50 British Celebrities That Have Earned A Fortune From Their Respective Industries
U2 – $1.8 Billion
Paul Hewson, a.k.a. Bono, Adam Clayton, David Howell Evans, and Larry Mullen Jr. first formed the band Feedback in the mid-’70s before they eventually renamed it to U2 in 1979. Originally from Dublin, Ireland, the group was then making music for their first studio album titled “Boy.”
Fourteen albums have been released since the Irish band was formed, and they’ve reached platinum countless times. Their songs like “With Or Without You” and “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” are just too good to pass up. In 2021, they released new music with “We Are The People.”
Pauline Quirke – $1.7 Million
Pauline Quirke, an English actress beloved for her role as Sharon in “Birds of a Feather,” has a knack for making us laugh and touching our hearts. Not just content with acting, she founded the Pauline Quirke Academy of Performing Arts, where over 13,000 kids learn to shine on stage and screen.
Her passion doesn’t stop there—Pauline also champions causes for children through her charity work. With a career filled with laughter and goodwill, she’s built a net worth of $1.7 million. Her income primarily stems from her successful acting career, alongside her work in performing arts education and her charitable endeavors.
Linda Robson – $5 Million
Linda Robson, a true icon of English TV, has charmed us all as Tracey Stubbs in “Birds of a Feather” and as a lively panelist on “Loose Women.” Her journey through the entertainment world, including a memorable stint in “I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!” in 2012, showcases her versatility and knack for connecting with audiences.
She has also starred in the film “Anuvahood.” With her enduring presence on “Loose Women” since 2012, Linda has not only become a household name but also amassed a net worth of $5 million. Linda’s blend of humor, warmth, and relatability has made her a beloved figure in British entertainment.
Lesley Joseph – $5 Million
With the energy of someone half her age and a career spanning over fifty years, Lesley Joseph has become an icon in the entertainment world. She’s most cherished for her role as Dorien Green in the hit sitcom “Birds of a Feather,” entertaining audiences from 1989 to 1998 and making a grand return from 2014 to 2020.
But her talents don’t stop there; Lesley has lit up the stage in productions like “Cinderella” and “Calendar Girls,” and even hosted her radio show on BBC London in 2008. Her dynamic career and zest for life have built her a net worth of $5 million.
Pauline Collins – $1 Million
From her unforgettable role as Sarah Moffat in “Upstairs, Downstairs” to the spin-off “Thomas & Sarah,” Pauline Collins has made an indelible mark on British television. But it was her portrayal of Shirley Valentine that truly showcased her talent, earning her a Tony Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, and an Oscar nomination for the film adaptation.
Pauline’s journey began on the stage in 1962, riding a gazelle in “Park Lane” at Windsor. Beyond acting, she wrote her 1992 autobiography “Letter to Louise.” Throughout her career, Pauline has compiled an estimated net worth of $1 million, a reflection of her success and enduring appeal as a movie actress in England.
Peter Polycarpou – $1 Million
Peter Polycarpou, a talented English-Cypriot actor, has brought characters to life on screen and stage for over four decades. Best known for his roles as Chris Theodopolopodous in “Birds of a Feather” and Louis Charalambos in “The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies,” Peter has shown remarkable versatility.
His career isn’t just limited to television; he’s also shone in films like “Cleanskin” and “De-Lovely,” and in musicals, evidenced by his Laurence Olivier Award nomination. Beyond acting, Peter has contributed to numerous BBC Radio Dramas. With such a rich career, his net worth is estimated to be between $100K and $1M, showcasing his success in the industry.
Pete Doherty | $2 Million
Pete Doherty is the co-founder of The Libertines, together with Carl Barat. They formed the band in 1997, but unfortunately, it only took off properly in 2002 when they released their debut album, “Up the Bracket.” From then, they went on to produce numerous albums.
Doherty’s musical career was a roller coaster ride, but that never stopped him from racking up an impressive net worth of $2 million. This is widely attributed to his time with the band and also to his collaborations with the Indie band “Babyshambles.” The band remains active, so you can expect his fortune to soar significantly, considering the number of devoted fans they have.
Jamie Oliver – $300 Million
The year 1999 saw the release of both “The Naked Chef” best-seller cookbook and cooking series. And since then, Jamie Oliver has made himself $300 million. In September 2021, he came out with his latest cookbook, titled “Together.” At the same time, the celebrity chef premiered a show with the same title on Channel 4.
Hello! Magazine reported that Oliver and his family have been residing in a 70-acre property in Finchingfield. The Essex mansion cost him $8.3-million, and his wife, Jools Oliver, and their five kids seem to be loving the place since they’ve lived there since 2019.
James Corden – $70 Million
James Corden of “The Late Late Show with James Corden” has only given us quality entertainment since the first time he took over the show in 2015. Of course, the host is now beloved for various segments in his program like Carpool Karaoke. He’s also delved into the film industry, which contributes to his $70-million fortune.
