Rowling and Oliver make ST Rich List

09.05.11 | Katie Allen- The Bookseller

Pearson, Blackwell and Jamie Oliver are a few book trade names to make it onto the Sunday Times Rich List 2011.

Vincent Cowdray and the Pearson Family were jointly in at number 64, with the family up £165m on last year’s figure. According to the newspaper, the family stake in Pearson is worth £890m (around 10% of the group), and with assets and dividends, the family is now worth £1,015m.

In at 357 is Nigel Blackwell and family, worth £185m, down £45m on last year’s figure.

Authors in the top 1,000 include Harry Potter author J K Rowling, in at number 142. Her earnings have grown 2% or £11m on last year, to £530m. Others reaping rewards from the Potter franchise include literary agent Christopher Little, worth £45m.
Chef, author, restaurateur and campaigner Jamie Oliver’s earnings rank him at 679, up £63% or £41m on last year, to £106m.

Jeffrey Archer, (right)whose Only Time Will Tell, the first of five-part Bristol-based epic the Clifton Chronicles, is out this week from Macmillan, is at number 583, up 85%, or £55m, to a personal fortune of £120m. The newspaper reckons Archer has sold 320m novels worldwide, and has earned book deals of around £54m.

The newspaper also estimates fortunes for Barbara Taylor Bradford of £181m, Jackie Collins of £60m, Jack Higgins of £55m, Ken Follett (left)) of £50m and Terry Pratchett of £42m.
If Russian billionaire Alexander Mamut is successful in buying Waterstone's, he would become the highest ranking book trade individual on the list, with a fortune of £1.82bn. The 51-year-old is ranked 34th overall and was a new entry in this year's list.

The annual list is based on the newspaper’s estimates of the minimum wealth of Britain’s 1,000 richest people or families, with the valuations carried out at the beginning of January 2011.