Baby You’re A Rich Man: McCartney becomes a billionaire

Paul McCartney has joined the pantheon of billionaires as Forbes has ranked his net worth at approximately $US1.4 billion.

The 84-year-old Beatles legend is estimated to have become the third richest musician in the world, behind Taylor Swift and Jay-Z.

Jay-Z topped the rich list at $US2.8 billion, according to Forbes.

McCartney’s continued rise in wealth has been credited in part to his MPL Communications publishing company.

Established in 1969, before the Fab Four split, the company is said to be worth at least a quarter of a billion dollars.

Although McCartney has declined to comment on the estimates, it’s said he likely pulls in tens of millions of dollars every year in revenue.

He previously noted in a 2017 piece for Forbes that the Beatles’ original record deal “turned out to be a slave contract,” giving each member less than one cent for every album sold.

McCartney spent years in legal battles and negotiations to secure bigger shares of the Beatles’ catalogue for each member and their estates, along with his own songwriting copyrights.

As well as his classic songs and festive hits like It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas, he also owns musical scores, meaning he gets royalties whenever high school productions of shows like Grease are performed.

Adding to the royalty cheques, McCartney’s net worth is further bolstered by his lucrative music catalogues, hundreds of millions in earnings from world tours, real estate in the UK, and an art collection including items by Pablo Picasso.

McCartney previously insisted he considers himself a “playaholic”, because he never thinks of his music career as work.

He told Zane Lowe in an interview for Apple Music: “People say, ‘Oh you’re a workaholic’ and I say, ‘We don’t work music, we play it, so I’m a playaholic!

“I hate it when making music starts to feel like work.”

BILLIONAIRE MUSIC CLUB

According to Forbes estimates, these are some of the biggest names in music’s billionaire club, with fortunes listed in US dollars.

• Jay-Z – $2.8 billion: The rapper and entrepreneur tops the list, having built a business empire spanning music, investments and luxury drinks brands.
• Taylor Swift – $2 billion: The pop superstar has made much of her fortune through record-breaking tours, music royalties and the enormous value of her song catalogue.
• Paul McCartney – $1.4 billion: More than six decades after The Beatles conquered the world, McCartney continues to earn millions through songwriting, publishing rights and live performances.
• Bruce Springsteen – $1.2 billion: The Boss secured a reported $500 million deal for his music catalogue in 2021, adding to decades of touring success.
• Beyoncé – $1 billion: The singer has built her fortune through music, blockbuster tours and business ventures.
• Rihanna – $1 billion: While her music made her famous, her hugely successful Fenty Beauty cosmetics business helped turn her into a billionaire.
• Dr. Dre – $1 billion: The hip-hop producer and entrepreneur made much of his wealth through Beats, the headphones company sold to Apple in 2014.

For McCartney, perhaps the most interesting part is that songs written more than half a century ago are still helping generate an extraordinary fortune. Not bad for a young lad from Liverpool who once earned less than a penny for every Beatles album sold.

With Starts at 60 Writers