McCartney 'Rock's Richest'
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McCartney's sellout tour pushed him to the top of the list.
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NEW YORK (Reuters) -- "I don't care too much for money," Paul McCartney once sang, but that hasn't kept him from leading Rolling Stone magazine's list of the pop world's richest artists.
The former Beatle, who by some tallies was rock's first billionaire, raked in $72 million in 2002 largely from his first tour in nine years, according to the U.S. magazine's second annual "Rock's 50 Richest" list, to be published on March 14.
Touring was the bread and butter of most of the top entries on the list in a year in which record sales plummeted. The runner-up was The Rolling Stones, who brought in $44 million, also on the back of a successful sold-out tour, their first since 1997.
No. 3-ranked Dave Matthews Band derived hardly any money from record sales, with almost all of its $31.3 million coming from touring. The band ranked No. 4 on last year's list, although it earned $43.4 million.
U2, which topped last year's list, was absent this time, after releasing only a best-of collection. Last year, the band was one of the most successful touring acts.
Eminem, whose "The Eminem Show" was the best selling album of 2002, ranked No. 5, and was one of the few artists on the top 10 to earn more from recording than touring.
Bruce Springsteen ranked No. 7, also benefiting from a successful tour behind his Grammy-award winning "The Rising." Mariah Carey, who received $30 million last year to end her contract with EMI Group Plc, ranked No. 8 on the list.
Ozzy Osbourne came in at No. 10 on the strength of the MTV series "The Osbournes," the highest rated show in the U.S. cable television station's history.
Being dead does not keep artists off the list. Elvis Presley, whose songs were licensed for the Disney film "Lilo & Stitch," ranked No. 12. RCA Records also issued a compilation of his No. 1 hits.
Britain's Robbie Williams, who inked a whopping $125-million, multi-album deal last year with EMI, ranked No. 13 on the list. He picked up nearly $20 million from the deal last year.
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