Paul McCartney's Net Worth: How The Beatles Helped Him Pass $1 Billion - Net Worth Radar (2024)

Paul McCartney’s net worth of $1.2 billion makes him one of the richest musicians in the world. Much of Paul McCartney’s wealth is tied to the time he spent recording and touring with The Beatles. As a group, they released 12 studio albums, 13 EPs, and 22 singles, along with 12 live albums. In the years that followed, the group also released five compilation albums and 15 box sets. McCartney also found success after the group came to an end, recording more hits with his band Wings and then throughout his solo career.

Over the past 30 years, the singer’s tours have earned nine figures, and he’s among the best-selling touring acts of all time, especially when his tours are adjusted for inflation.

Let’s dive into Paul McCartney’s net worth by examining the most profitable aspects of his very long and successful movie career.

Paul McCartney came up with the melody for the masterful hit “Yesterday” while dreaming. After spending weeks working on the song and writing lyrics, he wasn’t sure he wanted to share the song with his bandmates or the general public. Yesterday was a drastic departure from the band’s rock roots.

It turns out that releasing the song would be a major contributing factor to Paul McCartney’s net worth. According to TheThings, the song has earned more than $30 million since its release. It has also been covered by more than 2,200 artists.

According to TheRichest, the song not only made a lot of money, but it is also the second most played song in radio history. Every cover, radio play, and music streaming experience earns Paul McCartney and his fellow Beatles even more money.

We’re going to condense the full story, but essentially in 1969, The Beatles old their music rights to ATV for $5.738 million or around $40 million in today’s money. The Beatles had signed an egregious contract before the British invasion occurred, and they were essentially forced to sell their rights.

In 1980, Michael Jackson acquired the rights to the catalog, buying Paul McCartney’s music out from under him after McCartney told Jackson about how smart it was to own the music catalogs for popular artists.

That could have been the end of the story, but under UK law, an artist has the right to reclaim their rights 56 years after a copyright is registered. Since most of the Beatles’ biggest songs were written in the 1960s, by 2018, Paul McCartney and the rest of his former bandmates and their estates could have fought to win back their music catalog.

After the pop singer died, Sony was in control of Michael Jackson’s catalog of music after paying his estate $750 million. To avoid a major lawsuit, Sony settled with McCartney and John Lennon’s heirs after McCartney sued to ensure he could reclaim his rights. The company now owns the rights alongside McCartney and the Lennon estate.

The Beatles music catalog is estimated to be worth at least $1 billion.

The Beatles were very well compensated for their shows, at least in terms of 1964 money. The group was taking in $40,000 per show or $396,994 in today’s money. The group split 75% of their touring revenue after expenses.

During their show in Kansas City, the group was paid $150,000 or $1.488 million

Paul McCartney has also likely earned millions thanks to the big brand names that he has endorsed.

Among McCartney’s bigger partners over the years are Apple, Lexus, and Fidelity Investments. He’s also worked with the UK department store John Lewis where his song “Golden Slumbers” was featured.

As shown above, McCartney also worked with Visa for a commercial that debuted on January 14, 1990.

There have been other partnerships over the years and given his stature in music’s greatest band of all time, it’s likely McCartney has made in the tens of millions just from brand endorsem*nts alone.

Paul McCartney owns numerous personal properties, and he has also obtained over half a dozen properties, including several large estates in his native England.

Here’s a list obtained from Celebrity Net Worth of known Paul McCartney’s real estate holdings and, where available, his purchase and sale prices.

The exact value of Paul McCartney’s real estate holding is estimated between $100 million and $150 million. It would likely provide a nice profit if McCartney were to sell his real estate holdings.

Paul McCartney’s net worth of $1.2 billion in 2023 is impressive, and equally as impressive is that at 81 years old, he continues to earn a salary of around $50 million per year, both from the royalties of his songs and from his ability to still draw sold-out crowds more than 63 years after The Beatles first formed in 1960.

Rihanna’s net worth, Jay-Z’s net worth and that of Andrew Lloyd Weber are the only fortunes that surpass that of Sir Paul McCartney. And all things considered, if we were to consider inflation, Paul McCartney’s net worth would likely top our list.