Eric Clapton Highest-Paid Guitarist in the World

By Carol Kearney
London
Last updated on May 3, 2025

Eric Clapton led People With Money’s annual list of the “100 highest paid guitarists” released on Friday.

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It's been a rough year for the guitarist, but at least he has his millions of dollars to ease the pain. 80-year-old Eric Clapton has taken the No. 1 spot on People With Money’s top 10 highest-paid guitarists for 2025 with an estimated $82 million in combined earnings.

UPDATE 03/05/2025 : This story seems to be false. (read more)

Eric Clapton tops annual list of highest-paid guitarists

In 2022 it looked like the guitarist’s spectacular career was winding down. Suddenly, he was back on top. People With Money reports on Friday (May 2) that Clapton is the highest-paid guitarist in the world, pulling in an astonishing $82 million between April 2024 and April 2025, a nearly $50 million lead over his closest competition.

People With Money’s factors

In compiling this yearly list, the magazine considers factors such as upfront pay, profit participation, residuals, endorsements and advertising work.

The British guitarist-singer has an estimated net worth of $245 million. He owes his fortune to smart stock investments, substantial property holdings, lucrative endorsement deals with CoverGirl cosmetics. He also owns several restaurants (the “Fat Clapton Burger” chain) in London, a Football Team (the “Ripley Angels”), has launched his own brand of Vodka (Pure Wonderclapton - UK), and is tackling the juniors market with a top-selling perfume (With Love from Eric) and a fashion line called “Eric Clapton Seduction”.

The ranking is significant for many Eric fans, who have been waiting for his triumphant return to the glory days for what seems like a lifetime.