Britain's Wealthiest

The Times of London released their list of the 1,000 wealthiest British subjects. I have culled-out just those in the music business.

I had assumed that Paul McCartney would top the list, but Clive Calder, founder of the Zomba Music Group, which is now part of the Sony/BMG empire, is worth almost twice as much as McCartney. McCartney's value would have been listed at £825,000,000, but the editors are reserving a hundred million pounds of his wealth for distribution to his former wife, Heather Mills. Remember: once you've earned your first ten million, you should really sign a pre-nuptial agreement before marrying a celebrity half your age! This is an important lesson seemingly known by everyone besides Sir Paul!

46 Clive Calder £1,300m
102 Sir Paul McCartney £725m
263 Madonna and Guy Ritchie £275m
319 Sir Elton John £225m
334 Sir Mick Jagger £215m
375 Keith Richards £190m
375 Sir Tom Jones £190m
388 Sting £185m
438 Roger Ames £160m
452 Sir Tim Rice £155m
502 Eric Clapton £140m
502 Ringo Starr £140m
519 Phil Collins £135m
574 Barry and Robin Gibb £120m
574 David Bowie £120m
659 Rod Stewart £105m
700 Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne £100m
755 Chris Wright £95m
755 Robbie Williams £95m
777 Charlie Watts £90m
798 David Gilmour £85m
798 Roger Waters £85m
873 Judy Craymer £78m
896 Brian May £75m
896 George Michael £75m
896 Ronnie Wood £75m
949 Jimmy Page £70m
949 Robert Plant £70m
949 Roger Taylor £70m

David Bowie drops to a tie for fifteenth place on this list; which is surprising because a few short years ago he was talked about as being one of the top five wealthiest rock stars in the world. Maybe all his work in America and the devalued dollar have impacted his actual cash value.

All of the Rolling Stones seem to be on the list, along with Led Zepplin, Queen, Pink Floyd, The Bee Gees, Ringo, Madonna, Elton John, Tom Jones, Eric Clapton, and Sting, along with the others.

Ozzy Osbourne managed to keep a hundred million out of his arm, and George Michael's lawyer fees should be covered by his 75 mil. Maybe. Maybe not!

Remember, one British Pound (£1.00) is equivalent to two U.S. Dollars ($2.00). So, the lowly Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and Roger Taylor listed at seventy million quid are worth a hundred and forty million dollars! Not bad!

Opera producer Roger Ames, and Chris Wright of Chrysalis records are two of the four non-musicians on the music list. Judy Craymer, the musical theater producer who brought us my friend Henry's fave show, Mama Mia!, is the other non-musician.

Aspiring musicians: set your goals high!



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