Salman Rushdie | Essayist and Novelist | $15 Million

His name alone brings to mind the most memorable parts of his written work. His writing combines historical fiction with magical realism and has won him numerous accolades. Despite his early start as a copywriter for several brands such as Aero and American Express, on the side, he was able to carve time and pen Midnight’s Children, his second novel, which was deemed to be “the best novel of all winners” during the 1981 Booker Prize. A couple of years later, he wrote Shame and received several awards as well. Whilst some of his other writing has stirred controversy, his contributions to literature cannot be denied. In fact, he was knighted back in 2007 for this very reason.

With millions of books sold worldwide, it’s not too surprising that the author has amassed quite a fortune to his credit. His most recent work is Quichotte, published in 2019, which is inspired by Miguel de Cervantes’ classic novel, Don Quixote.