Cowell, McCartney amass fortunes despite slump

Cowell and McCartney have seen their fortunes rise by millions in the past year.

London: Despite the crippling global recession, music moguls like Simon Cowell and Paul McCartney have seen their fortunes rise by millions in the past year. According to Britain`s Sunday Times annual rich list, some of the wealthiest people in the music industry are laughing all the way to the bank with Cowell adding USD 61 million to his fortune.

Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney`s wealth rose to USD 712 million from USD 660 million, while Elton John added a cool USD 15 million to his fortune. At the top of the list is a new entrant, Edgar Bronfman, Chairman and Chief Executive of Warner Music Group who became eligible only by relocating from New York to London last year. Last year`s topper record label boss Clive Calder thus had to settle for second place. Cowell has overtaken supercouple Victoria and David Beckham in Britain`s rich list. The exception seems to be impresario Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber, he lost USD 75 million from his USD 1.1 billion fortune. The top ten musical millionaires in 2010, according to the Sunday Times are: 1. Edgar Bronfman and family (USD 2.4 billion) 2. Clive Calder (USD 1.9 billion) 3. Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber (USD1.05 billion) 4. Sir Cameron MaCkintosh (USD 950 million) 5. Sir Paul MCCartney (USD712 million) 6. Simon Fuller (USD525 million) 7. Sir Mick Jagger (USD 285 million) 8. Sir Elton John (USD 277 million) 9. Sting (USD 270 million) 10. Keith Richards (USD 262 million) PTI