The 16 Richest Authors In The World

E.L. James made $US95 million for her kinky sex trilogy and rights for the movie adaptation.

Tom Clancy, the American author behind 17 No. 1 New York Times best-sellers, died Tuesday night at age 66.

Clancy was celebrated for his technically detailed books on espionage and military science. His works “The Hunt for Red October,” “Patriot Games,” “Clear and Present Danger,” and “The Sum of All Fears” were adapted into major Hollywood films.

His net worth today is reported to be around $300 million.

Earlier this summer, Forbes released its list of the World’s Top-Earning Authors. Clancy did not place, as his greatest hits were published in the ’80s and ’90s.

“50 Shades Of Grey” author E.L. James debuted at No. 1 on the list, managing to knock long-time top-earner, James Patterson.

James, a former television exec, raked in $US95 million from sales of her kinky, chick-lit trilogy, which sold more than 70 million copies in 2012. James made $US5 million for her seal of approval on a film adaptation, due in theatres August 2014.

Patterson, who made $US91 million in the last year, writes one of every 17 hardcovers released in the U.S. every year, according to Forbes.

Here’s the full list of the Top-Earning Authors, with some of their best-sellers noted:

1. E.L. James, “50 Shades of Grey” — $US95 million

2. James Patterson, “Maximum Ride,” “Witch & Wizard” — $US91 million

3. Suzanne Collins, “Hunger Games” — $US55 million

4. Bill O’Reilly, “Killing Lincoln,” “Killing Kennedy” — $US28 million

5. Danielle Steel, romance novels — $US26 million

6. Jeff Kinney, “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” “The Third Wheel” — $US24 million

7. Janet Evanovich, Stephanie Plum detective novels — $US24 million

8. Nora Roberts, “Thankless in Death,” “Dark Witch” — $US23 million

9. Dan Brown, “Inferno,” “The Da Vinci Code” — $US22 million

10. Stephen King, “Under the Dome,” “The Shining,” — $US20 million

11. Dean Koontz, “Odd Thomas,” “Odd Hours” — $US20 million

12. John Grisham, “The Racketeer,” “A Time to Kill” — $US18 million

13. David Balducci, “Camel Club,” “Simple Genius” — $US15 million

14. Rick Riordan, “Percy Jackson & the Olympians” series — $US14 million

15. J.K. Rowling, “Harry Potter” series — $US13 million

16. George R.R. Martin, “Game of Thrones” series — $US12 million

Source: businessinsider.com.au