07 July 2023 , 16:44
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Rocket Man Sir Elton John is the pocket man as his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour ends this weekend with record takings of well over £700million.
He has smashed the $900m barrier in his 300 dates over three years across five continents, according to US industry website Billboard – with another $20m (£15.6m) expected from eight gigs yet to be included in its calculations.
It means he has soared past previous record holder Ed Sheeran who took £606.8m for his Divide tour ending in 2019, and U2’s two-year 360 tour which made £575.5m by its end in 2011.
Sir Elton’s tour finishes tonight in Swedish capital Stockholm, where he is due to play to 40,000 fans.
It comes just two weeks after he headlined Glastonbury to a crowd thought to have topped 100,000 and a record peak audience of 7.6 million watching on BBC1.
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Elton has been playing farewell concerts across the globe (ADAM VAUGHAN/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)But the big numbers do not end there, as his Elton John AIDS Foundation has this week reported income of £28.8m in the wake of his tour, up from £10.8m in 2021.
His music empire is run through 24 private UK companies, which are all part-run by his husband David Furnish.
They include a touring company, royalty and management business, private air charter firm, eye-wear business, film production activities, property management, sports management, theatrical activities – and farming, via a business set up for their children.
In all, these companies held £130m in assets as at latest accounts.
No turnover figures are reported in the latest financial statements by any of the businesses but after allowing for bills they retained just over £30m in funds between them.
J Bondi LLP, Sir Elton’s UK touring company, reports £30,683,360 in assets, with £29,844,293 retained after bills.
The figures suggest a £10m profit.