Billionaire Paul McCartney grew up ‘poor’ and was raised by a cotton salesman in Liverpool—now, he’s the third richest musician in the world
Beatles frontman Paul McCartney just made the billionaire club, according to Forbes, and is now the third richest musician in the world behind Taylor Swift and Jay Z.
Key points
- By 21 years old, Paul McCartney was earning thousands and appearing on TV McCartney was just 20 years old when The Beatles released their first single “Love Me Do” in 1962, and only 21 when the band appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show and “Beatlemania” swept the U.S.
- But McCartney didn’t hit a 10-figure net worth by simply resting on the laurels of his band’s success—the now-84-year-old has long leaned into his entrepreneurial side in entertainment.
- I remember a couple of women going on about money: ‘Ah, me and my husband, we’re always arguing about money.’ And I remember thinking very consciously, ‘OK, I’ll solve that; I will try to get money,’” McCartney continued.
His father, Jim, worked as a cotton salesman and was an amateur jazz musician, while his mother, Mary, was a midwife—and McCartney has said that having little money growing up inspired him to earn it.
Additional details
- As well as acquiring valuable song catalogs and founding MPL Communications so he could have control of his solo-career publishing and master recordings, McCartney has been expanding his music holdings by snapping up other artists’ catalogs.
- Paul, Ringo Starr, and the estates of the late John Lennon and George Harrison each get a 25% cut of the money generated by the band’s holding company, Apple Corps, which brings in at least $50 million every year from streams, vinyl sales, and merchandising.
- “And I always say to people: don’t underestimate the working class.” McCartney’s business savvy scaled his $1.4 billion fortune: ‘Don’t underestimate the working class’ The Beatles are celebrated as one of the most successful bands of all time and are still a household name thanks to their enduring cultural impact.
- He’s amassed a $1.4 billion fortune from six decades of churning out radio hits, selling records, and touring the world—but has always navigated success with his working-class roots in mind.
- “I was very lucky–I came from a very loving family of very smart working-class people,” McCartney said in an interview with The Rest is Entertainment podcast earlier this year.
How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →
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