Top Ten Richest Musicians

[rcarlberg]

I thought this was kinda interesting.

• 10. Michael Jackson - $350 million
  9. Jimmy Buffett - $400 million
  8. Dolly Parton - $450 million
  7. Jay-Z - $475 million
  6. Mariah Carey - $500 million
  5. Sean "Diddy" Combs - $550 million
  4. Bing Crosby - $550 million
  3. Bono - $600 million
  2. Paul McCartney - $800 million
  1. Andrew Lloyd Webber - $1.2 billion

[Dave (in MA)]

Here's another look, from a prog perspective:
5io9.jpg

[JKL2000]

Really? I didn't know Bing Crosby's and Michael Jackson's liquified corpses had that much money...

[hippypants]

I would never have thought the #1 spot. And I wouldn't have guess Jimmy Buffett or Dollly either though he's had a popular run.

[rcarlberg]

What's sad is that every one of the Saudi princes is worth 10x the combined total

[Scott Bails]

I would never have thought the #1 spot. And I wouldn't have guess Jimmy Buffett or Dollly either though he's had a popular run.

You have to remember, it's a list of richest musicians, not most money made from music. I'd think that, between Dollywood and Margaritaville, that those two don't make a whole lot these days from music.


Very surprised that Elvis isn't on there.

[Yodelgoat]

Bono is worth 600 Mill? Wow, that's um, pretty bizarre - tell me he made all that off of Music?

I don't know who some of those on the list are. JZ and Sean Coombs? They are musicians? - Or opportunists?

[Scott Bails]

Jay-Z is now a pretty savvy businessman, from what I can tell.

[Digital_Man]

Jay-Z is now a pretty savvy businessman, from what I can tell.

Absolutely. I think he has a clothing line too in addition to being a rapper, producer, manager etc.

[Scott Bails]

...and now a sports agent.

[GuitarGeek]

You have to remember, it's a list of richest musicians, not most money made from music. I'd think that, between Dollywood and Margaritaville, that those two don't make a whole lot these days from music.

Dunno about Jimmy Buffet, but I imagine two of Dolly's songs, get regular airplay either on TV and/or radio. Those would be I Will Always Love You and 9 To 5. In the case of the latter, the movie seems to get shown on cable TV relatively regularly. If she or her manager were clever enough to include a profit sharing clause in her contract for the usage of her song, she makes money each time it airs.

I'm not sure if The Bodyguard gets played much on TV (probably does, I'm just not paying attention), but I imagine at least last year after Whitney Houston went home, Dolly got a cut of the increased unit shifting and airplay that Whitney's death almost surely inspired.

[Dave the Brave]

You have to remember, it's a list of richest musicians, not most money made from music. I'd think that, between Dollywood and Margaritaville, that those two don't make a whole lot these days from music.


Very surprised that Elvis isn't on there.

Yea. Jimmy Buffet comes from serious money.

D t B

[Scott Bails]

I'm sure Buffet's "Margaritaville" gets plenty of airplay, as well as many other of the songs on his Songs You Know By Heart.

[GuitarGeek]

I find it somewhat phenomenal that Bing Crosby's been dead for 35 years, yet he's somehow the third richest musician still. Of course, his movies still play regularly on TCM, and I imagine there's radio stations, somewhere, that still play his records. And of course, every frelling December that damn duet he did with The Sover...oh wait, we recently found out Bowie isn't actually The Sovereign (or was Monstroso lying?)...anyway, that duet Bing did with The Thin White Duke gets played every December.

So I imagine that all keeps Bing's profile up, more than three decades after he went home, which in turn probably keeps his record sales up. I wonder if his estate gets any money whenever TCM decides to do a "Road" marathon.

[trurl]

Dolly is a mogul- in addition to her music she has properties including most of the city of Sevierville at the very least, management companies that represent major stars, Dollywood- she's easily worth the 450 Mil and probably more...

[GuitarGeek]

Dolly is a mogul- in addition to her music she has properties including most of the city of Sevierville at the very least, management companies that represent major stars, Dollywood- she's easily worth the 450 Mil and probably more...

I knew about Dollywood, I remember ages ago reading an article about all the different amusement parks that were owned by famous musicians (which also included, at the time, Conway Twitty and Chuck Berry). I was just responding to the suggestion someone else made that she probably doesn't make much money from music these days, which I think is untrue.

BTW, not that it's relevant to the discussion, but Dolly does have a prog connection: her song Love Is Like A Butterfly was covered by Great Gig In The Sky vocalist Clare Torry.

[Shadow]

David Bowie is the first musician to make a billion dollars. This list could be a little flawed.

[nosebone]

Hello Dolly!

[GuitarGeek]

David Bowie is the first musician to make a billion dollars. This list could be a little flawed.

Yeah, but Bowie may or may not also be a criminal mastermind and the head of a...whatever it is you want to call The Guild Of Calamitous Intent. So he's probably got money coming from all kinds of illicit endeavors.

[trurl]

These kinds of lists tend to be based on a combination of public records and conjecture...

[firth5th]

I'm sure Buffet's "Margaritaville" gets plenty of airplay, as well as many other of the songs on his Songs You Know By Heart.

He owns a restaurant chain.

[Shadow]

What about Herb Alpert

[Trane]

I thought this was kinda interesting.

• 10. Michael Jackson - $350 million
  9. Jimmy Buffett - $400 million
  8. Dolly Parton - $450 million
  7. Jay-Z - $475 million
  6. Mariah Carey - $500 million
  5. Sean "Diddy" Combs - $550 million
  4. Bing Crosby - $550 million
  3. Bono - $600 million
  2. Paul McCartney - $800 million
  1. Andrew Lloyd Webber - $1.2 billion

WTF are these two??

I can guess #7 is a rapper, butb that's about it

[Scott Bails]

WTF are these two??

I can guess #7 is a rapper, butb that's about it

Jay-Z, as mentioned earlier, is a rapper, producer, manager, and now a sports agent. He's a businessman extraordinaire. He used to be involved in the NBA's Brooklyn Nets, but I think he had to give up his ownership piece in order to become an agent. I can't believe he's that low on the list.

Sean "Diddy" Combs has the annoying habit of giving himself new names every few years, so you may know him better as "Puff Daddy," "P-Diddy," or several other names that I wouldn't know as I'm not a rap guy. But he's also a business mogul, with a clothing line, record producing, etc.

[strawberrybrick]

I would be interested to see where The Edge and Lennon's estate fall in this list.

Oh, and where's the Top Ten Poorest Musicians list?