Net worth & personal profile
Paul McCartneyNet Worth
Nancy Shevell, five children, Beatles rights and a £1.055 billion joint estimate — with company accounts, tour grosses and catalog myths checked against primary records.
Source: Sunday Times Rich List via NME. Single-source estimate. Not an independently verified personal balance sheet.
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The essentials
The £1.055 billion figure belongs to Paul McCartney and Nancy Shevell together, not to McCartney alone. [1]
MPL's 2025 accounts reported £28.21 million in net assets; that company snapshot is not his complete personal balance sheet. [5]
Got Back grossed $410.7 million through November 2025, but tour gross is not personal income. [7]
Career · Love & family · Business · The numbers
Paul McCartney’s money story spans songwriting rights, private companies, six decades of touring and a wealthy spouse. The cleanest answer begins with a caveat: the current billion-pound figure is a joint Rich List estimate for McCartney and Nancy Shevell. It is not an audited valuation of the musician alone.
01 / The breakthrough
The Beatles created the catalog question that still follows him
James Paul McCartney was born in Liverpool and formed his defining songwriting partnership with John Lennon as a teenager. The Beatles’ first UK hit, Love Me Do, arrived in 1962; the Lennon-McCartney catalog that followed became both cultural history and a famously complex rights story. Biography.com — Paul McCartney
His post-Beatles career added Wings, solo albums and touring at arena scale. In May 2026 he released The Boys of Dungeon Lane, his first solo album in more than five years. His official tour page showed no upcoming dates when this profile was checked. Paul McCartney — The Boys of Dungeon Lane
02 / Love & family
Nancy Shevell is part of the headline valuation
McCartney married American businesswoman Nancy Shevell on October 9, 2011. The Sunday Times Rich List combines their wealth, and AP has specifically noted that Shevell’s stake in her family’s transportation business contributes to the household estimate. That makes the joint label essential. AP — Paul McCartney becomes a billionaire · Biography.com — Paul McCartney
He has five children: Heather, Mary, Stella and James from his marriage to Linda McCartney, and Beatrice from his marriage to Heather Mills. Linda died in 1998; McCartney and Mills divorced in 2008. Biography.com — Paul McCartney
A household estimate does not establish which spouse owns each asset. We report the marriage and family context because it changes what the headline number means, while avoiding unsupported allocations between Paul and Nancy.
03 / The money
Companies and tours reveal pieces, not the whole fortune
The 2026 Sunday Times Rich List placed McCartney and Shevell at £1.055 billion, £30 million above the prior year. This remains a publisher valuation of a couple, built from public and estimated assets rather than an audited personal statement. NME — Sunday Times Rich List 2026
MPL Communications Ltd, the company at the center of McCartney’s publishing interests, reported £28.21 million in net assets and £10.30 million in cash for the year ended March 31, 2025. Apple Corps reported £31.80 million in turnover, £3.87 million profit before tax and £3.4 million in dividends for the year ended January 31, 2025. Company accounts show business scale; they are neither market valuations nor a personal bank balance. MPL Communications Ltd — Companies House · Apple Corps Ltd — Companies House filings
Billboard reported $410.7 million in gross revenue and 2.4 million tickets for Got Back through November 2025. That is the tour’s box office before production costs, promoter and venue shares, payroll and taxes — not McCartney’s take-home pay. Billboard — Got Back tour grosses
The most persistent myth is that McCartney personally bought back the Beatles catalog. Sony’s 2016 filing shows a $750 million transaction for the Jackson estate’s stake in Sony/ATV; that payment went to the estate, not McCartney. His separate U.S. copyright case concerned termination rights in roughly 178 compositions and ended in a confidential 2017 settlement. It did not publicly reveal a purchase price or transfer the Beatles master recordings. Sony SEC filing — Jackson estate transaction · McCartney v. Sony/ATV complaint · McCartney v. Sony/ATV settlement filing
The numbers, with their meaning
| Source / measure | Reported figure | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| NME — Sunday Times Rich List 2026 | £1.055 billion | 2026 joint wealth estimate for McCartney and Nancy Shevell; not an individual audited total. |
| MPL Communications Ltd — Companies House | £28.21 million | MPL Communications net assets at March 31, 2025; book value, not McCartney’s total wealth. |
| Apple Corps Ltd — Companies House filings | £31.80 million | Apple Corps turnover for the year to January 31, 2025. |
| Apple Corps Ltd — Companies House filings | £3.4 million | Total Apple Corps dividend; any individual allocation is not disclosed in the accounts. |
| Billboard — Got Back tour grosses | $410.7 million | Got Back tour gross through November 2025; not personal income. |
| Sony SEC filing — Jackson estate transaction | $750 million | Sony/Jackson estate transaction; not money paid to McCartney. |
Household wealth, company accounts, copyright ownership and concert box office are different measures. Our methodology keeps those categories separate and states where a number is inferred or undisclosed.
