Sound CheckPaul McCartney named world’s richest lead singer
Better luck next time, Bono!
Celebrity Net Worth looked at the "salaries, real estate holdings, divorces, record sales, royalties and endorsements" of solo artists and lead singers of bands like The Rolling Stones, The Police and U2 and determined that the richest front man among them is none other than The Beatles' Paul McCartney.
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"The final net worths come from a formula that takes out taxes, manager's fees, agents' fees, and lifestyle," the website explains noting that McCartney easily topped this list with $800 million in net worth.
Earlier this year, it was predicted that Bono of U2, currently second on the list with $600 million in net worth, would surpass the former Beatle when his private equity venture Elevation Partners pushed his sum up over a billion based on his 1.5% private stake in Facebook prior to the IPO.
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However, as the 52-year-old clarified during an interview, "In Elevation, we invested other people's money—endowments, pension funds. We do get paid, and that is a good thing. . . . I'm blessed."
He also said, "But, you know, I felt rich when I was 20 years old and my wife was paying my bills."
(In addition, we all know what actually happened when Facebook went public.)
Rounding out the top five on the list is Jimmy Buffet at number three with $400 million, Elton John with $320 million in fourth position and The Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger in fifth with $305 million.
Also appearing on the list are singers like Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl at number 10 with $225 million, ex-Van Halen front man Sammy Hargar in twenty-first place with $120 million and current Van Halen lead singer David Lee Roth at number 50 with $40 million.
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It's interesting to note that Hagar is quite a bit ahead of Roth when it comes to net worth given that he was with Van Halen for a shorter period of time.
Although, since the calculations take into account other areas of wealth in addition to salary, it makes sense when you look at the endeavours that The Red Rocker has on his plate like his Cabo Wabo Cantina nightclub and restaurants, his Cabo Wabo Tequila brand and his current gig as lead singer of Chickenfoot.
