At 81, Paul McCartney Is Happy To Take Buses & Trains As Daughter Calls Him Her ‘Biggest Blessing’

Jun 29, 2023

Paul McCartney is widely considered one of the most successful and wealthy musicians of all time. As a member of The Beatles, he was part of one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed musical groups in history, selling over 600 million albums worldwide. However, his success did not stop there, as he has continued to have a successful career as a solo artist, as well as being involved in numerous business ventures.

Paul’s net worth as of 2021 was estimated to be around $1.2 billion, making him one of the richest musicians in the world. His fortune comes from a variety of sources, including his music career, his ownership of the publishing rights to many popular songs, and his various business ventures.

One of the main sources of Paul’s wealth is his music career. He released 25 studio albums as a solo artist and has sold over 100 million records worldwide. In addition, he has written many of the most iconic songs of the 20th century, including "Yesterday," "Hey Jude," and "Let It Be." Paul's music continues to generate significant royalties.

Another key factor in Paul’s wealth is his ownership of the publishing rights to many popular songs. In 1985, Paul famously outbid Michael Jackson to purchase the publishing rights to most of The Beatles' catalog, a move that has proven to be incredibly lucrative. The rights to the catalog have since been sold, but Paul still owns the rights to many of his own songs, as well as those he co-wrote with John Lennon.

Aside from his music career and publishing rights, Paul has also been involved in numerous business ventures, such as in real estate and the music-sharing platform Rara. But despite his mammoth wealth, Paul isn’t averse to keeping things real once in a while.

Paul may have begun his career as a member of The Beatles, but he has since become an icon in his own right. However, even with the luxury of being able to afford most of the things out of reach for so many of us, the humble boy from Liverpool remains in Paul, who loves to keep things normal and down-to-earth.

One way he does this is by opting to take public transport, like buses and trains, or flying commercial, eschewing the normal luxuries of the privileged such as chauffeured cars and chartered private jets. The unassuming superstar has often been spotted looking like your typical commuter getting from point A to point B. When photographs of the musician sitting on a train and checking messages on his phone made the rounds, fans were delighted by his unpretentious ways.

“Sir Paul McCartney spotted alone on a train out of London without a bodyguard or entourage. The Beatles legend kept it real on public transport with an old school Nokia, 29 Jun (sic) 2017,” one fan tweeted alongside the photo.

“That’s Sir Paul McCartney, one of the most successful musician on earth driving on a train. If you know you, you know,” another commented.

Daily Mail spotted Paul again hopping on a train at Charing Cross railway station. “I looked at him and I instantly thought, ‘That's Paul McCartney!’” one stunned passenger said. “I couldn't believe he was slumming it in second class with me.”

Paul told GQ he’d been so used to riding public transport all his life. “There’s something about that, being ordinary... I mean, I know I can’t be ordinary, at all – I’m way too famous to be ordinary – but, for me, that feeling inside, of feeling like myself still, is very important,” he said.

He continued telling GQ that he enjoyed simple, day-to-day pleasures, such as a nice conversation. He recounted a lovely interaction he had while on a bus from New York City to Long Island. 

“This black woman pipes up from the back of the bus: ‘Are you Paul McCartney?’ And I said, ‘Yes, I am.’ And she said, ‘What are you doing on this bus?’ And I said, ‘Why don’t you stop shouting and come and sit next to me?’ … we ended up having this lovely conversation. That’s why I like a proper conversation. Being ordinary. I love that. It means a lot to me – maybe too much to me,” he said. 

Paul’s modest ways also extend to his family. Paul had three children with his first wife, Linda McCartney, among them fashion designer daughter Stella McCartney. She revealed that, instead of sending her to a private school as most parents of her father’s stature would, she attended a local public school. Although she once attributed this to her father being a “tight b*****d,” she later ate her words when it came to her own children’s schooling. 

“It’s one of my biggest internal struggles – the whole schooling system in London and the fact that my kids are going to a posh school. It freaks me out,” she told Parentdish UK. “Going to the normal local comprehensive was one of the best things that could have happened to me. You didn't boast about stuff otherwise you'd get beaten up.”

It appears while you can take Paul out of the environment of his humble upbringing, it certainly cannot be taken out of him. 

In 2023, Paul had a double birthday celebration as it also fell on the year’s Father’s Day. The star took to Instagram to share a sweet message alongside a photo of himself as well as a vintage sepia-toned picture of him in his youth with two men who appear to be family members. In the caption, McCartney wrote:

“Happy Father’s Day to all the dads in the world (including me!)⁣ Thanks for the birthday wishes. Here’s hoping everyone else can join in the celebrations.”

His daughter, Stella, also took the opportunity the same day to share a tribute to her dad in a video montage comprising photos of her and Paul from her childhood days to adulthood. Her caption read:

“Happy birthday, Dadahoy! It’s a double celebration of all things Papa Smurf today… You are the biggest blessing to so many, but to me you’re the best gift a girl could ever dream of. I wish you the happiest and healthiest of days surrounded by all your family, which is the most important thing on Earth to you.”

Stella was right on point in saying how much of a family man Paul is. Now a grandfather to Mary’s four children and Stella’s four kids, the superstar isn’t at all shy about spoiling them. He once told GQ that during the pandemic lockdown, he was “very lucky. The weather’s been brilliant and Mary and her kids are great, so I’m seeing a lot of my grandkids and (wife) Nancy (Shevell), so it’s been all right.” In September 2022, Paul was also spotted with Mary’s 26-year-old son Arthur Donald at a theater in London. 

Paul said his grandkids have also taken to calling him “grandude,” a moniker he loves so much he even penned the book “Hey Grandude!” released in 2018. 

Are you surprised by Paul McCartney’s love for the ordinary? What about the way his grandchildren call him grandude? If so, let us know and be sure to pass this on to all the fans of The Beatles you know!