Stephen King Net Worth: How rich was Stephen King?
Stephen King is a famous American writer known for his horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, and fantasy novels. His net worth is in the $500 million range. Over the years, Stephen King's books have sold more than 350 million copies worldwide. As of now, Stephen King has published over 65 novels, including seven under the pen name Richard Bachman, five non-fiction books, and about 200 short stories. Many of these stories have been turned into popular movies or TV series like "Carrie," "It," "Stand by Me," "The Shawshank Redemption," "The Stand," "Misery," and "The Shining." He is often called the King of Horror.
Throughout his career, Stephen King has won numerous honors, including the British Fantasy Society Award, the World Fantasy Award, and the Bram Stoker Award. In 2003, he was given the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters by the National Book Foundation. He also received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2004 and the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America in 2007. In 2015, King was awarded a National Medal of Arts from the US National Endowment for the Arts for his contributions to literature.
Early Life
On September 21, 1947, Stephen King was born in Portland, Maine. His father left when he was young, and his mother, Nellie Ruth, raised Stephen and his adopted brother David by herself. The family moved to several places, including Wisconsin, Indiana, and Connecticut, before settling in Durham, Maine.
When Stephen was a child, he witnessed a tragic accident where a friend was hit and killed by a train. This event deeply affected him. His mother worked as a caregiver in a facility for the mentally ill when he was eleven.
Stephen King loved horror stories from a young age. He enjoyed reading EC horror comics, like "Tales from the Crypt," and began writing stories as a kid. He even sold his friends stories based on movies he had seen. The first story he published was called "I Was a Teenage Grave Robber."
Stephen attended Durham Elementary and Lisbon Falls High in Maine. He then went to the University of Maine, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English. He contributed articles to the college newspaper.
Career
After graduating, King taught high school and sold short stories to men's magazines. In 1971, he got a teaching job at Hampden Academy in Maine. King's book "Carrie" was acquired by Doubleday in 1973. This was the fourth novel he had written but the first to be published. When "Carrie" was published, he received a $2,500 advance, which is about $14,525 today. The paperback rights sold for $400,000, which is around $2.3 million today. "Carrie" launched King's career and became a major novel in horror fiction. In 1976, it was made into a successful movie starring Sissy Spacek.
For the remainder of the 1970s, King penned "The Shining," "Salem's Lot," and "The Stand." He began instructing creative writing at the University of Maine in 1977. In 1982, he wrote "Different Seasons," a collection of four novellas. Three of these novellas were turned into movies: "Stand by Me," "The Shawshank Redemption," and "Apt Pupil."
In 1977, King began allowing aspiring directors to buy the film rights to his stories for $1.00. These directors became known as King's "Dollar Babies." In 1979, a young filmmaker named Frank Darabont adapted King's short story "The Woman in the Room." Later, Frank paid Stephen $5,000 for the film rights to "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption," which he adapted into the movie "The Shawshank Redemption" in 1994. Though it wasn't a huge success at first, the film later gained popularity and became one of the best movies of all time. It has grossed $80 million at the worldwide box office and over $1 billion from rentals, VHS, DVD, cable-broadcast, and streaming sales.
Stephen King never cashed the $5,000 check Darabont gave him for the film rights to "Shawshank." Instead, he framed it and sent it back to Darabont with a note saying, "In case you ever need bail money. Love, Steve."
In 1986, King published "It," the best-selling hardcover novel of that year in the United States. He also wrote other famous books like "Cujo," "Pet Sematary," "The Green Mile," and "The Dark Tower" series.
In 2009, King's novel "Under the Dome" was published, and it later became a TV series in 2013. His latest book, "Fairy Tale," came out in 2022, and a novel about Holly Gibney titled "Holly" was released in September 2023.
Personal Life
On January 2, 1971, Tabitha Spruce and Stephen King were married. They have three children. Naomi, their daughter, and her spouse, Rev. Dr. Thandeka, are Unitarian Universalist Church ministers in Plantation, Florida. Both of their sons are authors. "We're All in This Together: A Novella and Stories" was released in 2005 by Owen King. Joseph King, who writes under the name Joe Hill, published "20th Century Ghosts" in 2005 and "Heart-Shaped Box" in 2007.
King and his wife are major philanthropists. They donate about $4 million each year to libraries, schools, arts organizations, and local fire departments that need equipment like the Jaws of Life. They created The Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation, which is one of the top charities in Maine, giving more than $2.8 million annually. In November 2011, their foundation donated $70,000 to help pay heating bills for families in need in Bangor, Maine. In February 2021, the foundation donated $6,500 to help students from Farwell Elementary School in Lewiston, Maine, publish two novels.
Real Estate
King and his wife own three homes. They have a Victorian home built in 1870 in Bangor, Maine, which was their main residence for many years but is now set to become a museum and writer's retreat. They also own a summer home in Lovell, Maine, near the New Hampshire border. Additionally, they own a waterfront mansion on the