Financial record
The money timeline
Sunday Times joint wealth estimateWealth£1.06BDetails & source
Amount and context
£1,055,000,000 · GBP
Estimate for McCartney and Nancy Shevell together.
Open source for Sunday Times joint wealth estimate ↗Got Back tour grossBusiness$410.7MDetails & source
Amount and context
$410,700,000 · USD
Reported cumulative box office through November 2025; not personal income.
Open source for Got Back tour gross ↗Copyright case settledLegalNot disclosedDetails & source
Amount and context
Not disclosed · USD
Confidential settlement over U.S. termination rights; no payment was publicly disclosed.
Open source for Copyright case settled ↗Sony buys Jackson estate's Sony/ATV stakeRights$750MDetails & source
Amount and context
$750,000,000 · USD
Transaction value paid in the estate deal; not McCartney's proceeds.
Open source for Sony buys Jackson estate's Sony/ATV stake ↗Northern Songs stake soldRights£1.5MDetails & source
Amount and context
£1,503,000 · GBP
Approximate proceeds reported for McCartney's stake; historical figure and not the later catalog value.
Open source for Northern Songs stake sold ↗Amounts describe different financial measures and retain their original currencies. They must not be added together as personal wealth. Our methodology.
Common questions
Questions, answered
What is Paul McCartney's net worth?
The 2026 Sunday Times Rich List estimates £1.055 billion for Paul McCartney and Nancy Shevell together. It is a joint estimate, not a verified individual balance sheet.
Who is Paul McCartney married to?
American businesswoman Nancy Shevell. They married on October 9, 2011.
How many children does Paul McCartney have?
Five: Heather, Mary, Stella, James and Beatrice.
Does Paul McCartney own the Beatles catalog?
The answer depends on the rights. Beatles master recordings and Lennon-McCartney compositions are different assets. McCartney pursued U.S. termination rights in certain compositions and settled with Sony/ATV in 2017, but the confidential settlement did not establish that he bought the full catalog or the masters.
Did Paul McCartney receive $750 million from Sony?
No. Sony’s 2016 filing described a $750 million purchase of the Jackson estate’s interest in Sony/ATV. The payment was associated with that estate transaction, not a payment to McCartney.
Follow the evidenceSources & reading10 links
- NME — Sunday Times Rich List 2026 ↗
Reports £1.055 billion for Paul McCartney and Nancy Shevell together, up £30 million.
- AP — Paul McCartney becomes a billionaire ↗
Explains that the Rich List valuation includes Nancy Shevell's wealth.
- Biography.com — Paul McCartney ↗
Full name, birthplace, marriages, Nancy Shevell and five children.
- Paul McCartney — The Boys of Dungeon Lane ↗
Official announcement and May 29, 2026 release of his first solo album in over five years.
- MPL Communications Ltd — Companies House ↗
Official company record and 2025 accounts: £28.21 million net assets and £10.30 million cash.
- Apple Corps Ltd — Companies House filings ↗
2025 accounts: £31.80 million turnover, £3.87 million profit before tax and £3.4 million dividends.
- Billboard — Got Back tour grosses ↗
Reports $410.7 million gross and 2.4 million tickets for the tour through November 2025.
- Sony SEC filing — Jackson estate transaction ↗
Primary filing for Sony's $750 million acquisition of the Jackson estate's Sony/ATV interest; it was not a payment to McCartney.
- McCartney v. Sony/ATV complaint ↗
Primary court filing describing U.S. termination notices for approximately 178 compositions.
- McCartney v. Sony/ATV settlement filing ↗
The parties settled in 2017; financial terms were not public.
