Baby, you're a rich man; Starr in 2011*

We all sort of had some idea that it’s pretty much a sweet deal being a Beatle – even forty years after their breakup. Just how sweet is it? Why not ask Ringo Starr.

The famous former Beatle and “Yellow Submarine” crooner has just topped the list of the world’s richest drummers according to the pop culture analyst website Celebrity Net Worth.

Just how rich is this guy? He has 50 million bucks over his closest competitor, Phil Collins, a cool $75 million over third placer Dave Grohl and an easily overshadows the Eagles’ Don Henley by $100 million. Any way you slice that, it’s a good chunk of change!

Not surprising that a Beatle should take the spot as Sir Paul McCartney has had a monopoly on the number one slot for the world’s wealthiest musicians list for what seems like forever, but was recently pushed to number two by fellow UK artist Bono and his 2.3% share of Facebook worth an estimated $1.5 billion – although those of you familiar with the whole Facebook going public on the stock market story can argue that this number is grossly over-inflated, making Macca the true king-of-bling.

But going back to drummers, plenty of familiar names from various decades round out the top thirty such as Metallica’s Lars Ulrich who’s $175 million bought him no.5, Blink-182’s Travis Barker who comes in at no.11 with $85 million and even good ol’ Mick Fleetwood with his $8.5 million coming it at no.30.

“Most people steer their kids away from learning the drums in favor of less noisy instruments,” writes the CNW. “You may want to reconsider after you find out how rich these musicians became from banging on a drum.”

And in case you’re wondering just how exactly the site came up with their figures, CNW gathered monetary info from all public sources such as salaries, royalty statements, endorsements and property values but made sure to remove certain expenses including tax and management fees.

Here’s the full list of the world’s richest drummers according to CNW:

  • 1. Ringo Starr (Beatles): $300m
  • 2. Phil Collins (Genesis): $250m
  • 3. Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters): $225m
  • 4. Don Henley (Eagles): $200m
  • 5. Lars Ulrich (Metallica): $175m
  • 6. Charlie Watts (Rolling Stones): $160m
  • 7. Larry Mullen (U2): $150m
  • 8. Roger Taylor (Queen): $105m
  • 9. Joey Kramer (Aerosmith): $100m
  • 10. Chad Smith (Rd Hot Chili Peppers, Chickenfoot): $90m
  • 11. Travis Barker (Blink 182): $85m
  • 12. Stewart Copeland (Police): $80m
  • 13. Alex Van Halen (Van Halen): $75m
  • 13. Nick Mason (Pink Floyd): $75m
  • 15. Tommy Lee (Motley Crue): $70m
  • 16. Bill Ward (Black Sabbath): $65m
  • 17. John Fishman (Phish): $60m
  • 18. Carter Beauford (Dave Matthews Band): $55m
  • 19. Rick Allen (Def Leppard): $50m
  • 20. Tre Cool (Green Day): $45m
  • 21. Danny Carey (Tool): $40m
  • 21. Tico Torres (Bon Jovi): $40m
  • 23. Max Weinberg (E Street Band): $35m
  • 24. Mickey Hart (Grateful Dead):$30m
  • 25. Bill Kreutzmann (Grateful Dead): $25m
  • 26. Neil Peart (Rush): $22m
  • 27. Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters): $20m
  • 28. Questlove (Roots, Jimmy Fallon): $16m
  • 29. Steven Adler (Guns n’Roses): $15m
  • 30. Mick Fleetwood (Fleetwood Mac): $8.5m

 

 

 

*Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons