Never let it be said that the creation of the TV and movie industry made it impossible for authors to earn money the old fashioned away. James Patterson sits well above a number of the world's most famous directors on this list, and he's done it all with his writing.
The creator of the popular 'Alex Cross' series, Patterson has sold over 300m books worldwide, and he has the distinction of being the first person ever to sell 1m e-books after the invention of the internet. Keen to encourage young people to maintain an interest in reading, he founded the James Patterson Pledge in 2015, an initiative designed to ensure that books are always freely available to children. Never shy of a major or unusual project, Patterson recently co-authored 'The President is Missing', which is the first foray into creative writing by former President Bill Clinton.