classified information.

Real Estate

In 2012, while working at an NSA facility in Hawaii, Snowden rented a 1,559-square-foot, three-bedroom home in Waipahu. He paid $2,100 per month in rent before he fled to Hong Kong. In 2013, the owner sold the house for $556,000.