Musicians hit by recession
Music stars have been badly hit by the recession, with the likes of Sir Elton John and Robbie Williams losing around a quarter of their personal wealth over the past year, it was revealed today.
According to the Sunday Times Rich List, Sir Tom Jones, Phil Collins and Engelbert Humperdinck all lost substantial sums.
Even evergreen Wimbledon rainbreak crooner Sir Cliff Richard was caught in the economic storm - his personal fortune was down a fifth from £50 million to £40 million.
The plummeting value of property investments and share portfolios is the main reason for the stars faring so poorly, though Sir Elton’s generous charitable donations contributed to his fall.
The list of the top 50 music millionaires, published along with the full list on Sunday, shows Sir Elton’s fortune to have fallen 26% from £238 million in 2008 to £175 million.
His lucrative contract at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas ends this month, and his recent donations to humanitarian and HIV/Aids charities added up to £42 million, according to the Sunday Times Giving List, also out on Sunday.
Sir Paul McCartney saw £60 million wiped off his fortune thanks to falling property and share values.
Las Vegas’s other favourite knight of the realm, Sir Tom Jones, saw his wealth fall 24% from £170 million last year to £130 million.
Former Take That star Williams lost £25 million over the year, to be left with a trifling £80 million.
Ian Coxon, who edited the list, said stars who relied on investments for their wealth had been the hardest hit.
``Robbie Williams is run as a business, and there has been a profit fall in 2007, so that’s had a knock-on effect, and he’s not been doing so much recently," he said.
``He’s never quite fulfilled the promise that he had a few years ago.
``The ones where there’s no change are the Beckhams, who although their property value has gone down, they’re earning so fast there’s no change."
The Beckhams’ wealth remained steady at £125 million over the last year.
Amy Winehouse suffered a dramatic fall in her wealth, which dropped by half from £10 million last year to £5 million this, mostly because she has done little recording this year, concentrating instead on performing at festivals and other less lucrative pursuits.
The phenomenal success of Abba musical Mamma Mia! over the last year sees the wealth of Judy Craymer, the producer of the show and film, buck the trend and grow by more than a quarter to stand at £79 million.
| Rank | Name | Category | 2009 national rank | 2008 national rank | 2009 wealth | 2008 wealth | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike Ashley | Sports goods | 60= | 54 | £700m | £1,398m | Down 50% |
| 2 | Mark Fenwick and family | Department stores | 144 | 232= | £365m | £386m | Down 5% |
| 3 | Duncan Bannatyne | Fitness clubs and hotels | 167= | 267 | £320m | £310m | Up 3% |
| 4 | The Duke of Northumberland | Land | 178= | 270= | £300m | £300m | No change |
| 5 | Alastair and Michael Powell | Cabling and property | 268= | 312= | £205m | £260m | Down 21% |
| 6 | Sting | Music | 309= | 397= | £180m | £200m | Down 10% |
| 7 | Graham Wylie | Software | 362= | 397= | £150m | £200m | Down 25% |
| 8 | Sir Peter Vardy and family | Car sales | 388= | 525= | £140m | £150m | Down 7% |
| 9 | Sir Ridley and Tony Scott | Films | 510= | 759= | £105m | £105m | No change |
| 10 | Stuart Monk and family | Property | 566= | 871= | £99m | £116m | Down 15% |
| 11 | William Rankin and family | Property | 573= | 701= | £96m | £115m | Down 17% |
| 12 | Dame Margaret Barbour and family | Waxed jackets | 657= | 924= | £85m | £85m | No change |
| 13= | Steve Gibson | Transport | 688= | 644= | £82m | £120m | Down 32% |
| 13= | Ian Gregg and family | Bakeries | 688= | 867= | £82m | £94m | Down 13% |
| 15= | Michael Dawson | Alarm systems | 751= | 924= | £75m | £85m | Down 12% |
| 15= | Carol Galley | Finance | 751= | 924= | £75m | £85m | Down 12% |
| 17 | Jack Brignall and family | Trucks and property | 782= | 924= | £72m | £85m | Down 15% |
| 18 | Sir John Hall and family | Property and football | 863= | 1,049= | £65m | £75m | Down 13% |
| 19= | Sir Tom Cowie | Transport | 924= | 1,259= | £60m | £60m | No change |
| 19= | Mark Knopfler | Music | 924= | 1,118= | £60m | £70m | Down 14% |
