How rich were JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis?

Question

According to the Wikipedia article, the Lord of the Rings have been sold in 100 million copies. I am sure that Tolkien must be a millionaire then, but why did they still teach the university? Does this mean he didn't have enough money? And what about CS Lewis?

Please answer me!!

Answer 1

Tolkien retired in 1959, the best selling Lord of the Rings was published in the mid-50's.  This means he retired 4-5 years after the publication of The Lord of the Rings.  The book didn't become a multimillion bestseller until the 1960's, after his retirement.

As to C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia, the books were published between 1950 and 1956.  Lewis died in 1963.  The books were highly popular but you are thinking in terms of bestsellers as we know them now i.e. Harry Potter, etc.  It wasn't like that back then.  

As if money was a factor, I doubt it.  Both Tolkien and Lewis were first and foremost, academics, and that means they thrived on academic life.  Teaching and studying was their life, their true calling.  Even if they had become multimillionaires a la JK Rowling, I doubt they would have fully abandoned academic life.