Paul McCartney becomes billionaire and world's third-richest musician

Paul McCartney has become a billionaire, making him the world's third-richest musician - placing him behind Jay-Z and Taylor Swift.

Forbes has ranked his net worth at approximately $1.4 billion (€1.2 billion).

The publication gave McCartney the designation in their new weekly newsletter, The Billie - that focuses on wealth data, pop culture figures, and the business of music and entertainment.

According to Forbes, the bulk of his fortune has come from his publishing company, MPL Communications that he launched in 1969 which manages his own catalog as well as other artists' copyrights.

It's noted that his acquisition of catalogs from artists such as Buddy Holly, Broadway musical scores and Christmas standards account for nearly a quarter of a billion dollars.

The 84-year-old also makes $10 million (€9 million) per year based on his share of Beatles songwriting copyrights, which he legally fought for over the past two decades - that's worth at least $200 million (€178 million).

The total sum of his earnings includes world tours, most recently 79 shows for his Got Back tour between 2022 and 2025, as well as real estate around the world and paintings from masters Magritte and Picasso.

McCartney is still an active musician with the release of The Boys of Dungeon Lane, this May. He appeared as the musical guest for that month's season finale of Saturday Night Live, and performed 'I Want To Hold Your Hand' for the first time in 60 years as part of fellow billionaire Taylor Swift's wedding to Travis Kelce at Madison Square Garden in July.

He was also the subject of 2025's Man on the Run, a documentary directed by Morgan Neville, about his life after his departure from the Beatles and the journey that would lead to the formation of Wings.