7. James patterson (Authors) – Earnings: $89 M
He was a Ph.D. candidate at Vanderbilt, but acquired a job in advertising. He was an advertising executive at J. Walter Thompson. After he retired from advertising in 1996, he devoted his time to writing. His greatest influence, he said later, was probably Evan S. Connell’s 1959 debut novel Mrs. Bridge.
[GARD]