JK Rowling: Poverty is not forgotten

London. Author JK Rowling (59) – one of the richest people in Great Britain thanks to the "Harry Potter" books – still remembers her former poverty well. "Someone who wasn't poor themselves won't understand what that means," she told the Sunday Times newspaper. She remembers it very clearly. "You never forget it."

"The poor are talked about, they are put down, they are talked about and all of this happened to me during those years," said Rowling, whose fortune is now estimated by the Sunday Times at at least 945 million pounds (about 1.1 billion euros).

"I was literally hungry at times because I cared more about feeding my daughter, but that wasn't the worst part," Rowling said. "It's the daily humiliations—especially not being able to give your child the things you'd like to give."

She once met a mother whose son was the same age as her daughter. "He had a room full of toys. I had a shoebox with Jessica's two toys in it. It's things like that that really touch you."

A few years ago, Rowling publicly announced that she had escaped from an abusive first marriage. Her breakthrough came with the "Harry Potter" books. Her views on transgender and women's rights continue to attract criticism. Rowling also spoke to the "Sunday Times" about million-dollar donations and begging letters. She said she was truly the last person to complain about suddenly becoming rich. But it's true that life is full of unexpected dilemmas.

She once received a letter from an investor who had lost a lot of money. She was told that she was lucky to have grown up in poverty because she would never know how hard it was to lose a fortune. The sender had asked for money because he could no longer afford the opera. "I can understand if people think I'm making this up, but I still have the letter somewhere."

RND/dpa