How much is James Patterson Worth? James Patterson Net Worth in 2025

James Patterson Net Worth: How rich is James Patterson? & How much money is James Patterson worth? Time to find out!

James Patterson is an American author and philanthropist and his current net worth is $750 million.

Born in Newburgh, New York as the son of Isabelle, a homemaker and teacher, and Charles Patterson, an insurance broker, he graduated from Manhattan College.

Growing up, he attended and graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in English from Manhattan College. He has graduated summa cum laude with an M.A. in English from Vanderbilt University.

He worked in advertising as an advertising executive at J. Walter Thompson.

Upon his retirement from advertising he dedicated his free time to writing. On writing, his greatest influence was Evan S. Connell’s 1959 debut novel Mr. Bridge.

However, he has published his first novel called The Thomas Berryman Number, in 1976.

How did Charles get famous?

His most famous books are about Alex Cross, a forensic psychologist formerly of the FBI who now works as a private psychologist and government consultant.

The books featuring Alex Cross are his most popular and the top-selling U.S. detective series in the past ten years.

Since 1976 the American author has written 147 novels, with 114 New York Times bestselling novels. He holds The New York Times record for most #1 New York Times by a single author, with a total of 67.

His books have sold approx. 305 million copies worldwide, with one in 17 of all hardcover novels sold in the U.S.

How does Charles make money?

Recently his novels have sold more copies than those of Stephen King, John Grisham and Dan Brown combined.

For his work as an author, he has received many nominations and rewards. Among those we recall Edgar Award, the BCA Mystery Guild’s Thriller of the Year, the International Thriller of the Year award.

Patterson is the first author to have No. 1 new titles simultaneously on The New York Times adult and children’s bestsellers lists.

He also works with several co-authors such as Candice Fox, Maxine Paetro, Andrew Gross, Mark Sullivan, Ashwin Sanghi, Michael Ledwidge, among others.

Patterson has also appeared on TV shows such as on the Fox TV show The Simpsons and in various episodes of Castle as himself.

He is set to co-write a crime fiction book with former U.S. President Bill Clinton.

In September 2009, Patterson signed a deal to write or co-write 11 books for adults and 6 for young adults by the end of 2012, for a $150 million deal.

Patterson founded the James Patterson PageTurner Awards, to donate over $100,000 to people, companies, schools, and other institutions.

This wraps up our James Patterson Net Worth profile!