Bonfire, which told the satirical story of a greed, social class, racism and politics of 1980s New York City, was also hugely successful and also became a feature film. In 2012, Tom Wolfe was given one of the biggest book advances of all time for his fourth novel, Back to Blood. As of this writing, his $7 million advance is 12th biggest advance ever paid to an author. Known for his trademark white suit, Tom Wolfe had two children with his wife of many years, Sheila. Tom Wolfe died on May 14, 2018 at the age of 87.