Recession hits British pop stars

According to the 2009 Sunday Times Rich List, published in online services Friday, some stars have lost about a quarter of their wealth over the past year.

British pop stars and music producers are feeling the pinch - relatively speaking - from falling property and share prices in the current recession, it was reported on Friday.

HT Image

According to the 2009 Sunday Times Rich List, published in online services on Friday, some stars have lost about a quarter of their wealth over the past year.

Among the big names affected by the credit crunch and ensuing recession are Elton John, Robbie Williams, Tom Jones, Cliff Richard and Paul McCartney, according to the report.

The former Beatle saw 60 million pounds ($87 million) wiped off his personal wealth in 2008, leaving him still with a fortune of 440 million pounds.

Elton John's estimated wealth shrunk by 26 per cent to 175 million pounds while Cliff Richard's fortune was down by a fifth to 40 million pounds.

Tom Jones suffered "losses" of 24 per cent - to 130 million pounds - while Robbie Williams is still worth 80 million pounds after losing an estimated 25 million pounds.

Troubled singer Amy Winehouse saw her wealth drop by half to around five million pounds, mostly because she did little recording in 2008.

The "rich-list" is topped by former record label boss Clive Calder, whose fortune is estimated at 1.3 billion pounds, followed by "musical king" Andrew Lloyd Webber with 750 million pounds and Paul McCartney in third position.

Former Rolling Stones Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, as well as Sting and the widow and son of ex-Beatle George Harrison are ranked among the top ten.