Sunday Times sent us over this preview of their music millionaires list which will be published in a special edition of the paper this Sunday: Sir Paul McCartney, Britain's richest performer, moves up to third place in the latest Sunday Times Rich List Music Millionaires Top 50, thanks largely to his marriage in October to Nancy Shevell.. The chart of The Top 50 Music Millionaires in Britain and Ireland is included in The Sunday Times Rich List 2012, the definitive annual guide to wealth in Britain and Ireland to be published in an extra 104-page magazine free with The Sunday Times this weekend. The richest sportsmen will appear in The Sunday Times Sport Rich List 2012 published on May 6. Additional guides to wealth will appear at thesundaytimes.co.uk/richlist from April 29, with the Richest 2,000 people in Britain available from May 13.
The family fortune of Sir Paul McCartney has gone up by £170m in a year – from £475m to £665m – thanks largely to the personal wealth of his new wife Nancy Shevell, who has a £150m stake in New England Motor Freight, the haulage business led by her father. Nancy Shevell is vice-president of the New Jersey-based business. Performing and album sales account for the other £20m added to the McCartney fortune in the last year.
David and Victoria Beckham have seen their joint fortune rise by £25m, to £190m, in the last twelve months to put them in the top 10 of the Music Millionaires chart. Former Spice Girl Victoria's clothing and accessories company was named designer brand of the year at the 2011 British Fashion awards. Husband David has boosted his earnings off the pitch by a further £4m with a new bodywear contract from H&M.
The continued popularity of Coldplay has helped to boost the joint wealth of Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow, who also join the ranks of Britain's 1,000 richest people for the first time with a £72m fortune.
This year The Sunday Times Rich List Music Millionaires Top 50 includes the wealthiest performers from the Republic of Ireland, where the four members and manager of U2 have seen their combined fortune rise by £59m to put them in fifth spot.
Daniel Ek, the Swedish founder of the digital music download sevice Spotify, joins the Beckhams in the Music Top 10, also with a £190m fortune. The Spotify business is valued at £1.2 billion. Ek, a London-based Arsenal supporter, has a stake worth £190m in the popular music download service which he started in 2008 and was launched in America last year.
THE SUNDAY TIMES RICH LIST 2012
THE TOP 50 MUSIC MILLIONAIRES IN BRITAIN AND IRELAND
Music rank
Name 2012 wealth 2011 wealth
1 Clive Calder £1,350m £1,300m
2 Sir Cameron Mackintosh £725m £675m
3 Sir Paul McCartney and Nancy Shevell £665m £495m
4 Lord Lloyd-Webber £590m £680m
5 U2 £514m £455m
6 Simon Fuller £375m £375m
7 Simon Cowell £225m £200m
8 Sir Elton John £220m £195m
9 Michael Flatley £192m £214m
10= David and Victoria Beckham £190m £165m
10= Daniel Ek £190m New
10= Sir Mick Jagger £190m £190m
13= Olivia and Dhani Harrison £180m £170m
13= Sting £180m £180m
15 Keith Richards £175m £175m
16 Jamie Palumbo £170m £150m
17 Denis and Caroline Desmond £165m £185m
18 Ringo Starr £160m £150m
19 Sir Tim Rice £144m £143m
20 Sir Tom Jones £140m £140m
21 Eric Clapton £130m £125m
22= Roger Ames £120m £120m
22= Rod Stewart £120m £115m
22= Roger Waters £120m £105m
25 Phil Collins £115m £115m
26= David Bowie £100m £100m
26= George Michael £100m £90m
26= Robbie Williams £100m £90m
29 Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne £95m £95m
30 Brian May £90m £85m
31 Enya £86m £85m
32= David Gilmour £85m £85m
32= Roger Taylor £85m £80m
32= Charlie Watts £85m £85m
35= Chris Blackwell £80m £80m
35= Robert Plant £80m £80m
37 Jimmy Page £75m £75m
38 Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow £72m £48m
39= John Deacon £70m £65m
39= Chris Wright £70m £70m
41 Moya Doherty and John McColgan £68m £70m
42= Noel and Liam Gallagher £65m £63m
42= Engelbert Humperdinck £65m £60m
42= Mark Knopfler £65m £62m
45 Judy Craymer £63m £62m
46= Nick Mason £55m £55m
46= Martin Mills £55m New
48 Sir Cliff Richard £52m £50m
49= Gary Barlow £50m £38m
49= Brian Johnson £50m £50m
49= Van Morrison £50m £50m
The 24th annual Sunday Times Rich List – the definitive guide to wealth in Britain and Ireland – is published on Sunday, April 29 in an extra 104-page magazine, which profiles the 1,000 richest people and families in the UK and the 250 wealthiest in the island of Ireland. The list is based on identifiable wealth (land, property, other assets such as art and racehorses, or significant shares in publicly quoted companies), and excludes bank accounts (to which the paper has no access).
The official guide will be in the Sunday Times on April 29, and it can be viewed online here.