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Paul McCartney sees wealth soar by a third thanks to new wife

Sir Paul McCartney, already one of the world’s richest musicians, increased his wealth by almost a third last year, thanks to his new wife.

By Anita Singh

25 Apr 2012

Nancy Shevell brought a £150 million fortune to the marriage when the couple wed in October 2011. That is the value of her share in New England Motor Freight, the family haulage business in the United States led by her father. She is vice-president.

As a result, Sir Paul leapfrogged Lord Lloyd-Webber to reach third place on the Sunday Times Rich List of Music Millionaires, with his wealth rising from £495 million to £665 million in the past year.

In addition to Miss Shevell’s money, Sir Paul made £20 million through touring and album sales, according to the list.

The 69 year-old married the US heiress, his third wife, at Marylebone Register Office in London. It was there that he also wed his first wife, Linda Eastman, who died in 1998. His marriage to wife number two, Heather Mills, lasted from 2002 to 2008, and the divorce cost him £24.3 million.

The widow of fellow Beatle George Harrison, Olivia, and their son, Dhani, with a joint fortune of £180 million, were 13th on the list.

Ringo Starr, who reportedly has £160 million, was 18th.

The number one spot on the list was retained by Clive Calder, the music industry tycoon, with £1.35 billion — a fortune made from the sale of his Zomba record label to BMG in 2002.

Sir Cameron Mackintosh, the theatrical producer, was in second place with £725 million, up from £675 million on the 2011 list.

Lord Lloyd-Webber was fourth with £590 million, down from £680 million. Simon Cowell, the television producer, reached number seven, with £225 million.

Also on the list were David and Victoria Beckham, who made £25 million last year, raising their fortune to £190 million.

The founder of Spotify, the online music streaming service, was the highest new entry on the Music Millionaires’ Rich List, with a personal fortune of £190 million.

Daniel Ek was in joint 10th place on the Sunday Times list with Sir Mick Jagger. While it has taken the Rolling Stone, 68, a lifetime to amass such wealth, Mr Ek has managed it by the age of 29.

The Swedish entrepreneur founded Spotify in 2006 and it now has three million paying subscribers, having launched in the United States last year and announced a partnership with Facebook.

Users have access to millions of songs – according to the company, the catalogue is so vast it would take 80 years of non-stop listening to get through it all. Around 10,000 tracks are added each day.

The business is valued at £1.2 billion and Mr Ek’s stake is worth £190 million — equivalent to the joint fortune of David and Victoria Beckham.

He was included on the list because he is partly based in London. His main office is in Stockholm.

Mr Ek began developing his talents at a young age. Given his first computer at five, he was soon writing basic codes. He started his first business at 14, setting up websites.

He dropped out of an engineering degree to focus on internet start-ups and was a millionaire by 23. Forbes magazine branded him “the most important man in music”.

Sir Paul McCartney and Nancy Shevell, New York City Ballet Fall Gala at the David Koch Theatre at Lincoln Center, 2011  Photo: WireImage