Wealth-X Reveals: The World's Richest Recording Artists

LONDON, Dec. 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- With the hotly anticipated finals of the UK's X-Factor drawing near, Wealth-X today released a list of the world's top 10 richest recording artists. American pop music icon Madonna emerged at the top of the list with a net worth of US$800 million.

At 56 years old, Madonna has had an illustrious career in the music industry over the past three decades, selling over 300 million records worldwide and inking a series of lucrative contract deals, including a US$120 million contract with Live Nation in 2007. The "Queen of Pop" has also ventured into other industries such as filmmaking, fashion, and children's books.

In second place is British rock and roll music legend Paul McCartney, who gained worldwide fame as a member of the Beatles. During his Beatles career from 1960 to 1970, however, McCartney only made US$7 million. The rest of his US$660 million fortune was amassed during his later career as a solo artist. At 72 years old, he is the oldest recording artist on the list.

The youngest musician on the list is 33-year-old American pop music sensation Beyonce, whose personal fortune of US$440 million lands her in the 10th spot. Beyonce, however, is married to hip hop star Jay Z, and the combined net worth of this music power couple is US$950 million, putting them right on the threshold of billionaire status.

Another American hip hop pioneer on the list is Dr Dre, whose fortune of US$650 million earns him third place. The 49-year-old is the co-founder of audio products manufacturer Beats Electronics, which was sold to Apple in 2014 for US$3 billion. Wealth-X estimates that Dr Dre pocketed US$630 million from the Beats deal, before taxes.

Below are the top 5 richest recording artists:

Download the full list at http://www.wealthx.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Wealth-X-Top-10-Richest-Recording-Artists.pdf

About Wealth-X

Wealth-X is the world's leading ultra high net worth (UHNW) intelligence and prospecting firm with the largest collection of curated research on UHNW individuals, defined as those with net assets of US$30 million and above. Headquartered in Singapore, it has 13 offices on five continents. (www.wealthx.com)

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SOURCE Wealth-X

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