247 – According to the Sunday Times Rich List, Sir Paul McCartney is the first UK musician to achieve billionaire status. This information was published by business reporter Michael Race. From BBC News.
The former Beatle, 81, increased his fortune to £50m in the past year, thanks to his tours, the lucrative value of his music catalog and his cover of Beyoncé's 1968 song “Blackbird”. Sir Elton John, Lord Lloyd-Webber and David and Victoria Beckham are other well-known names on the list, with a minimum entry of £350 million.
The total wealth of the 350 individuals and families on this year's list is £795.3 billion, an amount larger than the economy of Poland. However, Robert Watts, who compiled the list, said the UK's “billionaire boom” appears to be over, noting that many British businessmen are seeing their fortunes decline and that some of the world's richest people have settled in the world. The country is moving.
Sir Richard Branson was among those facing a “significant financial setback”, with his fortune falling to £2.4billion due to a difficult year for Virgin Money and space travel company Galactic. Sir Jim Radcliffe, who bought a 27.7% stake in Manchester United for £1.25bn in February, also suffered big losses, mainly due to lower profits at chemicals group Ineos.
New additions to the list include Graham King, with £750m in assets from holiday parks, heritage and housing asylum seekers, and Jon and Susie Seaton, founders of educational publisher Twinkl, with a £500m business. Euan Blair, Sir Tony Blair's eldest son, makes the list with his £1.4bn learning technology company Multiverse. Among the new additions is Formula 1 driver Sir Lewis Hamilton, who is moving from Mercedes to Ferrari for the 2025 season.
According to Robert Watts, “These may be tough times to build wealth, but the Sunday Times Rich List finds entrepreneurs making fortunes in diverse and often surprising ways.”
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