British singer Ed Sheeran has doubled his wealth in the last year to rise above Grammy award-winning Adele with a total worth of £160m (Kshs 18 billion).
This report is according to the Sunday Times Rich List which further said that the ‘Perfect’ hitmaker is now the 17th richest musician in the UK, while the recently divorced Adele lies at number 22 with £150m having not toured since 2017.
In 2018, Sheeran is thought to have earned more than any other musician in a single year in history, from a world tour which brought in box office takings of more than £340m across 94 gigs, BBC reported.
The singers, aged 28 and 31 respectively, are youthful exceptions in a veteran-heavy list, topped by Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s £820m fortune. Lloyd Webber’s dominance aged 71 sees him overtake Sir Paul McCartney in second, with £750m.
The former Beatle, 76, is the only star to see his wealth reduce, down £70m on last year’s total. Irish rock group U2 are third, with the Bono-fronted four-piece valued together at £583m.
Sir Elton John, the subject of upcoming biopic Rocketman, starring Taron Egerton, reached fourth, with a gain of £20m, despite sizeable charitable donations to his Aids foundations in the UK and the US.
Suffolk-born Sheeran also tops the list of wealthiest young musicians, with One Direction stars Harry Styles and Niall Horan at two and three respectively, followed by Little Mix in fourth place. All five former members of the X Factor boyband feature on the run-down, with Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne and Zayn Malik occupying fifth, sixth and seventh positions.
Former Riverdance star Michael Flatley also features, coming ninth with £204m. Chart-topping grime artist Stormzy debuts on the list with £16m.
