Scottish Author Second Only To Oprah

Scottish author, JK Rowling, came second in a survey to establish the The 20 Richest Women in Entertainment. According to Forbes Magazine, Rowling is now worth £507m ($1bn), second only to Oprah Winfrey with an estimated fortune of £700m ($1.5bn).

Edinburgh-based Rowling, who wrote the first Harry Potter book with the aid of a Scottish Arts Council grant in a Leith cafe, now rakes in millions of dollars in royalties, and millions more in merchandising from the incredibly successful film adaptations of her books.

Lea Goldman, an editor with Forbes, said: "These days just about any lip-smacking starlet can land a cable reality show or become You Tube's flavour of the week. But fame's 15 fleeting minutes can elapse quicker than it takes to refresh a web page.

"Only a bona fide superstar can parlay a moment's stardom into a long and lucrative career. And even that's not enough to land a coveted spot on our first listing of the 20 Richest Women in Entertainment. For that, you'd need a minimum net worth of £23m ($45m)."

To compile the list, Forbes scoured all corners of the entertainment industry, from television, film, music, and publishing. Only those female celebrities who over time and have amassed the greatest fortunes were considered. It ruled out non-working celebrities who live off royalties, as well as "old Hollywood" types such as Elizabeth Taylor.