Sir Paul McCartney is Britain’s first billionaire musician

Sir Paul McCartney is officially a billionaire.

New figures show the ex-Beatles’ fortune has increased by a further £50m in the past year thanks to his tours and the lucrative value of his back catalogue. According to the Sunday Times Rich List, Sir Paul became the first British musician to achieve billionaire status.

This makes Sir Paul, who grew up in a post-war terraced house in Allerton, south Liverpool, worth far more than King Charles. And he is estimated to be worth double that of Sir Elton John, whose fortune is estimated at £470 million.

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However, even with his considerable wealth, the 81-year-old legend only ranks 165th on the latest list of Britain’s super rich.

The rich list estimates the King is worth £610m – putting him in 258th place – and up from £600m in 2023. Sir Elton John is at 291st, while Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and wife Akshata Murty – worth £651 million – sit at number 245 on the list.

All are at the bottom of Britain’s 300 richest people included in this year’s ranking.

At the top is Indian-born British businessman Gopi Hinduja and his family, with a fortune of almost £37.2bn, up from £35bn last year and the highest on record ever in Rich List history.

Chemical magnate Sir Jim Ratcliffe, second on last year’s list, dropped to fourth place with a fortune of £23.5 billion.

David and Victoria Beckham, by comparison, have amassed a fortune that has risen by a further £30m to £455m, the latest report shows.

The research also reveals the biggest drop in the number of billionaires in the guide’s 36-year history, from a peak of 177 in 2022 to 165 this year.

Robert Watts, compiler of the Sunday Times Rich List, says it suggests “Britain’s billionaire boom is over.” He said: “Many of our homegrown entrepreneurs have seen their fortunes fall and some of the global super rich have come in. here it goes away.”

Virgin tycoon Sir Richard Branson, who lives on the private Caribbean island of Necker, has seen his fortune drop to an estimated £2.4 billion, or back to what it was in 2000. But he could earn more than 650 million pounds from the proposed sale. of lender Virgin Money to Nationwide Building Society.

The Sunday Times 40 under 40 Rich List is also launched, featuring singers such as Adele and Dua Lipa and England football captain Harry Kane.

Heading the list is soon-to-be-married Hugh Grosvenor, the seventh Duke of Westminster, who inherited the title and a vast portfolio of lands and properties aged 25. His family fortune is estimated at over £10 billion.

Now 33, the Duke of Cheshire oversees the vast property operation of the Grosvenor Group dynasty, which owns the Liverpool ONE shopping complex. He is set to marry Olivia Henson, 31, next month, with the Prince of Wales guest of honor at the ceremony at Chester Cathedral.

In fifth place on the under 40 rich list is Gymshark tycoon Ben Francis, worth £725m. Music star Harry Styles scooped a £175million package, just ahead of Adele who has £170million and almost double Dua Lipa’s £90million.

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