John Grisham Has Created a Substantial Net Worth as a Prolific Fiction Author

There are few authors in America who have been more prolific over the past 30 years than John Grisham. His novels have dominated bestseller charts and also led to several movie adaptations. Following that success, though, many wanted to know what the writer's overall net worth is.

Given how many bestsellers he's written, it's perhaps unsurprising that John has one of the most impressive net worths of any American author. Here's what we know about how much he's worth.

According to Celebrity Net Worth, John's overall net worth is roughly $400 million. That's thanks largely to the success of his novels, which earn between $50 and $80 million in royalties every year. He has sold more than 300 million books worldwide, and is best known for his legal thrillers, which include books like A Time to Kill, The Firm, and The Rainmaker, and The Pelican Brief, all of which were eventually adapted into movies.

Given his stature within the literary community, and his rare level of success, it's perhaps unsurprising that he's one of the prominent writers who are being represented in a lawsuit against OpenAI. The lawsuit, which was filed in 2023, alleges that the company unlawfully trained ChatGPT on the work of these authors, which is a kind of intellectual property theft, per Reuters. OpenAI, meanwhile, has claimed that the use of these works is protected under fair use.

"For 30 years, I've been sued by everyone else — for slander, defamation, copyright, whatever — so it's my turn," John said during an interview with BBC One at the time. It's unclear how the lawsuit will resolve itself, but what is clear is that OpenAI and other AI models have already used the data from these novels, and that's something that won't be undone. What seems more likely, then, is that Grisham and the other authors who sue will receive some sort of settlement.

As one of the most popular and prolific authors of the past 30 years, John has a rare kind of power inside the world of publishing. His novels have never been considered among the best works of the literary canon, but he's also made far more money than most authors.

Even at age 70, John is still cranking out new books at a remarkable rate. While he could use a tool like AI to help him write (although that would be ethically problematic), given the lawsuit he's filed, it seems fair to say that John wants to write the novels himself.