Paul McCartney's $1.4bn fortune and the business behind his music

By Marcus Bennett

Forbes valued Paul McCartney's net worth at $1.4bn (£1.04bn), making the 84-year-old the world's third-richest musician behind Jay-Z at $2.8bn (£2.01bn) and Taylor Swift at $2bn (£1.49bn).

The valuation places McCartney among the world's billionaires. Forbes attributed his wealth to four assets and activities: the musical catalog, legal maneuvers, touring and art collection.

The publishing engine

Forbes said most of McCartney's fortune comes from MPL Communications, the publishing company he founded in 1969 to manage his own catalog and those of other artists.

The magazine valued copyrights acquired from artists such as Buddy Holly, together with Broadway musical scores and Christmas standards, at nearly a quarter of a billion dollars.

The catalog includes:

• It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.
• The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire).
• Songs such as Blue Suede Shoes, alongside the score for Grease.

Forbes said McCartney earns from this ownership whenever a high school performs Grease or a listener streams Blue Suede Shoes. The arrangement turns familiar songs and school productions into continuing royalty income for the former Beatle.

As a former Beatles member, McCartney receives 25% of earnings from the band's Apple Corps holding company. Forbes estimated that Apple Corps generates about $50m (£37.2m) each year from streaming residuals, vinyl sales and merchandise.

McCartney also receives around $10m (£7.4m) annually from the Beatles' songwriting copyrights. Forbes valued that holding at $200m (£148.8m).

Forbes reported that McCartney fought for those songwriting rights in US and UK courts over the past two decades, securing a recurring claim on the Beatles' publishing income.

Performance, property and pictures

Forbes also included revenue from McCartney's 79-show Got Back tour between 2022 and 2025, real estate around the world and paintings by Magritte and Picasso.

That range of assets matters because it separates McCartney's earnings as a touring musician from the rights that continue to pay without a new performance. Forbes presents the latter as the larger part of his fortune.

McCartney remained active in his 80s, and Forbes noted several recent public events:

• His latest album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane, arrived this past May.
• He appeared as musical guest for that month's season finale of Saturday Night Live.
• In July, he performed the Beatles standard I Want to Hold Your Hand for the first time in 60 years.
• The performance took place at Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding at Madison Square Garden.
• Man on the Run, directed by Morgan Neville, documented his life after leaving the Beatles this year.

What does this change for McCartney's legacy?

The valuation moves publishing ownership to the center of McCartney's financial story. It does not alter the record of his work with the Beatles, his solo catalog or his continuing appearances, but it changes the scale on which those achievements are valued.

Forbes's figures show an artist whose wealth rests more heavily on durable rights than ticket sales alone. The distinction will shape how his next releases and tours are read: as additions to a personal fortune already estimated at $1.4bn.

Forbes's balance points to a next phase for McCartney in which new performances extend the public life of songs whose rights already generate recurring income.