Who Is The Richest Beatle? (And Each Of Their Net Worth)
Though the heyday of The Beatles is diminished, let’s take a look at each band member’s net worth to determine who is the richest of the group.
The Beatles are, without a doubt, the greatest band of all time. They changed the history of rock ‘n roll and inspired countless 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 the members 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.
Updated November 2023: Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr are still remaining relevant in the music industry 60 years after they first came on the scene as half of The Beatles. Starr has been touring this spring and finished up his tour in October 2023. McCartney is currently on tour until mid-December.
Most importantly for Beatles fans, the duo released a new song from the quartet on November 16, 2023. The song, “Now and Then” will be the last new song from The Beatles and has already received critical praise since its release.
4Ringo Starr
Net Worth: $350 Million
Drummer, vocalist, and songwriter for The Beatles
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 celebrated his 80th birthday with a live charity show on YouTube in 2020, has released 18 solo albums and has been touring with his All-Starr Band for decades.
Ringo Starr wasn’t impressed with the interviewers, and that was evident at the start when Paul McCartney was brought up.
In 1973, three years after The Beatles officially split up, Ringo earned two Number One 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 or Help!, Ringo acted in movies like Candy, The Magic Christian, and Caveman. He met his wife of almost 40 years, actress Barbara Bach, on the set of the latter movie. He also appeared in Martin Scorsese’s documentary The Last Waltz in 1976.
From Spring 2023 into Fall 2023, Starr was touring and successfully selling out his venues. With the tour being over, Ringo’s next project is a country album. A genre that he has always had a fondness for and wanted to work in, but never had the opportunity to. However, when his friend, T Bone Burnett sent him a song, Ringo knew he had to perform it and an album was born from that.
3George Harrison
Net Worth: $400 Million At Death
Lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for The Beatles
The quiet Beatle had 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 is 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 1970, 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, entitled 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 make 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.
John Lennon and Paul McCartney were full of laughs during their final interview together with Larry Kane.
In the 90s, during the making of The Beatles Anthology, Harrison 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 had recorded in the last years of his life, which were completed by his son Dhani.
Harrison’s voice can be heard one more time in a new track that was released by The Beatles on November 16, 2023. The song, “Now and Then” is the final song that will be released by the quartet, having been discovered when The Beatles were working on the Anthology during the mid-1990s.
2John Lennon
Net Worth: $620 Million At Death
Lead vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter for The Beatles
John Lennon was one of the main songwriters in The Beatles, along with McCartney. That alone could explain his staggering $620 million net worth (though adjusting for inflation, that would be approximately $200 million today). But aside from his very active role as a composer in the band, he has 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 homemaker. In October 1980, he released his last album, Double Fantasy. The record was not well-received immediately after its release, but right after his death it quickly topped the charts in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Paul recently divulged that John was concerned about how people would view him after he died, concerned that his body of work was not remarkable enough.
“I remember him saying to me, ‘Paul, I worry about how people are going to remember me when I die,’ and it kind of shocked me,” Paul explained. “I said ‘OK, hold on, just hold it right there. People are going to think you were great, you’ve already done enough work to demonstrate that.'”
John can be heard on The Beatles’ new track, “Now and Then”, released on November 16, 2023.
Yoko Ono revealed that she’s always preferred The Beatles’ White Album over Sgt. Pepper. However, her favorite The Beatles song isn’t from this album.
1Paul McCartney
Net Worth: $1.2 Billion
Lead vocalist, bassist, and songwriter for The Beatles
The title of the Richest Beatle belongs to Sir Paul McCartney. This likely comes as no surprise, since he has had one of the most prolific music careers in the world. He’s worth an astonishing $1.2 billion, and here’s why.
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, McCartney 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 disbandment of Wings, Paul continued releasing albums and touring. His 2019 release Egypt Station became his first album to debut at Number One, proving that the Richest Beatle is not slowing down.
Paul is currently touring in Mexico and will be wrapping up his South American tour in Brazil on December 16, 2023.
When he is not touring, Paul is working on music. Be it The Beatles, “Now and Again” or working with Dolly Parton and Ringo on Dollyn’s rock album, Paul proves he still has vocal chops worth listening to. And with the powerhouse teaming up with The Rolling Stones in September 2023 for their new album, Paul is not going anywhere anytime soon.
