Most people who have read the Harry Potter series (and plenty of those who have not) know that J.K. Rowling came up with the idea for the series while she was stuck on a train heading to King’s Cross Station in 1990. They also know that she wrote most of the first novel in a cafe in Edinburgh, while her infant daughter Jessica napped in a stroller. The part of the story around the novels that has always stuck with me is that while Jo was working on Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s [Sorcerer’s] Stone, she never told her mother, Anne, who had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 10 years earlier. Anne would pass away from complications related to the disease 6 months after Jo started writing.
In 2010, when Jo was 45, the age Anne was when she died, Jo donated £10M to the University of Edinburgh to found the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic. HRH The Princess Royal, who is the Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, officially opened the clinic in January 2013. Jo has just made another donation to the clinic:
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has made a substantial donation for research into the treatment of multiple sclerosis at a center named after her late mother.
The 15.3 million-pound ($18.8 million) donation announced Thursday will be used for new facilities at a research center based at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. The author’s mother suffered from the disease and died at the age of 45.
Time also reported, “[Jo] is encouraged by advances being made and proud that the clinic is not only doing important research but has also provided ‘practical, on the ground support and care for people with MS.‘”
One of the most moving parts of The Guardian article that I linked above was Jo talking about her late mother and the Harry Potter books:
Rowling said she wished her mother had known about the success of her Harry Potter books. “My mother was a passionate reader, and she would have been excited whatever I did, if I succeeded at anything, but particularly to be a writer, she would have considered to be a very valuable thing,” she said. But “she never knew about Harry Potter – I started writing it six months before she died, so that is painful. I wish she’d known.”
Ugh. That always makes me so sad, so I’m glad that Jo has been able to honor her mother in such an extraordinary way and help others. According to an April Business Insider article, Jo earned $54 million in 2018. Jo had said years ago that, “I think you have a moral responsibility, when you’ve been given far more than you need, to do wise things with it and give intelligently.” As a fan of the books, I’ve gotten upset more recently with the problematic things that Jo has said and done. They are disheartening, they are offensive, and they are deeply troubling. Full stop. I hope that someday, Jo acknowledges that. At the same time, we know about the impacts of MS on people’s lives. More than 2.3 million people worldwide have the disease. Patients and their families, researchers, medical professionals, and caregivers need all of the help they can get searching for a cure and developing more effective treatments in the meantime. Jo is in the incredibly rare position of being able to make large donations to fund various kinds of research and assistance programs if she so chooses, and, obviously, this is deeply personal to her. I’m grateful that she’s doing it. That money is going to go a long way toward eventually (I hope) finding a cure.
photos credit: WENN
Are you paying attention, Jeff Bezos?!
Being a billionaire should be considered embarrassing. Thank you for deciding to help people with your money, Jo.
Right on
YES.
Billionaires have more than they could ever spend in their lifetime. They can still live like kings, and make meaningful contributions that will improve the world as a whole.
you read my mind
exactly this.
+1. We need more people like Bill Gates who are spending all their wealth on bettering the world. Even the Chan-Zuckerberg Foundation is doing some incredible work, they are funding so much useful research.
I love her so much
My mom died from cancer and I dream every day that I can earn enough money to donate to cancer research.
At the moment, I can only donate around £10 per month but so wish I had millions/billions.
The percentage you give is a lot more than many very wealthy people give, so its not “only” £10.
All millionaires/billionaires should find a cause they are interested in and put serious money towards it. It is ridiculous that individuals or families have so much and spend it on another house, boat, plane or silly toy when they already have more than they will ever need or want.
Well done. I am sure her Mom would be very proud.
This is such a “nice” thing for her to do to honor her mom (I cant think of a better word than “nice,” too early on a Monday, lol.)
Is there any significance to the amount? 15.3 million seems kind of funny – like why not 15, or 16? Maybe there is some tax implication to it or something.
The fact she is using her HP money to fund research in honour of her mum is especially touching. Even if her mum never knew of HP, Jo created a connection between both.
Such great news. Relapsing remitting MS has some over the counter drugs out there, It’s the most common form. It’s the kind you’ve heard of. People with it have good days and bad. But the kind of MS my mother, her sister and Jo’s mom’s had is more rare – one of the three progressive types of MS. With progressive MS, a person steadily gets worse and dies in their middle age. Hospice was not an option although very badly needed since no one could say for sure when Mom’s end of live would come. This kind of MS has no or very expensive treatments. Mom died in 1989 and we still have no FDA approved drugs for her kind of progressive MS. If Jo can make headway for progressive MS patients, God bless her.
My husband found out at age 30 that he has “MS Light” or Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy and has to receive infusions every other week. He also takes steroids daily that have given him cataracts already. Because of his age people never believe he is ill. So grateful for all the research money!