Paul McCartney becomes Britain's first billionaire musician

FILE - Paul McCartney performs at Glastonbury Festival in Worthy Farm, Somerset, England, Saturday, June 25, 2022. Paul McCartney is a billionaire Beatle. The former member of the Fab Four is the first British musician to be worth 1 billion pounds ($1.27 billion), according to figures released Friday, May 17, 2024. (Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP, File)

Music icon Paul McCartney has become Britain's first billionaire musician, according to the Sunday Times Rich List published Friday, despite the country recording its largest fall in the billionaire count in the guide's 36-year history.

The 81-year-old's fortune was boosted by "strong touring, a valuable back catalogue and even a little help from Beyoncé", who covered the Beatles song Blackbird, said the Rich List, considered the definitive guide of Britain's wealthy.