Introduction 

Dan Brown is an American professional author with an estimated net worth of $160 Million. 

In a career spanning almost three decades, Dan Brown has written and published eight novels, selling over 200 million copies worldwide. The majority of Brown’s wealth and fame were earned through the Da Vinci Code trilogy, which was later adapted into the film trilogy starring Tom Hanks. The success of the franchise significantly boosted this author’s earnings through increased sales of his back catalog and licensing fees.

This profile examines our research into Dan Brown’s income sources, earnings history, net worth, and other relevant events, including lawsuits that may have impacted his overall wealth. 

Quick Facts

• Sold over 200 million book copies worldwide
• Earned an estimated $285.5 million between 2013 and 2019
• Peak annual income of $88 million in 2006
• Sued three times for plagiarism; however, none of these lawsuits were successful.

Earnings History

According to our research, Forbes has listed Dan Brown’s annual income estimates a total of nine times this century. This was through a combination of the original Forbes Celebrity 100, which is no longer published, and their Highest-Paid Authors list, which spanned from 2013 to 2019. During the nine years listed in the table above, Brown earned a combined $285.5 million.

It’s clear that 2005 and 2006 were the best years of Brown’s career as an author, and there’s a straightforward reason as to why. Brown published his book The Da Vinci Code in 2003. By 2005, it had sold over 40 million copies worldwide. Dan earned an incredible income, not just from these sales, but also from a sudden surge in interest in his previous works. That year, he earned an estimated $76.5 million from all his income streams. Brown also received a percentage of the profits from the 2006 film adaptation, resulting in a career-high income of $88 million in 2006.

In 2007, his earnings dropped back down to $10 million, and he then disappeared from Forbes’ radar for roughly six years. This brings us to 2013, when Dan Brown released his mystery thriller, Inferno, which helped land him back on the list with an estimated income of $22 million. This novel was also adapted into a film, which helped Brown earn approximately $28 million in 2014. While remaining on the list for 2015 and 2016, his income had gradually dropped to $9.5 million.

Finally, in 2017, Brown received an eight-figure advance for his novel, Origin, which was released towards the end of the year. He earned an estimated $20 million in 2017 and $18.5 million in 2018. Brown dropped off the list in 2019.

Legal Issues & Lawsuits

Brown has faced several legal challenges throughout his career, in particular copyright issues related to his books.

In 2004, author Lewis Perdue threatened to file a lawsuit against Brown and his publisher, Random House. He alleged that Brown’s The Da Vinci Code had copied from his two books, The Da Vinci Legacy and Daughter of God. He stated that there were similarities between the plots, characters, and themes, and asked for $150 million in damages. Instead of waiting for Perdue’s case to come to court, Brown and his publisher filed their lawsuit in September of that year, asking the Southern District Court of New York to declare that The Da Vinci Code did not infringe Perdue’s copyright.

When Perdue finally filed his lawsuit in early 2005, the Judge ended up agreeing with Brown and his publisher. He stated that while the books shared certain concepts, the similarities were ideas and themes that cannot be owned under copyright law. Therefore, the court issued an official ruling that The Da Vinci Code hadn’t violated Perdue’s copyright, and all of his claims were dismissed.

Second Plagiarism Lawsuit

In a second plagiarism lawsuit in early 2006, Richard Leigh and Michael Baigent, co-authors of the 1982 book The Holy Blood and the Grail, filed a lawsuit in the UK, seeking at least £80,000 ($108,000) in damages against Random House. Although Brown was not a named defendant, his research practices were at the heart of the case. Leigh and Baigent argued that The Da Vinci Code had borrowed their ideas and copied the sequence of connections their book had developed.

During an 11-day trial in early 2006, Brown testified that while The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail was one of several sources he used during his research, he had not plagiarized it and had never even finished reading it. The court examined the texts of both books and their themes to determine whether copying had occurred.

On April 7, 2006, the judge rejected Leigh and Baigent’s claims, stating that copyright does not encompass ideas or themes. As a result, Leigh and Baigent were ordered to pay 85% of Random House’s legal costs, which totalled approximately £1.3 million ($1.7 million).

Jack Dunn Plagiarism Lawsuit

In 2006, Brown was again accused of plagiarism, this time by Jack Dunn, author of the 1997 novel The Vatican Boys. Dunn filed a lawsuit for $400 million in the United States, alleging that Brown had copied the plot, characters, and theme of his book. However, the Judge dismissed the case, ruling that similarities in themes and structure did not amount to copyright infringement under US law. Therefore, Dunn was denied both a jury trial and the right to appeal, which ended his case in the US.

