Honours list: JK Rowling's rise to global star and philanthropist
THE creator of Harry Potter is one of the world's most successful authors, and admired for her philanthropy. But two decades ago, JK Rowling was a single mother, reduced to writing in cafes.
She said the idea for the series “fell” into her head years earlier while on a crowded train to London after a weekend flat-hunting with her boyfriend.
The first edition had a print run of only 500, but her fortune is now put at £650m and she is placed third on the Scotland Giving List for her charity work. She has raised many millions through the sale of her books for charities.