Being a Beatle can do wonders for your bank balance. Especially if you wrote many of their best-loved songs. That’s the message from the latest Sunday Times Rich List of musicians, which names Sir Paul McCartney as the most prosperous musician in the UK and Ireland — as he tends to be every year.
McCartney’s fortune is estimated at £730m (Dh4.9 billion), a rise of £20m on last year, and he also benefits from the fact that his wife, Nancy Chevell, has a £150m stake in her family’s trucking business in the US.
If you were in the Beatles but happened not to be a songwriter you still don’t have to buy from the economy range in the supermarket: Ringo Starr is joint eight on the list, with an estimated worth of £180m.
McCartney is followed on the list by Lord Lloyd-Webber (£650m) and U2 (£431m) although unless the Irish band share everything in common, you’d have to assume that amounts to four separate fortunes. The highest new entry on the list is Calvin Harris, straight in at No 30 with a £70m fortune, making him as rich as Pete Townshend and Mark Knopfler.
It’s not all veterans of the pre-digital age in the list. In little more than a year, Sam Smith has managed to accrue £12m. Adele, despite not releasing any music for nearly four years, has earned a further £5m, bringing her total to £50m. The four members of One Direction, plus their former comrade Zayn Malik, are believed to be worth £25m each, while Ed Sheeran has seen his bank account swell by £13m to £20m.
The top 40:
1 Sir Paul McCartney and Nancy Shevell: £730m
2 Lord Lloyd-Webber: £650m
3 U2: £431m
4 Sir Elton John: £270m
5 Sir Mick Jagger: £225m
6 Keith Richards: £210m
7 Michael Flatley: £195m (we don’t know why he’s in a list of musicians, either)
8 Ringo Starr: £180m
8 Sting: £180m
10 Roger Waters: £160m
11 Eric Clapton: £155m
12 Sir Tom Jones: £150m
12 Sir Tim Rice: £150m
12 Rod Stewart: £150m
15 David Bowie and Iman Abdulmajid: £135m
15 Robbie Williams: £135m
17 Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne: £130m
18 Phil Collins:£110m
18 Brian May: £110m
18 Charlie Watts: £110m
21 George Michael: £105m
21 Roger Taylor: £105m
23 Jimmy Page: £100m
23 Robert Plant: £100m
25 Enya: £90m
25 David Gilmour: £90m
27 John Deacon:£85m
28 Noel and Liam Gallagher: £77m
29 Nick Mason: £75m
30 Calvin Harris: £70m
30 Mark Knopfler: £70m
30 Pete Townshend: £70m
33 Gary Barlow: £65m
33 Engelbert Humperdinck: £65m
35 Barry Gibb: £60m
35 John Paul Jones: £60m
37 Kylie Minogue: £55m
37. Sir Cliff Richard: £55m
39 Guy Berryman: £52m
39 Jonny Buckland: £52m
39 Will Champion:£52m
39: Chris Martin £52m