In recent years, Corden has showcased his acting abilities in movies like “Cats,” “Peter Rabbit,” “Prom,” and “Into The Woods.” He also starred in the 2021 “Cinderella” flick alongside pop star Camila Cabello. Corden spends time at his $9.7-million Los Angeles mansion with his wife, Julia, whenever he’s not busy.
Jeremy Clarkson – $60 Million
It feels like only yesterday when Jeremy Clarkson was part of the trio that made up “Top Gear.” He was on it from 1988 until he left in 2000, and indeed, the automobile show played a huge role in him having $60 million to his name. These days, he regularly hosts shows like “The Grand Tour” and “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.”
Clarkson has called his Chipping Norton estate home since 2008. In 2020, he opened a rural venture called Diddly Squat Farm Shop. A British TV docuseries titled “Clarkson’s Farm” then premiered on Amazon Prime Video the following year.
Clive Myrie – $2 Million
Clive Myrie rose to prominence by first joining the BBC as a trainee local radio reporter. The $2-million-worth host has since climbed the ranks and has even been nominated for a BAFTA. Since 2021 he’s busy hosting the long-running quiz shows “Mastermind” and “Celebrity Mastermind.”
Myrie also presents the Jazz FM docuseries titled “The Definitive History of Jazz In Britain.” In November 2021, he became a guest participant on one episode of the BBC Two show “Celebrity Antiques Road Trip.” Reeta Chakrabarti, his fellow newsreader, was with him on that episode.
Kate Garraway – $2 Million
Kate Garraway co-anchors “Good Morning Britain,” the ITV Breakfast morning show. She’s also a presenter for “Mid Morning with Kate Garraway” on Smooth Radio. With all the media work she does, the mother of two got to make a fortune of $2 million.
Garraway’s resume boasts some big names like BBC and Sky News, and she’s also the proud wife of ex-political adviser Derek Draper. In 2021, an ITV documentary film titled “Finding Derek” was released, and Michael Hogan of The Telegraph even praised the hour-long movie about Garraway and her husband.
David Attenborough – $35 Million
David Attenborough has dedicated most of his life to creating natural history documentaries with the BBC, making him among the most renowned narrators in that genre. His first collaboration with the channel dates back to the ’60s, so his $35-million riches come as no shock to us.
2019 was a busy year for Attenborough, who released “Seven Worlds, One Planet” and “Our Planet.” By 2021, he came out with two more offerings: “Life in Colour” and A Perfect Planet.” As per Hello! Magazine, the living legend lives in a gorgeous home in Richmond, London.
Simon Cowell – $600 Million
Simon Cowell has been in nearly every talent-search TV show in the United Kingdom and the United States. He served as a judge on competition series like “American Idol,” “America’s Got Talent,” and “Britain’s Got Talent.” Unfortunately, as per Variety, his show “The X Factor” got canceled after 17 years of airing.
Cowell is also a successful entrepreneur and record executive, so his $600-million fortune is justifiable. He also knows how to spend his dough, being the owner of the Slipstream yacht and a $24-million Malibu beach house. He lives with his partner, Lauren Silverman, and their son in a London townhouse worth $20 million.
Bernie Ecclestone – $3.4 Billion
Bernie Ecclestone is a notable figure in Formula One, and he’s never even driven in a Grand Prix. That’s because the British businessman, nicknamed the F1 Supremo, used to be the Chief Executive of the Formula One Group. According to Forbes, his involvement with the company since the ’50s put his net worth at around $3.4 billion.
Ecclestone is a nonagenarian with a slew of assets that ranges from a $55-million Dassault Falcon 7X private jet to a $90-million London mansion. His home is in Switzerland, where he owns a $31-million ski resort and resides there with his wife, Fabiana Flosi.
Richard Desmond – $2.5 Billion
The ’70s was when Richard Desmond began making investments in newspapers. He has since become a $2.5 billion-worth mogul, as reported by Forbes! He’s the founder of Northern & Shell, the company behind OK!, Health Lottery, and Express Newspapers.
Desmond has also made lots of cash by buying and selling houses. One good example was when he purchased a place on Dane Court in 2004 for $14 million, then sold it off that same year for $36 million. The former Daily Express and Channel 5 owner made news in 2021 when he sold his shares in Reach, the United Kingdom’s biggest newspaper publisher.
Paul McCartney – $1.2 Billion
Paul McCartney has come a long way since his days as a member of The Beatles between the ’60s and ’70s. To give you a picture of how far he’s gone, this singer-songwriter is already a billionaire. After his days with the legendary band, he became a soloist and has even released an album in 2021 titled “McCartney III Imagined.”
Since 2011, McCartney has been a husband to Nancy Shevell. According to AZCentral, they were set up by fellow music artist Barbara Walters, and they now live in his $15.5-million Manhattan penthouse.
