Paul McCartney is now a billionaire, according to a new Forbes estimate that puts his fortune at at least $1.4 billion.
The estimate, published on Monday, makes the 84-year-old former Beatle the world’s third-richest musician. Only Jay-Z, at an estimated $2.8 billion, and Taylor Swift, at $2 billion, rank above him.
Forbes published the figure in the first edition of The Billie, its new newsletter on billionaires. Much of McCartney’s wealth sits in MPL Communications, the music publishing company he founded in 1969. Forbes values MPL at at least $250 million and says it controls thousands of songs and brings in tens of millions of dollars a year.
McCartney also holds a 25 per cent stake in Apple Corps, the Beatles’ holding company. Forbes estimates Apple Corps brings in more than $50 million a year from streaming, vinyl sales and merchandise. His Beatles song royalties alone bring in at least $10 million a year, according to Forbes.
The new ranking is not the first time McCartney has crossed the billionaire line. The Sunday Times named him Britain’s first billionaire musician in 2024, though that figure covered his household wealth with his wife, Nancy Shevell. Forbes says McCartney declined to comment on its estimates.
Source: Paste Magazine
