The Unexpected Truth Behind Why J.K. Rowling Was Knocked Off Forbes’ Billionaire List

The story of J.K. Rowling is in some ways more remarkable than that of the boy wizard she created. Once, you see, the writer was an unemployed single mother, but the success of the Harry Potter books, their related films and merchandise all combined to make her richer than royalty. In fact, Rowling is the first ever woman novelist to make it onto Forbes’ list of billionaires. But the author has since dropped off that prestigious ranking – and the reason for that is a total eye-opener.

Still, there’s no doubt that Rowling remains staggeringly wealthy, meaning she and her children – Jessica, David and Mackenzie – could have pretty much anything they could conceivably want. And the writer has taken advantage of that fact. For example, her two youngest kids reportedly had a 40-foot-high treehouse built for them on Rowling’s property in around 2012. Such a structure can cost as much as $324,000.