I would like to be remembered as someone who did the best she could with the talent she had

I would like to be remembered as someone who did the best she could with the talent she had.

J.K. Rowling.

Having said these words, she might have dreamt about today’s fame of her as a writer, a movie producer and a philanthropist.

Currently, her name comes with one of her masterpieces - “Harry Potter” fantasy series which gives her great success. Rowling is one of the wealthiest private citizens in the United Kingdom who has a net worth of $1 billion.

A close scrutiny to her life and personality reveals that Rowling did not inherit her current wealth and fame from anyone. Joanne ("JK") Rowling was born in Yate, Gloucestershire, England on July 31, 1965. In ages, she started writing fantasy short fiction stories and read them to her sister Dianne. Jo’s childhood years were unhappy, citing a strained relationship with her father and her mother's ongoing health battles with multiple sclerosis. Once she highlighted that she based the character of Hermione Granger off herself at the age of 11.

Rowling married Portuguese television journalist Jorge Arantes in 1992, and had a child (Jessica) a year later. Unfortunately, her happiness didn’t go far, they separated on November 17, 1993, and Rowling and her daughter moved to Edinburgh, Scotland. JK was a self-described broke, struggling single mother on welfare the entire time she worked on the first "Harry Potter" installment.

She married anesthetist David Murray in 2001, and the couple has two children, along with Jessica from her previous marriage. They live in Edinburgh, London, and Aberfeldy, Scotland.

Rowling's mother, Anne, lost her ten-year battle with multiple sclerosis in December 1990.

What changed her life so much while she was living such a miserable life. The rest is really unforgettable story. Jo chanced her life with her talent and unique personality.

Rowling was working as a secretary and researcher for Amnesty International in 1990 when she dreamed up the idea for her first novel, about a boy who finds out he is a wizard and attends wizardry school, during a delayed train trip from Manchester to London. As soon as she got back to her flat in Clapham Junction, she began to write it.

She finished her first novel in 1995, titled "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone". She nabbed a literary agent, submitted to twelve publishing houses, and was met with a resounding rejection from each one. A year later, Bloomsbury Publishing gave her the green light and a £1,500 advance. Bloomsbury's chairman had given his 8-year-old daughter the first chapter of the book to review, and her response was to eagerly demand the rest immediately, thus cementing the decision to go forward with the book. Rowling was soon given a grant from the Scottish Arts Council to write the second book.

With an initial print run of just 1,000 copies, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" was published in June 1997. The sleeper novel eventually began to win awards, and gain attention and in 1998, Scholastic Inc won the rights in an auction to publish the novel.

As a result of Jo’s hard work, 'Harry Potter' was born and brought her real glory.

Rowling is among the most charitable celebrities ever. She was the only celebrity who dropped off Forbes’ Billionaire List because she gave away 160 million dollars to charity. In a world where people are shedding blood, sweat, and tears to hoard wealth, the kind author couldn’t care less about the billionaire tag.

Rowling founded Lumos in 2005, an organization dedicated to ending the institutionalization of children so that they can have a safe and nurturing environment. On top of that, she has her own charity, Violant, that protects people against social deprivation.

Rowling’s charitable streak didn’t start after she became wealthy. She was always a giver at heart. After she graduated from college, she worked for Amnesty International, an organization that protects human rights. Also, she served as the president of the Gingerbread and funded the Multiple Sclerosis Society for many years.

Her generosity stems from a deep understanding of pain and suffering. She spoke about how poverty can break a person in her Harvard Commencement Speech: “[Poverty] is not an ennobling experience. Poverty entails fear and stress and sometimes depression. It means a thousand petty humiliations and hardship.”

J.K is that she is extremely private about her personal finances and has denied being a billionaire. That might be possible if she has secretly donated a large portion of her wealth to charity. As you probably know, she earned fame and fortune for writing the "Harry Potter" fantasy series which have sold 500 million copies since debuting in 1997. The books spawned a multi-billions dollar film, merchandise and theme park empire. In a given year, J.K. earns an average of $50 – $100 million from her various endeavors. Between June 2018 and June 2019, she earned $90 million. She wrote the first book as an employed single mother living on welfare.

She is the founder of the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic at the University of Edinburgh. Named for her mother who suffered from multiple sclerosis, J.K. funded the clinic with an initial $16 million donation.

She is donating £1m to charities supporting vulnerable people during pandemic situation. Half of the money will go to Crisis which helps homeless people, and half to Refuge to support victims of domestic abuse.

Reference:

1. 
   https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/j_k_rowling_454004
   
2. 
   https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/authors/jk-rowling-net-worth/
   
3. 
   https://www.fearlessmotivation.com/2017/07/04/j-k-rowling-quotes/
   
4. 
   https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-52514880