Discover amazing facts about some of the world's most popular songs
Michelle Obama's 'Becoming' catapulted to the top of every bestseller list, became the most popular book of 2018 in the US, and sold 10 million copies by March 2019, and Barack's 2020 'A Promised Land' was a hugely successful first of a planned two-volume memoir series, so the deal was certainly worth it. The Obamas donated a "significant portion" of their author proceeds to charity, including to the Obama Foundation.
In a 2017 bidding war, Penguin Random House shelled out at least $60 million in a joint deal for books by both former US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, which set the record for the most expensive celebrity book deal.
According to Page Six, the deal was the result of a bidding war from multiple publishers over her book, and the impressive amount is one of the biggest of all time. Spears' decision to write a memoir came hot on the heels of the scandal over her little sister Jamie Lynn Spears' controversial book 'Things I Should Have Said,' and will likely set the record straight once and for all on topics the public could only previously speculate about.
In 2009, famed 'Along Came a Spider' author James Patterson signed a deal with Hachette to write 11 adult books and 6 for young adults, all for an eye-watering amount of $150 million, making it the biggest fiction book deal in history.
Former President Bill Clinton was offered an impressive $15 million by Knopf in 2004 for the rights to his thousand-page tome 'My Life,' published after he left office, which was record-breaking at the time.
But it was a steal for Hachette, as in two years alone it is estimated Patterson earned $500 million for the publishing house.
After Bill Clinton's impressive book deal, George W. Bush still earned quite a sum but not nearly as high, inking an approximately $7 million deal for his 2010 memoir 'Decision Points.'
In 2016, Simon & Schuster forked over $10 million for the Boss' autobiography 'Born to Run,' which is the largest ever handed out for a musician's memoir. It turned out to be a good investment, as the musician wrote candidly and to great acclaim about his difficult relationship with his father and his battle with depression, and it was accompanied by an audiobook.
In 2000, Hillary Clinton reportedly received an $8 million advance from Simon & Schuster for her 2003 memoir 'Living History,' which was written when she was a sitting Senator from New York and offered a candid chronicle of her eight years as First Lady of the United States, according to The Guardian.
In 2013, Simon & Schuster again offered the former First Lady a deal, this time offering $14 million for her memoirs, perhaps hoping for some gossip about losing to Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic primaries. Instead, her 2014 memoir 'Hard Choices' was seen as a 600-page advert for her 2016 presidential campaign, and sales had dropped by 43% by the second week, The Guardian reports.
In a number that came as a surprise to many in 2016, the comedian was signed for an impressive $9 million by Simon & Schuster for her collection of essays titled 'The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo.' It was a critical success, and many appreciated that she covered topics like her father's multiple sclerosis diagnosis, her thoughts on gun control, and sexual consent between the punchlines.
Keith Richards, famed guitarist for the Rolling Stones, co-wrote his autobiography, titled 'Life,' with the journalist James Fox. It's as rock n' roll as one might expect. Little, Brown and Company bought the rights for $7.3 million in 2010, after reportedly seeing only a 10-page excerpt!
HarperCollins signed a two-book deal for $4.6 million with the former Prime Minister of the UK for her memoirs 'The Downing Street Years' and 'The Path to Power,' which were published in 1993 and 1995. Though it was an impressive amount, her son Mark reportedly hoped to get her over $9 million.
Though some might reasonably expect her most expensive book deal would have involved 'Harry Potter,' it was actually Rowling's first adult novel, titled 'The Casual Vacancy,' that earned her a hefty deal with Little, Brown and Company in 2012 for anywhere between $2 million and $8 million. Though it didn't have great reviews, within the first three weeks the book's total sales had reportedly topped one million copies in English in all formats across all territories, including the US and the UK.
The comedian and actress inked a deal with Little, Brown and Company for $6 million for the rights to her autobiographical comedy book 'Bossypants,' which turned out to be a huge success and topped The New York Times Best Seller list for five weeks.
In 2012, the 'Girls' actress reportedly inked a deal of $3.7 million with Random House for her 2014 memoir 'Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She's Learned.' The collection of autobiographical essays, lists, and emails was highly sought after in a bidding war, with much interest reportedly generated by Dunham's 66-page book proposal.
