Many people know JK Rowling from writing the immensely popular Harry Potter book series. It has gone on to be a cornerstone of pop-culture and has made a lot of money. What many people don’t know is that JK Rowling joined the billionaire’s list with all of the money that she made. She is no longer there, however, and for some pretty honorable reasons.
A massively successful author, JK Rowling fell off of the Forbes billionaires list after donating massive amounts of money to charity. The estimated amount of money that she gave was $160 million. These donations got a lot of press because of her change of status on the list. That said, JK Rowling has donated even more than that.
JK Rowling has been quoted as saying “You have a moral responsibility when you’ve been given a far more than you need, and to do wise things with it and give intelligently.”
JK established the Volant Charitable Trust in 2000 with a focus on battling poverty and social inequality. She has founded other organizations as well and has donated her time by writing for charity and putting handwritten books, notably The Tales of Beedle the Bard, up for auction for causes. Additionally, in 2013, she donated all of the earnings from the book’s sales, totaling over 19 million Euros.
Miss Rowling has supported a large number of other charities as well, providing much-needed support to nonprofits and charitable organizations worldwide.