The leading rock and pop bands in Britain account for nearly £3bn of the country's wealth, it has been revealed.

In a list of the richest people in the UK to be published this weekend, the Rolling Stones account for more than £570m, with U2 not far behind, collectively valued at £487m.

The four band members, Bono, Adam Clayton, Dave Evans (the Edge) and Larry Mullen, split all their earnings evenly with their manager, Paul McGuinness.

However, the two surviving members of The Beatles, plus the family of the late George Harrison, are worth more than £1bn, led by Sir Paul McCartney, who is worth around £725m, £100m less than last year, taking into account his forthcoming divorce from Heather Mills. Harrison's widow, Olivia, and son Dhani are worth £160m, while Ringo Starr comes in at £140m.

The five other "super groups" to appear in The Sunday Times Rich List are Pink Floyd (David Gilmour and Roger Waters, both £85m); Queen (Brian May, £75m, Roger Taylor, £70m); The Bee Gees (Barry and Robin Gibb, both worth £120m); Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, both £70m) and Coldplay (Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion and Chris Martin, worth £30m each).

"We learnt very early on that each part of the band is as important as the others. If you take one part away, the rest collapses," said Coldplay drummer Champion.

It takes a £70m fortune to make it into the top 1000 in the Rich List, £10m higher than last year's. The raising of the threshold has eliminated Queen's John Deacon and Glasgow-born Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits (both £65m) from this year's list.

The list has several musicians under the age of 30 who have made their millions in recent years.

The richest of the young is Vanessa Mae, the violinist, who is valued with a personal wealth of £32m.

Two beneficiaries of television talent shows on the list are Simon Fuller and Simon Cowell. Fuller now has a £450m fortune, while Cowell, who is a judge on the UK X Factor and US American Idol, has seen his wealth grow from £60m to £100m.