JK Rowling the billionaire

JK Rowling, the creator of the Harry Potter books, could be a billionaire by the age of 50 - if she leaves her Scottish home to become a tax exile. Even if the writer remains in the UK, she is likely to reach billionaire status in her early sixties, making her the first author in the history of literature to make such a sum from her works.

Financial experts consulted by The Scotsman have estimated that Rowling could reasonably expect to earn an extra £50 million annually for the next seven years, from book and film receipts. Soon afterwards, the author is expected to benefit from the generational effect - the point at which people who loved Harry Potter as a child begin to buy her books for their own children. One expert suggested this could easily garner Rowling £12 million a year.