Paul McCartney Joins the Billionaire Musicians Club at $1.4 Billion

Paul McCartney's net worth has officially hit $1.4 billion, according to Forbes, making the 84-year-old Beatle the third-richest musician in the world behind Jay-Z and Taylor Swift.

Forbes published the estimate in November in the first issue of its newsletter, "The Billie." Much of McCartney's fortune traces back to The Beatles and his music publishing business. He has been blunt about the band's early economics, calling its first contract a "slave contract" and noting that "no matter how successful we made the company, we didn't get a raise."

How McCartney built the pile

Knowing the real money sat in publishing, McCartney founded the licensing company MPL Communications in 1969. MPL holds rights to thousands of songs, not just his own. Its catalog surfaces everywhere from "The Kardashians" to "Fellow Travelers" to Ford commercials, and Forbes values the business at about $250 million.

The Beatles catalog is the other engine. McCartney spent years regaining control of it and splits the money evenly with Ringo Starr and the estates of John Lennon and George Harrison. Decades of touring, a substantial art collection, and UK property complete the picture.

McCartney joins seven other musicians that Forbes or Bloomberg have valued at ten figures: Jay-Z, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Dr. Dre, Bruce Springsteen, and Selena Gomez (by Bloomberg's count, at least). Jimmy Buffett was also a member before his death in September 2023, thanks to his Margaritaville empire.

Who else is in the club?

• Jay-Z, $2.8 billion. The richest musician on the list, per Forbes as of November 2026. He founded Roc-A-Fella Records in 1995, launched Roc Nation Sports, and bought and sold the streaming platform Tidal for a $149 million net gain, according to a 2021 Forbes report. He holds stakes in Armand de Brignac Champagne and D'Ussé Cognac, and Roc Nation has a multimillion-dollar NFL partnership.
• Taylor Swift, $2 billion. Bloomberg named her a billionaire in October 2023; Forbes followed in April 2024. Her Eras Tour became the first in history to gross $2 billion, and she paid out $197 million in crew bonuses. She owns her catalog outright and has no side businesses. Her album "The Life of a Showgirl" sold over 4 million copies in its debut week, breaking the single-week sales record.
• Rihanna, $1 billion. She hasn't released an album since 2016's "Anti," so most of her wealth comes from Fenty Beauty, co-owned with LVMH, and the lingerie brand Savage X Fenty. The Fenty portfolio has grown to include Fenty Skin, Fenty Hair, and Fenty Fragrance since the 2017 launch.
• Bruce Springsteen, $1.2 billion. Much of his fortune came from selling his music catalog to Sony in 2021 for $500 million, plus relentless touring with the E Street Band.
• Dr. Dre, $1 billion. Forbes reported in April 2026 that he became hip-hop's second billionaire. He cofounded Beats by Dre and sold it to Apple in 2014 for $3 billion in cash and stock. He also runs Aftermath Entertainment and the spirits brand Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop with Snoop Dogg.
• Beyoncé. Named a billionaire less than 10 years after singing "I just might be a Black Bill Gates in the making." Her Renaissance World Tour grossed nearly $600 million in 2023, and Forbes called her 2025 Cowboy Carter Tour "the most successful concert tour" in country music history. She controls her album catalog and runs everything in-house through Parkwood Entertainment. "When I decided to manage myself, it was important that I didn't go to some big management company," she said in 2013. "I felt like I wanted to follow the footsteps of Madonna and be a powerhouse and have my own empire."
• Selena Gomez, $1.3 billion per Bloomberg. Bloomberg's September 2024 estimate leans on her makeup brand, Rare Beauty, where she holds an estimated 51% stake — Forbes calls it "Gomez's biggest asset." Forbes, however, pegs her closer to $700 million, citing cash-flow issues at Wondermind, the startup she cofounded in 2021. Rare Beauty's blush alone generated $70 million in 2022.

What does this change for the industry?

The list shows three distinct paths to a billion: own the catalog (McCartney, Springsteen, Swift), build consumer brands on top of fame (Rihanna, Gomez, Jay-Z), or vertically integrate the entire operation (Beyoncé). For artists and their advisors, the takeaway is straightforward — publishing rights and brand equity, not record deals, are what push net worths past ten figures. With catalog sales like Springsteen's $500 million Sony deal setting the benchmark, expect more aging stars to monetize their lifeworks while the market still pays premiums for proven songs.