Aziz Ansari reportedly received a $3.5 million advance from Penguin Press for the rights to 'Modern Romance: An Investigation,' which is a research book mixed in with personal anecdotes written by the stand-up comedian along with American sociologist and New York University professor Eric Klinenberg.
Amanda Knox became a celebrity after being wrongfully convicted of the 2007 murder of Meredith Kercher, a fellow exchange student with whom she shared an apartment in Perugia, and after spending almost four years in an Italian prison. It makes sense that there was a huge bidding war over her story when she was ready to tell it.
The British comedian inked a two-book deal with HarperCollins in 2008 for $3.5 million, acquiring his best-selling memoir 'My Booky Wook,' which spent seven weeks at the top of the London Sunday Times' bestseller list.
In 2008, Penguin agreed to pay the famed British author a total of $50 million for his 'Century' trilogy, $16.5 million per book, consisting of 'Fall of Giants', 'Winter of the World,' and 'Edge of Eternity.'
Sources: (Page Six) (Book Riot) (The Guardian) (Insider) (NPR) (Forbes) (The Guardian)
See also: Celebrities who have published poetry
After a heated auction among publishing houses that reportedly went on for days in 2012, HarperCollins finally bought the rights for nearly $4 million. Knox's memoir, 'Waiting to Be Heard,' came out in 2013 and gave an unflinching and personal account of the events leading to her arrest and her struggles with the Italian judicial system.
Back in 2010, Demi Moore landed a $2 million deal with HarperCollins to write her autobiography 'Inside Out,' which finally came out in 2019 and discusses her childhood, relationships, and personal struggles to great acclaim.
In 2010, comedian Chelsea Handler received an estimated $2 million in a three-book deal from Hachette's Grand Central Publishing, Forbes reports. Grand Central gave the TV host her own imprint called Borderline Amazing/A Chelsea Handler Book, which kicked off in 2011 with 'Lies that Chelsea Handler Told Me.'
In 2009, the former Alaska governor, 2008 vice-presidential candidate, and soon-to-be 2012 Republican presidential contender earned a $1.25 million advance from HarperCollins for her personal and political memoir 'Going Rogue.'
It was reported in 2012 that Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs' brother Rhodri inked a deal for approximately $1.35 million to write a tell-all about his brother Ryan's eight-year affair with his then-wife Natasha—a scandal which marred Ryan Giggs' legacy.
Also in 2009, the 46th Vice President of the US received a reported $2 million from Simon & Schuster to share secrets and private details from his long career in politics in his book 'In My Time: A Personal And Political Memoir,' which came out in 2011.
Perhaps betting on the acclaimed journalist and author's well-known name, Little, Brown & Company forked over $7 million for the rights to Tom Wolfe's fourth novel 'Back to Blood' in a 2007 auction. Unfortunately, the novel did not receive great reviews and didn't sell as expected.
In 1994, Knopf shelled out $8.5 million to buy the Pope's memoir, 'Crossing the Threshold of Hope,' which turned out to be a good investment, as the book was translated into 40 languages and sold over a million copies in Italy alone.
There never seems to be enough to satiate the hunger for content from some of the world’s best stories and their tellers, and in a world that worships celebrity, there is a lot of value in those stars who decide to pick up the pen and put their story down on paper. Publishing houses certainly know the value in a name and are willing to pay eye-watering sums for it, and indeed many stars have been handed huge sums of money for the rights to their stories.
Click through to see which stars landed the most money for inking book deals.
All amounts in USD.
Prince Harry first announced that he was working on a memoir in June 2021. It was later revealed that the controversial royal had signed a four-book deal with Penguin Random House worth approximately US$40 million. His first book, the sensational memoir 'Spare,' hit shelves in January 2023 with record-breaking sales, shifting 1.4 million copies within the first 24 hours. Given the bombshells revealed in his first book, who knows what's coming in the next three!
The most lucrative celebrity book deals
From Prince Harry's 'Spare' to Britney Spears' upcoming memoir
CELEBRITY Reads
There never seems to be enough to satiate the hunger for content from some of the world’s best stories and their tellers, and in a world that worships celebrity, there is a lot of value in those stars who decide to pick up the pen and put their story down on paper. Publishing houses certainly know the value in a name and are willing to pay eye-watering sums for it, and indeed many stars have been handed a fortune for the rights to their stories.
Click through to see which stars landed the most money for their book deals.
All amounts in USD.