Paul McCartney and Elton John are the only rock stars to feature on the Sunday Times' annual 'Rich List' of Britain's wealthiest people

The Sunday Times newspaper has published its annual Rich List of the 350 wealthiest individuals in Britain, and (Sir) Paul McCartney and (Sir) Elton John are the only rock stars to make the cut. The minimum wealth required to make this year's list is £350million.

McCartney and his wife Nancy Shevell are placed at number 175 on the list with a net worth of £950 million: this is presumably good news for the couple, who in 2022 were listed at number 198, with a trifling net worth of £865 million. The Sunday Times notes that Macca's recent Got Back tour grossed $105 million at the box office from only 16 shows, earning him about £25 million on top of his "regular income".

Sir Elton, meanwhile, is a new entry on the list, securing a joint placing at number 309, with his net worth estimated at £450 million. In one of the worst puns ever committed to print, the ST says that 'The Rocket Man has become “Shop-it Man”', a reference to the the star opening 'his first branded stores in Bicester Village in Oxfordshire and a store-in-store in Selfridges in April to sell limited edition eyewear, clothes, memorabilia, signed merchandise, artworks and photographs.'

The list also features King Charles III, the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Lord Sugar, Sir Richard Branson, JK Rowling, the owners of several British newspapers, more Tory Party donors than you can shake a stick at, and assorted people who profit from the misery of others. Oh, and Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy: insert your own punchline here.

Artists

A music writer since 1993, formerly Editor of Kerrang! and Planet Rock magazine (RIP), Paul Brannigan is a Contributing Editor to Louder. Having previously written books on Lemmy, Dave Grohl (the Sunday Times best-seller This Is A Call) and Metallica (Birth School Metallica Death, co-authored with Ian Winwood), his Eddie Van Halen biography (Eruption in the UK, Unchained in the US) emerged in 2021. He has written for Rolling Stone, Mojo and Q, hung out with Fugazi at Dischord House, flown on Ozzy Osbourne's private jet, played Angus Young's Gibson SG, and interviewed everyone from Aerosmith and Beastie Boys to Young Gods and ZZ Top. Born in the North of Ireland, Brannigan lives in North London and supports The Arsenal.