Despite being one of the world’s most famous rock stars and having amassed a huge fortune, Sir Mick Jagger has recently hinted that he may not pass on his wealth to his children.
As the frontman of The Rolling Stones since their formation in London in 1962, the 80-year-old has been a significant figure in the music industry. Over the decades, the band has released 122 singles, 31 studio albums, and 77 music videos, selling over 200 million records globally. Billboard even ranked them as the second-greatest musical act of all time, just behind The Beatles.
With an incredible 61 years together, The Rolling Stones have become one of the longest-running bands in history. Naturally, this has led to immense financial success for the band members, including Jagger.
However, Jagger recently revealed in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that his children might not inherit that fortune. Unlike some high-profile musicians, Jagger has no intention of selling The Rolling Stones’ post-1971 catalog—a move that would typically involve selling the copyright or rights to song recordings, sometimes for enormous sums.
Fellow musicians like Bob Dylan and Katy Perry have made multimillion-dollar deals selling their music rights. Dylan, for example, sold his entire catalog to Universal Music for an astounding $300 million, and Dolly Parton has reportedly considered doing the same.
Yet, Jagger has different plans. He told The Wall Street Journal that his children “can live comfortably without $500 million” from the sale of the catalog. Instead, he hinted that if he did sell the rights, he would prefer to donate the proceeds to a charitable cause, saying, “You could do some good in the world.”
Jagger, the father of eight children ranging in age from six to 52, has had relationships with five women. His eldest child, 52-year-old Karis, was born in 1970 to Jagger and his then-partner Marsha Hunt. His daughter Jade, 51, was born during his marriage to Bianca Jagger, which lasted from 1971 to 1978.
Jagger also has four children with actress Jerry Hall, whom he dated from 1977 to 1999. Together, they share Elizabeth, 39, Georgia May, 31, James, 38, and Gabriel, 25. Jagger’s seventh child, Lucas, 24, was born during his relationship with model Luciana Gimenez Morad, and his youngest, Deveraux, aged six, is from his current partner, former ballerina and choreographer Melanie Hamrick.
With such a large family, there are plenty of potential heirs, but Jagger’s approach to his wealth suggests he is focused on leaving a different kind of legacy.