J.K. Rowling Donates £10 Million for Multiple Sclerosis Research

By Maryann Yin on GalleyCat, Sep 03, 2010

Novelist J.K. Rowling (pictured) has given £10 million to the University of Edinburgh to build a multiple sclerosis (MS) research facility. The new building will be named the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic, honoring the memory of Rowling's mother, who died at 45-years-old from MS.

The clinic will research treatments for MS (currently incurable), Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's, and other degenerative neurological disorders. Rowling told the Guardian: "I have supported research into the cause and treatment of multiple sclerosis for many years now--but when I first saw the proposal for this clinic, I knew that I had found a project more exciting, more innovative, and, I believe, more likely to succeed in unraveling the mysteries of MS than any other I had read about or been asked to fund."

Rowling's personal wealth is estimated to be £519 million. Despite not having published a new book last year, Rowling still managed to rake in nearly £6.49 million--making her the tenth highest paid author.

In April 2010, Rowling told one child at an Easter event in Washington DC that she will publish a new book in the not-too-distant future. When that time comes, we'll see if she can close the gap between herself and the highest paid author in the world.