Mr. Patterson clutched the No. 7 spot on Forbes鈥 list after making $89 million from his best-selling books. He became the first author to surpass one million sales in electronic books in 2010, In 2014, he announced that would give away away $1 million of his own money to independent bookstores, The grants to the bookstores ranged from $2,000 to $15,000. Patterson has sold more than 300 million books worldwide over the course of his career.

Wilfredo Lee/AP/File
In this May 3, 2006, file photo, author James Patterson contemplates a question during an interview at his home overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway in Palm Beach, Fla.