Paul McCartney tops musicians' rich list. Again

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/apr/23/paul-mccartney-tops-musicians-rich-list-again

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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, a rise of £20m on last year, and he also benefits from the fact that his wife, Nancy Shevell, 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 eighth on the list, with an estimated worth of £180m.

McCartney is followed on the list by Lord Lloyd-Webber (£650m) and U2 (£431m)m though unless the Irish band share everything in common, you’d have to assume that amounts to four separate fortunes.

It’s not all veterans of the pre-digital age in the list. 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.

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 £210 m

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