Sunday Times Rich List 2024: Sir Paul McCartney is UK's first billionaire musician

Sir Paul McCartney is officially a billionaire.

New figures show the former Beatles' wealth grew another £50m in the past year thanks to touring and the lucrative value of his back catalogue. According to the Sunday Times Rich List, Sir Paul has become the first UK musician to achieve billionaire status.

It makes Sir Paul, who grew up in a post-war terraced house in Allerton in south Liverpool, worth considerably more than the King Charles. And he is estimated to be worth double fellow megastar Sir Elton John, whose wealth is estimated, at £470m.

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Yet even with his sizeable fortune the 81-year-old legend ranks only 165th on the latest list of Britain’s super-wealthy.

The Rich List estimates the King is worth £610m - putting him in 258th place - and up from £600m in 2023. Sir Elton John is listed in the 291st spot, while Tory Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and wife Akshata Murty - worth £651m - sit at 245st on the list.

All sit towards the bottom of the 300 richest people in Britain included in this year’s ranking.

At the top is Indian-born British businessman Gopi Hinduja and his family, with a wealth put at almost £37.2bn, up from £35bn last year and the largest fortune ever recorded in the history of the Rich List.

Chemicals magnate Sir Jim Ratcliffe, second on last year’s list, has fallen to fourth, with a fortune £23.5bn.

David and Victoria Beckham, in comparison, have amassed a fortune that grew another £30m to £455m, the latest report says.

The research also reveals the largest fall in the billionaire count in the guide’s 36-year history, from a peak of 177 in 2022 to 165 this year.

Robert Watts, compiler of the Sunday Times Rich List, says it suggests “Britain’s billionaire boom has come to an end." He said: "Many of our home-grown entrepreneurs have seen their fortunes fall and some of the global super rich who came here are moving away.”

Virgin tycoon Sir Richard Branson, who lives on the private Caribbean island of Necker, has seen his wealth fall to an estimated £2.4bn, or back to what he was worth in 2000. But he could make upwards of £650m from the proposed sale of lender Virgin Money to the Nationwide building society.

Also released is The Sunday Times 40 under 40 Rich List, featuring the likes of singers Adele and Dua Lipa and England football captain Harry Kane.

Topping the list is Hugh Grosvenor, the soon-to-be-married 7th Duke of Westminster, who inherited his title and a vast land and property portfolio aged 25. His family’s wealth is estimated at more than £10bn.

Now 33, the Cheshire-based Duke oversees the dynasty’s vast Grosvenor Group property operation, which owns the Liverpool ONE shopping complex. He is set to marry Olivia Henson, 31, next month, with the Prince of Wales a guest of honour at the ceremony at Chester Cathedral.

Fifth on the Under 40 rich list is Gymshark tycoon Ben Francis, worth £725m. Music star Harry Styles has amassed a £175m packet, just ahead of Adele who has £170m and almost double Dua Lipa’s £90m.

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