Paul McCartney is still the richest person in the music industry in Britain.
On May 13, the Sunday Times will publish its 2018 “Rich List,” ranking the 1,000 wealthiest people in the UK. It compiles the index by calculating net worth based on identifiable wealth, including land, property, other assets such as art and racehorses, or shares in publicly quoted companies. The calculations do not include bank accounts, which the paper can’t access. The newspaper sent Quartz a slice of the list, the top-40 wealthiest people in the UK music industry, as a preview. (The list includes, where relevant, spouses who actively participate in their partner’s music business, and heirs who hold the rights of a deceased artist’s music)
After crunching the numbers, the Sunday Times found McCartney and his wife Nancy Shevell had a combined wealth of £820 million ($1.1 billion), a figure including everything from royalties on The Beatles’ back catalogue to revenue from albums on streaming services such as Spotify and earnings from live performances. McCartney has been part of the Sunday Times’ Rich List since the paper inaugurated the index in 1989. He has seen his wealth grow from £40 million that year, to nearly £1 billion in present day.