Skip to main content
World
CNN Europe CNN Asia
On CNN TV Transcripts Headline News CNN International About CNN.com Preferences
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SERVICES
 
 
 
SEARCH
Web CNN.com
powered by Yahoo!

JK Rowling pockets more than queen

JK Rowling
Rowling earned more than Madonna and Kylie

   Story Tools

FACT BOX
The top 10 female earners this year were:
* JK Rowling: £48 million
* Madonna: £27 million
* Robin Saunders: £11.7 million
* Anne Robinson: £11 million
* Catherine Zeta-Jones: £10.5 million
* Jackie Collins: £10 million
* Sharon Osbourne: £9.8 million
* Barbara Cassani: £9.5 million
* Kylie Minogue: £8 million
* Jane Leeves: £7.9 million

LONDON, England -- Harry Potter helped make his author JK Rowling the UK's richest woman with earnings six times higher than the queen, a survey has found.

Rowling is estimated to have made about £48 million last year, outstripping superstars like Madonna and Kylie Minogue.

The author's money came from book sales as well as box office earnings from the follow-up films, the British Mail on Sunday newspaper's annual female-only rich list said.

The queen's earnings are estimated at £7.7 million, though researchers did not include her civil list payment as this solely covers the expense of being monarch.

Only two businesswomen featured in the top 10, dominated by singers and television personalities.

Pop star Madonna, who qualifies for the British survey because she lives in London with film producer husband Guy Ritchie, finished second to Rowling with an annual haul of £27 million.

Much of this success was owed to her lucrative deal with software giant Microsoft ,which used her Ray of Light song to launch its Windows XP product.

The Mail on Sunday's top 100 list, the eighth study of women's earnings in the UK, concentrates only on annual pay rather than accumulated wealth.

Outside the top 10, Eighties pop star Sheena Easton made £4 million, beating contemporaries such as Victoria Beckham and Sophie Ellis Bextor.

Meanwhile, investment banker Robin Saunders was third with £11.7 million, while quiz show host Anne Robinson showed there was not Weak Link in her earnings, taking home £11 million.

In fifth place was Hollywood star Catherine Zeta-Jones with £10.5 million, followed by author Jackie Collins who earned £10 million.

The latest star of reality TV, Ozzy Osbourne's wife Sharon was in seventh place with a haul of £9.8 million.

Barbara Cassani, the former boss of budget carrier Go, made £9.5 million, pint-sized pop princess Kylie Minogue earned £8 million and Jane Leeves, star of U.S. sitcom Frasier, made £7.9 million.



Story Tools

Top Stories
Iran poll to go to run-off
Top Stories
CNN/Money: Security alert issued for 40 million credit cards
 
 
 
 
  SEARCH CNN.COM:
© 2004 Cable News Network LP, LLLP.
A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us.
external link
All external sites will open in a new browser.
CNN.com does not endorse external sites.