The Sunday Times has released their annual Music Rich list, this year the former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney has topped the list, making him the UK’s wealthiest musician.
The British music legend was given the crown due to the musician’s worth of £820 million (1.6 billion USD), the musical icon has been a major player within the music industry since his formation of The Beatles in Liverpool in 1960. Since then, the singer-songwriter has dominated the industry making him not just the richest musician but arguably one of the most influential. Joining her husband within the list was Nancy Shevell, the 61-year-old hails from New Jersey and famously ran a trucking company prior to marrying the successful musician in 2001.
The 78-year-old singer beat out various successful British musical acts to the top spot, the second spot has been awarded to Irish rock group U2. The Dublin rockers formed in 1976 scored the number two spot with their £620 million worth, this ranking will be no surprise to music fans due to the band’s notable frontman, philanthropist and 2005’s Time Person of the year, Bono.
The third spot has been awarded to Andrew Lloyd-Webber, one of the world’s most prolific theatre mogul. The English composer’s net worth has been reported as £525 million, the rich list does not just report the figure’s worth but also reports on the musician or artist’s rise or fall financially throughout the year. This can be seen within Andrew Lloyd- Webber’s statistics, the composer was down £275 million due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the negative effect which it has caused within live entertainment and in this case live theatre. The Times’ rich list reported on the effect in which COVID-19 has had on the financial health as well within the careers of musicians.
“All over the world the live sector — the fun, lucrative part — stopped, owing to Covid-19, which meant artists big and small had box-office receipts scrapped, while, down the food chain, those who work to put an act on stage considered retraining.”
Sir Elton John has acquired the fourth spot, boasting a worth of £375 million with a rise reported of £15 million. Closing the top 5 is Sir Mick Jagger, the rolling stone enters the spot with £310 million with a rise of £25 million, closely followed by bandmate Keith Richards with a worth of £295 million and matching his bandmate, with a rise of £25 million.
This year the list hosts the ‘Shape of You’ singer Ed Sheeran, the singer has earned his first top 10 rank this year. The singer-songwriter has entered the top 10 with a worth of £220 million also with a rise of £20 million. He has also been ranked as the top earner within the list of the richest young musicians in the UK, being the only under 30 musician to enter the top 10.
