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| We will know what Harry Potter did next in 15 months’ time when the last of the seven-book series is published, but what his author J K Rowling will do after that is less clear. Whatever she writes is unlikely to match the success of Harry, so she might best be advised to count her money. With last summer’s publication of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, worldwide sales of the series passed £310m. The four Potter movies released so far have grossed more than £2 billion, three of them in the all-time top 10 for worldwide box-office receipts. When Rowling, 40, won the W H Smith book of the year award last month for the Half-Blood Prince, she said the publication of Harry’s adventures was a process of “frank insanity, some of which is fun and some of which is plain madness”. Rowling, who escaped penury as a single mum living in Edinburgh with the first Potter novel, should have picked up about £1 a book in royalties, which would put her income at £310m from books alone, while proceeds from the films and associated merchandising lift her to £400m. Allowing for tax, once income from investments and property is added she should have £320m. We ascribe a further £200m for earnings from the final Potter book and the three films to come. | ||||||||||||||||
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