The finances of Britain s top music stars, including Elton John, Paul McCartney and Robbie Williams, have been badly hit by the recession, figures from the Sunday Times Rich List showed this week.
John s personal fortune fell 26 percent in the last year, from £238 million to £175 million ($250 million) in 2009, according to a preview of the list of Britain s 1,000 wealthiest people.
Former Beatle McCartney has also reportedly seen his fortune fall by £60 million to £440 million in the past 12 months due to falling property and share values.
Ex-Take That star Robbie Williams lost £25 million and now has £80 million, Welsh crooner Tom Jones s wealth dropped 24 percent to £130 million and Cliff Richard s fell by a fifth to £40 million.
Troubled singer Amy Winehouse, pictured in recent weeks taking it easy on the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia, saw her fortune halve from £10 million last year to £5 million this.
Her record company is still waiting for her to record a follow-up to her award-winning 2006 album Back to Black as she battles problems in her personal life.
Ian Coxon, the list s editor, said that performers who relied on their investments to generate wealth had been the worse hit.
Robbie Williams is run as a business and there s been a profit fall in 2007, so that s had a knock-on effect and he s not been doing so much recently, Coxon 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.
Footballer David Beckham and his wife, former Spice Girl Victoria, have seen their fortune remain steady at £125 million, according to the list. -AFP