However, several years later, in 2017, Dunn attempted his claim again, this time in the United Kingdom. He once again argued that hundreds of similarities existed between The Vatican Boys and Brown’s work. As with the other cases, Dunn’s efforts did not end in his favor, and only confirmed that it is legal for authors to write about themes that have been used in other texts.

However, the lawsuits and accusations of plagiarism haven’t done any harm to Brown’s career, as he has so far made over $250 million in sales of The Da Vinci Code alone.

Introduction

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

Net Worth History

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 very unusual, as her son was still a minor at the time. Controversially, the court decided that due to Steel’s public profile, privacy standards didn’t apply to her, and therefore, they 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 behind it. 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 amount to between $130,000 and $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

Stephen King is an American author of fantasy, horror, suspense, and science fiction with an estimated net worth of $500 Million, making him one of the wealthiest authors in the world.

Earnings History

Stephen King’s reign as one of the world’s highest-paid authors initially began in the 1990s. When he first made the Forbes list in 1993, King’s estimated earnings for the year were $13 million. The following year, his income increased to $20 million, and by 1996, it had risen to $34 million. During this time, according to reports, Stephen would often command book advance fees between $15 million and $18 million. In 1997, he signed a three-book deal with Simon & Schuster, receiving a $2 million advance per book plus a 50/50 split of the profits. This was his highest-earning year of the decade, earning an estimated $50 million.

Another enormous year for Stephen King arrived in 2000, when he signed a three-book deal with Hodder & Stoughton (UK) and Simon & Schuster (US). According to reports, the agreement was valued at £30 million ($45 million), contributing the bulk of his $65 million income that year. Regarding the rest of the 2000s, King remained active, but we don’t have the specifics of his annual earnings during this time. He likely continued earning a bare minimum of $10 million per year throughout the decade.

Fast forward to 2012, and King was back on the Forbes list with annual earnings of $39 million. One of his most successful projects that year was the release of the alternate-history thriller about the JFK assassination. The book sold over 600,000 hardcover copies in its first year following release. For the rest of the 2010s, King typically earned between $15 million and $20 million annually through book advances, royalties, film rights, and audiobook sales.

According to our research, Stephen King earned a combined $374 million for the years on record from 1993 to 2018, but once you factor in the missing years, he potentially earned well over $500 million.

Book Sales

Throughout his career, King has sold over 350 million book copies worldwide, publishing 65 novels and more than 200 short stories. Many of his books have since been adapted into films, including It, The Shining, and Carrie, which have all become iconic movies in their own right.

To give you an idea of how successful Stephen’s books were, and which were likely responsible for bringing in the most amount of revenue, we’ve put together a list of his best-selling books:

1. It – 60 million copies (1986)
2. The Stand – 35 million copies (1978)
3. The Shining – 25 million copies (1977)
4. Carrie – 15 million copies (1974)
5. Misery – 15 million copies (1987)
6. Pet Sematary – 10 million copies (1983)

While most would think that The Shining was King’s most popular book, the novel It actually sold over 60 million copies globally, and has since been adapted into two separate films. The first film was based on the first half of the 1986 novel, and grossed $327 million at the box office, while the second (based on the second half) grossed $467 million.

The Shining was the quickest book to be adapted into a full-length film, starring Jack Nicholson. The film was released in 1980, just three years after the book’s publication, and it grossed approximately $50 million at the box office. While that may seem low, this was in the 1980s, and would equate to roughly $195.7 million in today’s currency.

Real Estate

In the 1980s, Stephen King purchased a 4,952-square-foot, five-bedroom, six-bathroom home in Bangor, Maine, for a reported $135,000. He has owned the property for four decades and also bought the neighboring house in 2005 for $750,000. In recent years, he reportedly vacated the home to turn it into a writer’s retreat. It’s currently valued at roughly $1.76 million.

Highlights

Here are some of the best highlights from Stephen King’s career:

• Carrie (Movie, 1976)
• The Shining (Movie, 1980)
• IT (Autobiography, 1986)
• Fantafestival (Best Screenplay, 1992) – Won
• The Shawshank Redemption (Movie, 1994)
• Primetime Emmy Awards (Outstanding Miniseries, 1997) – Nominated
• The Green Mile (Movie, 1999)
• 1408 (Movie, 2007)
• Gerald’s Game (Movie, 2017)
• 1922 (Movie, 2017)
• It (2017)
• It Chapter Two (2019)