Paul McCartney has been declared a billionaire by Forbes, which estimates the former Beatle’s fortune at $1.4 billion, making him the world’s third-wealthiest musician.
Only Jay-Z, whose wealth is estimated at $2.8 billion, and Taylor Swift, at around $2 billion, rank higher. According to Forbes, approximately $350 million of McCartney’s fortune comes from his time with the Beatles. But it’s what he did beyond the band that helped turn him into a billionaire.
The magazine notes that, six decades after singing that he “don’t care too much for money,” McCartney has “sung, sued, countersued, toured and toiled his way to a $1.4 billion fortune.”
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During the height of Beatlemania in the mid-’60s, however, the Fab Four saw surprisingly little of the money their success generated. Their record deal reportedly earned McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr less than a penny for every record sold. McCartney described the arrangement to Forbes in 2017 as “basically a slave contract.”
As the Beatles approached their end in 1969, McCartney began taking steps to ensure his future earnings would be on different terms. He established MPL Communications, a music publishing company that would protect his interests as a solo artist, while steadily expanding its catalog.
Among his acquisitions were the publishing rights to songs by Beatles inspiration Buddy Holly, along with Broadway scores and Christmas standards. The strategy has proved enormously lucrative, generating royalties whenever those songs are played or performed. As Forbes puts it, “Anytime ‘Blue Suede Shoes’ is streamed or a high school theater group performs Grease, McCartney gets paid.”
The magazine estimates MPL is now worth at least $250 million. Meanwhile, McCartney’s solo career has produced 20 albums, and he has also worked to reclaim rights to the Beatles’ back catalog. The band’s company, Apple Corps, now generates around $50 million annually through streaming, vinyl sales and merchandise.
Of course, McCartney’s considerable wealth is hardly a secret. His fame has long made his financial success a subject of public fascination, and in 1986 he was asked a particularly direct question: “Do you feel guilty about having so much money?”
His answer reflected his working-class upbringing in Liverpool, where he grew up in a council house watching his parents struggle to make ends meet.
“No,” he replied, before elaborating on why he didn’t feel the need to apologize for his fortune.
“That was one of the things I thought, ‘God, this is going to be awkward because if I get money, I’m going to turn out like all those people who sort of [say] ‘I’m sorry, I did well.’ But I think, ‘Sod it,’ you know?
“I’d feel guilty if I had a fleet of Cadillacs and used a lot of petrol all the time,” he continued. “But I don’t do that. I try to do good stuff with my money, I try to help a lot of things. I don’t shout about it, so I’m not known as a great charity person. But I believe you shouldn’t shout about it, [otherwise] I think it’s more like a publicity stunt: ‘I’ve just given to save the children!’”
Although McCartney has generally preferred to keep his philanthropy out of the spotlight, he has supported a number of causes publicly. A vegetarian since 1975, he has long championed animal rights and regularly donated to PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). His late wife, Linda McCartney, also helped establish a successful plant-based food business.
He has additionally performed at numerous benefit events, including Live 8 in 2005 and One World: Together at Home during the COVID-19 pandemic. But he has never been particularly interested in publicizing his charitable contributions.
“I don’t feel uncomfortable with it,” he added. “I think if I didn’t have it, someone else would have it. And at least I feel like, to some degree, it’s in good hands because I know what I do, and I’m into conservation. I’m into peace. I’m certainly not into any power trips.”
McCartney has plenty of musical activity on the horizon, too. He is set to reunite with Ringo Starr and Joe Walsh at VetsAid 2027. The two surviving Beatles have also announced a major new Beatles experience in their hometown of Liverpool.
