Because It’s His Birthday: Harry Potter, By the Numbers

To mark the birthday of J.K. Rowling— and her beloved literary creation — we present some interesting HP-related statistics

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Ben Pruchnie / Getty Images (l) and Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images (r)

Happy birthday, J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter! The author of the beloved fantasy novel series turns 48 on July 31; the exact age of her most famous creation (who not so coincidentally shares her birthdate) is unknown.

To mark this special day, we’ve put together this list of Harry Potter-themed numbers:

910 million

Amount, in dollars, of J.K. Rowling’s net worth

15 billion

Estimated value, in dollars, of the Harry Potter brand

6

Number of years J.K. Rowling spent writing the manuscript that would become Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

12

Number of publishers to which J.K. Rowling’s agency sent her 200-page partial manuscript of the book

1

Number of publishers that expressed interest in purchasing the rights to the book

0

Number of publishers that made an offer

2,400

Amount, in dollars, of the advance paid to J.K. Rowling by London-based publisher Bloomsbury one year later

8

Age, in years, of the girl whose father, the chairman of Bloomsbury, made her read the first chapter of the manuscript. (She loved it and demanded more. )

500

Number of copies in the initial Bloomsbury print run of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

350

Number of copies from that initial print run distributed to libraries

40,000

Value, in dollars, of a Bloomsbury first-edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

11 million

Number of copies the final installment in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, sold on its first day of release in the U.S. and U.K.

450 million

Number of Harry Potter books in print, worldwide

73

Number of foreign-language translations of Harry Potter books

1.15 billion

Amount, in dollars, of the total budget of all eight Harry Potter movies

7.7 billion

Amount, in dollars, of combined worldwide grosses of the Harry Potter movies

1, 2, 5, 4, 6, and 4

Number, respectively, of producers (1), screenwriters (2), editors (5), composers (4), cinematographers (6), and directors (4) who worked on the eight Harry Potter movies

19.6

Total running time, in hours, of all eight Harry Potter movies

160

Number of prop eyeglasses worn by Daniel Radcliffe throughout the eight films — most of which had no lenses in them, to avoid unwanted reflections

2

Number of prop eyeglasses Daniel Radcliffe kept from the movies — from the first and last installments

60-70

Number of prop wands used by Daniel Radcliffe throughout the eight films

1

Number of ice-cream trucks purchased by the members of the Harry Potter cast — bought by Rupert Grint to fulfill a childhood dream