The Richest of the Rich

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Irish Voice Entertainment

The Richest of the Rich

April 2, 2008

By Debbie McGoldrick

THE Sunday Independent in Ireland published its annual list of who’s making what over there, and to absolutely no one’s surprise, U2 top the list of wealthiest entertainers, with a healthy bank balance of €900 million. Nice! “The band, which has traditionally split earnings equally among Bono, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen, the Edge and manager Paul McGuinness, has begun to divide up its vast portfolio among their respective families,” says the Indo. Clearly, the relatives won’t have any financial worries in the future!

Coming in second is Michael Flatley, who’s said to have €590 million to his name. Chicago-born Flatley resides full time at his Castlehyde mansion in Co. Cork with wife Niamh and son Michael Junior. “He has a wide range of investments,” says the paper. Putting it mildly!

Though their first foray with a Broadway musical flopped with last year’s Pirate Queen, Moya Doherty and John McColgan, the genius behind the ever-enduring Riverdance franchise, come in a very respectable third with €172 million.

Fourth is the reclusive Enya (€128 million), thanks to some 70 million in album sales worldwide. Van Morrison comes in fifth with €74 million, which should soar even higher this year as he’s got a new album that’s due for imminent release.

Colin Farrell, though he splits his time between his home in LA and a place in Dublin, comes in ninth on the list with earnings of €38 million. “Farrell’s most lucrative role to date was Alexander the Great, accounting for about a quarter of his total wealth,” reports the Indo. Maybe so, but the starring part in Oliver Stone’s 2004 stinker almost completely derailed Colin’s career.

The richest man in Ireland for the second year running is Sean Quinn, who made his €3.5 billion fortune in quarries and insurance. Total wealth of those included on the list is €42 billion “equivalent to the GDP of Morocco,” says the paper.

And if you’ve got anything less than €75 million to your name, you can forget about making the grade, as that’s the minimum wealth cut-off.

Speaking of the incredibly rich, U2 should easily hit the billion dollar mark in the next year or two thanks to the mega-deal they inked on Monday with concert promoter Live Nation. U2 will enter into a 12-year deal with the company that will see them perform exclusively under the Live Nation banner. Live Nation will also handle U2 merchandise and its U2.com website. Basically, they’ll cover everything but the band’s recordings, which will still be the property of Universal.

The deal pays U2 $80 million upfront, and undoubtedly oodles and oodles of cash down the road.

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