Best-selling Rebus author Ian Rankin  donates around a THIRD of his income to charity

Rebus author Ian Rankin has revealed that he donates around one third of his income to charity.

The crime writer’s novels about the gritty Edinburgh detective have sold vast numbers across the world, with the author’s charitable donations understood to run into the millions of pounds as a result.

He was also knighted last year for his services to literature and charity, and said he and his wife Miranda had set up a trust to enable their charity giving.

Writing in the Me and My Money column in today’s Mail on Sunday, Ian added that while he is ‘seriously considering’ retirement, his main priority is to ensure he always has enough in his pocket to give back.

He said: ‘I want to make sure my family are secure and to have enough money spare so I can continue giving decent sums to charity.

‘About 30 to 40 per cent of my net income goes to various charities via the trust Miranda and I set up a few years ago. 

There’s never a shortage of deserving causes.’

Ian and his wife, Miranda, created a trust in 2007 to assist with charities in the arts, health and educational fields. 

He has donated more than £1 million of his company earnings to them over the last five years.

While the 64-year-old’s total assets were recently valued at over £5 million, Ian has not always been able to enjoy the finer things in life.

‘The most stressful time of my life was when I was 30. My wife and I gave up our jobs to move to rural France where we had our two kids,’ he said.

‘I became a full-time writer and the sole bread winner at a time when my books weren’t doing so well. There were nervous weeks and months, but baguettes and cheese went a long way.’

‘I’m really lucky that each new book deal now adds up to more than the deal before it. But I’m slowing down, so there will be a year with a chunk of money coming in, followed by a non-publication year with not quite as much.

‘Still, even the quieter years are high six-figure earners. It’s a long way from my first book deal for The Flood, in 1986, for which I was paid £500.’

Actor Ken Stott stars in Ian Rankin’s ‘Rebus’

Sir Ian is a father-of-two to his sons, Jack, and Kit – who suffers from Angelman syndrome, a genetic disorder that affects the nervous system and causes severe physical and learning disabilities.

With the author now considering retirement as he prepares to turn 65 – the same age his dad retired in 1990 – he will enjoy a cruise around South America from January to March next year.

‘Miranda likes a cruise, and when we go on one I insist on a big cabin. Mind you, that’s mostly so I’ve got space to work on a book.

‘Our last trip was from San Francisco to Auckland. I worked on the second draft of Midnight and Blue during the many sea days.’

‘She thinks I should either slow right down or else stop so we can start to enjoy ourselves,’ he said.

‘Writers seldom retire, mostly because writing can be so much fun. But I am seriously considering it.’

Midnight and Blue, releasing this Thursday, October 10th, will be Sir Ian’s 25th Rebus novel and possibly his last.

Across 37 years, the books have seen him given many awards including the prestigious Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger Award and Edgar Allan Poe Award for best novel.