The Beatles are, without a doubt, the greatest band of all time. They changed the history of rock ‘n roll and inspired countless of amazing artists that came after them. Without them, music would be a completely different thing today. And of course, with great fame comes great wealth.
Sadly, nowadays, only Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr remain. But all of them have had great careers after the breakup of the band, which earned them a lot of money. This article will uncover which one of the Fab Four is the richest, and explain how each of them amassed their fortune.
4 Ringo Starr – $350 Million
Sir Richard Starkey, peace and love! Ringo‘s net worth is $350 million, and he holds the title of the richest drummer of all time. This number is impressive, but it makes sense once you review Ringo’s career. The drummer, who recently celebrated his 80th birthday with a live charity show on YouTube, has released 18 solo albums and has been touring with his All-Starr Band for decades.
In 1973, three years after The Beatles officially split up, Ringo earned two Number 1 singles. One with the song Photograph, which he wrote with George Harrison, and the other one with a cover of You’re Sixteen, a song by the Sherman Brothers. In 1994, he reunited with his former bandmates to record two tracks with John Lennon’s vocals. Those tracks were part of the Beatles Anthology.
Ringo has also had a career in acting. Aside from his roles in the Beatles’ movies, such as A Hard Day’s Night (1964) or Help!, Ringo acted in movies like Candy (1968), The Magic Christian (1969) and Caveman (1981). He met his wife of almost 40 years, actress Barbara Bach, in the set of this movie. He also appeared in Martin Scorsese’s documentary, The Last Waltz, in 1976.
3 George Harrison – $400 Million
The quiet Beatle also made an impressive fortune. His $400 million net worth is the result of his incredibly prolific career, with and without The Beatles. Even though he’s the author of some of the greatest Beatles hits, the songwriting in the band was mainly divided between the Lennon-McCartney duo. That’s why in 197o, the same year the breakup of the band was announced, he released a triple album with all the songs he had written during the last years of The Beatles. This album, titled All Things Must Pass, was awarded a gold disc just a month after its release and has received six platinum certifications. The single My Sweet Lord made George the first Beatle to have a Number 1 hit after the band’s breakup.
In October 1988, he formed a band called The Traveling Wilburys with Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, and Tom Petty. The band’s first album, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1, was a huge success and was certified triple platinum. Later that year, following Roy Orbison’s death, the band released their second album, titled Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 in an attempt to confuse fans.
In the 90s, during the making of The Beatles Anthology, he stated: “I hope somebody does this to all my crap demos when I’m dead, make them into hit songs.” His family seems to have listened to him, because in 2002, right after his death, the album Brainwashed was released. It included the songs he’d recorded in the last years of his life, which were completed by his son Dhani.
2 John Lennon – $800 Million
John Lennon was one of the main songwriters in The Beatles, along with McCartney. That alone could explain his staggering $800 million net worth. But aside from his very active role as a composer in the band, he’s had an incredible solo career, which was cut short when he was murdered in 1980.
In 1969 he formed the Plastic Ono Band with Yoko Ono and they released several songs against the Vietnam War. Activism for peace became a constant theme for his new band, and Yoko’s influence became more and more important in the way he viewed music. In 1971, he released the album Imagine. The single, by the same name, became a peace anthem, even if it didn’t have that much success immediately. The album would eventually receive a gold and two platinum certifications.
John took a five-year hiatus after the birth of his second child, Sean. During that time, he said, he became a househusband. In October of 1980, he released his last album, Double Fantasy. The record wasn’t well-received immediately after its release, but right after his death it quickly topped the charts in the US and the United Kingdom.
Aside from being one of the main songwriters in the band, his career post-Beatles is just as impressive. Right after the band broke up, he fell into a depression. His wife Linda was the one that helped him get through it, and in her honor, he wrote the hit song Maybe I’m Amazed. This song appeared in Sir Paul’s first solo album McCartney, which he recorded all on his own, except for a few backing vocals Linda did. This record caused a lot of conflicts, as it was released along with Let It Be, right before the official breakup of The Beatles. The album did very well, spending 3 weeks at Number 1, and the following year Paul released RAM, another commercial success, although it wasn’t well-received by critics.
Later in 1971, Paul started what would be his next great band: Wings. He convinced Linda to join the band despite not having any musical experience, as he didn’t want to be away from her and their children while the band was touring. The band had a lot of success, achieving 14 top ten singles in the US and 12 in the UK.
After the breakup of Wings, Paul continued releasing albums and touring. His most recent release, Egypt Station (2019), became his first album to debut at Number 1, proving that the Richest Beatle is not slowing down.
Martin A Nethercutt is a writer, singer, producer and loves music.
Creative Director at McCartney Studios
Editor-in-Chief at McCartney Times
Creator-in-Chief at Geist Musik
President (title) at McCartney Multimedia, Inc.
Went to Albert-Schweitzer-Schule Kassel
Lives in Playa del Rey
From Kassel, Germany
Married to Ruth McCartney
There are no comments at the moment, do you want to add one?
Write a comment