<\/p>\n
Webber became the richest musician in history practicing one of its oldest forms: musical theater. His ubiquitous works, which include “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Cats,” and “The Phantom of the Opera,” continue to bring in bundles with theatrical stagings, soundtrack recordings, and film adaptations.<\/p>\n On top of all this, Webber\u2019s Really Useful Group profits diversified with ticketing agencies and venues.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Guinness lists McCartney as the most successful composer and recording artist of all time. In addition to royalties from the Beatles back catalog, which tops the charts with each reissue, he\u2019s reported to own more than 25,000 other copyrights, and his post-Beatles musical career has been huge, with Wings selling 8 million-plus albums in the U.S. alone.<\/p>\n His late wife Linda, herself part of the Eastman fortune, left him an inheritance of \u00a3200 million, and his recent tour grossed $87 million.<\/p>\n Paul Hewson is known as much for his global diplomacy and forays into venture capital as U2\u2019s music.<\/p>\n His investment in Facebook\u2019s IPO\u2014via his Elevation Partners private equity firm\u2014didn\u2019t make him a billionaire, but U2\u2019s \u201c360 Tour\u201d grossed nearly $800 million between 2009 and 2011, making it the biggest tour ever.<\/p>\n Combine that with Bono\u2019s many investments (including a clothing line and a five-star hotel), the fact that the band owns all the rights to its own music, and the numbers add up quickly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The man who sang \u201cI Haven\u2019t Had Time to Be a Millionaire\u201d was incredibly wealthy.<\/p>\n Crosby ranked among the 10 richest Americans in the 1930s\u2014before he sang \u201cWhite Christmas\u201d and became one of the biggest movie stars of the \u201840s.<\/p>\n His Bing Crosby Enterprises was the first pop artist entertainment empire, with properties ranging from television stations to Ampex magnetic tape technology to horse tracks.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Partly known for shepherding the Notorious B.I.G. through his tragically short career, Combs played a key role ushering in hip-hop\u2019s late-1990s \u201cjiggy\u201d era via Bad Boy Entertainment.<\/p>\n With Sean John, he developed a clothing line with appeal beyond rap, to the tune of more than $100 million in annual profits.<\/p>\n Combs made his name in the music biz, but it produces only 20 percent of his revenue at this point. Most recently, he has focused on Ciroc Vodka and his own cable music network.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Carey\u2019s been banking off that five-octave range since Nicki Minaj was actually playing with Barbies.<\/p>\n Her stats are the stuff of legend: an all-time record 18 #1 singles as a solo artist, more than 200 million albums sold worldwide, five Grammys, and the status as the most wealthy living female musician.<\/p>\n And then, of course, there\u2019s “Idol.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n So what if he doesn\u2019t have the biggest stake in the Brooklyn Nets.<\/p>\n The record-setting solo artist (12 #1 albums!) and erstwhile CEO of Def Jam co-created his Roc Nation entertainment conglomerate with Live Nation in 2008; co-authored Decoded, a bombastic tribute to globetrotting excess in 2011; and co-created the world\u2019s luckiest baby the next year.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The woman who sang \u201c9 to 5\u201d is worth nearly half a billion dollars, due to a tireless work ethic (she\u2019s written thousands of songs, including “I Will Always Love You,” one of the best-selling singles of all time) and a shrewd awareness of how to market her cheerful persona and simple-country-girl backstory.<\/p>\n She does primarily via Dollywood, a theme park she bought and rebranded in 1986, and which draws millions to its gates each year.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.archimediastudios.com\/corporate\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/1-andrew-lloyd-webber-12-billion.jpg\" "\\"1-andrew-lloyd-webber-12-billion\\"")
<\/a>1. Andrew Lloyd Webber: $1.2 billion<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/a>2. Paul McCartney: $800 million<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/a>3. Bono: $600 million<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/a>4. Bing Crosby: $550 million<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/a>5. Sean \u201cDiddy\u201d Combs: $550 million<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/a>6. Mariah Carey: $500 million<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/a>7. Jay-Z: $475 million<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/a>8. Dolly Parton: $450 million<\/strong><\/p>\n