What Is Dan Brown's Net Worth?
Dan Brown is an American author with a net worth of $160 million. He gained international fame with his 2003 bestselling novel, "The Da Vinci Code," which was adapted into two films starring Tom Hanks. Brown's books have sold over 250 million copies worldwide.
Early Life
Dan Brown was born on June 22, 1964, in Exeter, New Hampshire. His father, Richard G. Brown, was a math teacher and textbook author at Phillips Exeter Academy, where the family resided. His mother, Constance, was a church organist. Brown's fascination with puzzles and science was fostered by family activities involving crossword puzzles and anagrams. His father even designed elaborate treasure hunts for holidays and birthdays, inspiring chapter 23 of "The Da Vinci Code."
After graduating from high school, Brown attended Amherst College, where he studied English and Spanish. During his college years, he was involved in the Psi Upsilon fraternity, played squash, sang in the glee club, and studied under novelist Alan Lelchuk. He also spent a year in Seville, Spain, studying art history before graduating in 1986.
Career
Brown initially pursued a career in music, producing a children's cassette tape titled "SynthAnimals." He formed the record company Dalliance and released a CD called "Perspective." Although the CD sold only a few hundred copies, Brown moved to Los Angeles and joined the National Academy of Songwriters.
He began teaching Spanish at Beverly Hills Preparatory School to support himself, where he met his future wife, Blythe Newlon, who was the Artistic Director of the National Academy of Songwriters. Moving back to New Hampshire in 1993, Brown secured a teaching position at Phillips Exeter Academy. Newlon accompanied him, and they married in 1997. The same year, Brown co-wrote a humor book titled "187 Men to Avoid: A Survival Guide for the Romantically Frustrated Woman," under the pseudonym Danielle Brown. He released another CD, "Angels & Demons," in 1994, using the artwork for his future novel of the same name.
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Inspired by Sidney Sheldon's "The Doomsday Conspiracy" while on vacation in Tahiti in 1993, Brown decided to become a thriller writer. He started "Digital Fortress" and co-wrote the humor book with his wife. In 1996, he quit teaching to write full-time. His early novels "Digital Fortress," "Angels & Demons," and "Deception Point" (both published in 2001) gained modest success, but his fortune changed with "The Da Vinci Code" in 2003. The book became an instant bestseller, placing on "The New York Times" Best Seller List within its first week. By 2005, Brown was listed among "Time" magazine's "100 Most Influential People of the Year," and the book was adapted into a film by Ron Howard in 2006.
Brown's subsequent novels "The Lost Symbol" (2009), "Inferno" (2013), and "Origin" (2017) continued his success, with "The Lost Symbol" selling over one million copies on its first day.
Copyright Cases
Dan Brown faced several copyright lawsuits, including one by Lewis Perdue in 2005 and another by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh in 2006. Both cases claimed similarities between Brown's works and earlier books but were dismissed. Brown faced additional lawsuits from Jack Dunn, which did not proceed to trial.
Charity
In partnership with his siblings, Brown donated $2.2 million to Phillips Exeter Academy in 2004, establishing the Richard G. Brown Technology Endowment. He also created a scholarship fund at Amherst College and donated $337,000 to the Ritman Library in Amsterdam for digitizing ancient texts.
Personal Life
Brown and Blythe Newlon were married from 1997 until their divorce in 2019. Allegations of infidelity were raised during their separation, leading to a legal battle in 2020.
