Paul McCartney ranks third-richest musician with $1.4bn

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Former Beatles member Paul McCartney has become a billionaire with a net worth of $1.4bn, making him the world’s third-richest musician, Forbes reports. Read More:…

Former Beatles member Paul McCartney has become a billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $1.4bn, making him the world’s third-richest musician, Forbes has reported.

The 84-year-old British singer-songwriter ranks behind American rapper Jay-Z, whose fortune is estimated at 2bn, according to the publication.

Forbes disclosed this in a report published on Monday, attributing McCartney’s wealth to decades of songwriting, music publishing investments, royalties, touring and property holdings.

Much of his fortune comes from MPL Communications, the music publishing company he established in 1969, shortly before The Beatles broke up.

Through the company, McCartney acquired the publishing rights to thousands of songs, including works by early rock-and-roll musician Buddy Holly and scores from Broadway musicals.

The catalogue also includes several well-known Christmas songs, such as “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas”, “Blue Christmas” and “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”.

Forbes estimated that MPL is worth at least $`250m and generates tens of millions of dollars in annual revenue from music royalties.

The singer also earns from The Beatles’ music catalogue through the group’s Apple Corps company, which Forbes estimated generates more than $50m annually from streaming, vinyl sales and merchandise.

McCartney, drummer Ringo Starr and the estates of late band members John Lennon and George Harrison each receive a 25 per cent share of the company’s income, according to Forbes.

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