Slavica Ecclestone – $1.2 Billion
Bernie Ecclestone of the Formula One Group was married to a former model named Slavica Radić from 1985 to 2009. Their split led to one of the most costly divorces in history, which was great for Radić, who walked off a billionaire.
Born in Croatia, Radić first encountered Ecclestone during the early ’80s. Back then, she was at the height of her career, going from photoshoots to catwalks and even working for brands like Armani. They ended up having two kids together named Petra and Tamara. There’s not much recent news about her, but it is known that she put her Chelsea estate on the market in December 2019.
Andrew Lloyd Webber – $1.2 Billion
We are on a roll with billionaires on this list, and among them is Andrew Lloyd Webber. It seems like there’s no other bigger name than his in the world of Broadway and the WestEnd. After all, he’s worked as a composer in popular productions like “Cats,” “Evita,” “The Phantom of the Opera,” and “Jesus Christ Superstar” since his musical theater career began in the ’60s.
In August 2021, he contributed his music to an on-stage production of Cinderella, which undoubtedly added to his $1.2-billion fortune. Since the late ’70s, the Tony-winning celeb has been residing on an over 4,000-acre estate he purchased for only $200K!
J.K Rowling – $1 Billion
As of 2021, J.K Rowling is worth $1 billion. But even if she made millions off of her literary works, particularly the “Harry Potter” books, she gets most of her riches from related ventures like amusement park deals.
Apart from the Harry Potter film franchise, the author has also lent her writing expertise as a screenwriter for the “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” movie series. In 2020, Rowling published a children’s book titled “The Ickabog.” The following year, she came out with “The Christmas Pig,” another one for the kids to read.
U2 – $1.8 Billion
Paul Hewson, a.k.a. Bono, Adam Clayton, David Howell Evans, and Larry Mullen Jr. first formed the band Feedback in the mid-’70s before they eventually renamed it to U2 in 1979. Originally from Dublin, Ireland, the group was then making music for their first studio album titled “Boy.”
Fourteen albums have been released since the Irish band was formed, and they’ve reached platinum countless times. Their songs like “With Or Without You” and “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” are just too good to pass up. In 2021, they released new music with “We Are The People.”
Bono – $700 Million
Time to talk about Bono, the frontman of U2 who has built a$700-million empire for himself. Although most of his fortune came from working with the band, he’s entered lots of fruitful business ventures through the years, including buying The Clarence Hotel in Dublin and co-founding the fashion brand EDUN.
Bono is the owner of an $11.5-million superyacht he fondly calls ‘Kingdom Come.’ He also has homes all across the globe, including some in Nice and Malibu. In 2021, the Irish singer-songwriter and activist lent his voice to “Pandemica,” an animated series released by his global health and an anti-poverty organization called One.
Zara Tindall – $20 Million
Being among Queen Elizabeth II’s grandchildren, it’s a given that Zara Tindall grew up with a silver spoon in her mouth. The daughter of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips is 21st in the line of succession to the British throne but doesn’t get her income from the crown.
Professionally, Tindall is an equestrian that has won many awards, including a silver medal at the 2012 Olympic Games. Sponsorship deals with various brands and property investments also add to her net worth of $20 million. In March 2021, she welcomed her third child, a boy, with her hubby, Mike Tindall.
Martin Kemp – $4 Million
Martin Kemp might be known to most British audiences for his portrayal of Steve Owen on the soap opera “EastEnders,” but to music fans, he’s the bassist of the Spandau Ballet. He was with his younger brother Gary Kemp on the new wave band that came to rise in 1979.
The musician also worked as a director and host, so now you know where he got his net worth of $4 million. As per Hello! Magazine, Kemp resides in Hertfordshire with his spouse Shirlie, the mother of his children named Roman and Harley.
Scott Brown – $4.55 Million
There’s no denying that the sporting world is among the most lucrative industries in the world, and Scott Brown has even garnered $4.55 million from it. He’s known for his 14-year tenure with the Celtic football club, where he served as captain for 11 years, winning ten Scottish league championships.
In 2021, though, Brown has moved to Scottish Premiership club Aberdeen, where he plays as a midfielder and works as assistant manager. Through it all, he is supported by his wife, Lisa Taylor, and has his three sons named Sonny, Kit, and Shay as his sources of inspiration.
Kellie Bright – $8 Million
Recognize Kellie Bright? Maybe that’s because you’ve seen her on “EastEnders,” where she played Linda Carter. This casting is a big part of why she’s worth $8 million today. But even before this role brought her accolades like a 2015 British Soap Award for Best Actress, she already worked in other projects like “Bad Girls” and “The Upper Hand.”
In September 2021, Bright brought new life into the world with the birth of her third child with her husband, Paul Stocker. The child was conceived after she underwent a successful IVF treatment.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login