Paul McCartney has entered billionaire territory.
Forbes editors announced on Monday that the Beatles icon is estimated to hold a net worth of about $1.4 billion (£1 billion).
That places him as the third-wealthiest musician, trailing behind JAY-Z, who sits at around $2.8 billion (£2 billion), and Taylor Swift, who is projected to have about $2 billion (£1.4 billion).
There has been no statement from McCartney’s representatives, who are 84 years old, regarding the report.
Forbes’ analysis suggests that the majority of the British singer-songwriter’s wealth comes from MPL Communications, the publishing company he established in 1969. It remains McCartney’s principal enterprise and is valued at “at least a quarter of a billion dollars.”
Beyond managing his solo material, the company controls the rights to a number of landmark tracks, such as Carl Perkins’s 1955 hit Blue Suede Shoes and The Four Seasons’ Big Girls Don’t Cry, as well as Christmas favorites like It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas and Baby, It’s Cold Outside.
After years of negotiating with record-label executives, McCartney and Ringo Starr receive a quarter of the earnings from the Beatles’ Apple Corps holding company each, with the remaining portion allocated to the estates of the late John Lennon and George Harrison.
With income from streaming, vinyl sales, and merchandise, those shares could each be worth more than $150 million (£111 million).
Separately, McCartney has earned from his concert tours, property investments in the United Kingdom and the United States, and a substantial art collection that features works by Magritte and Picasso.
The Blackbird icon released his twentieth solo album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane, in May.
