Overview
- Forbes published its estimate in The Billie newsletter on Monday and placed McCartney’s net worth at about $1.4 billion, ranking him behind Jay‑Z and Taylor Swift.
- The core of the valuation is MPL Communications, the publishing company McCartney founded in 1969, which Forbes estimates is worth at least $250 million because it owns catalogs from artists like Buddy Holly plus Broadway scores and holiday standards.
- McCartney’s 25 percent share of Beatles income from Apple Corps is tied to a holding company that Forbes says now generates more than $50 million a year, while his reclaimed U.S. songwriting rights to Lennon‑McCartney songs bring roughly $10 million annually and are valued at about $200 million.
- Forbes also counts recent touring revenue, including the Got Back tour, global real estate and a private art collection as material contributors to the $1.4 billion figure.
- McCartney and his representatives had not commented at the time of reporting and analysts say the estimate reflects how long‑term publishing ownership and years of legal negotiations have turned legacy song catalogs into enduring, appreciable assets.