It's a rich man's world...
Can you believe it's been 50 years since ABBA burst onto the global music scene?
The Swedish band sung their way to victory at the Eurovision Song Contest on 6 April 1974. Since then, ABBA has become one of the most successful and iconic bands in the world. So it's no shock that the four band members – Agnetha Fältskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, and Benny Andersson – are seriously rich.
Read on as we explore how muchMoney, Money, Moneyeach musician has made over the years and discoverwhich member of ABBA is the richest today.All dollar amounts in US dollars.
From Eurovision winners...
First, a bit of history. Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson were introduced in June 1966 when they were both in other bands. Three years later, they met singers Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, and the quartet quickly turned into two romantic couples.Ulvaeus would later marryFältskog, while Andersson went on to wedLyngstad.
Despite all four being musicians, they didn't start producing music together until the early 1970s. Using the band name Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid, the group released the single People Need Lovein 1972.This was followed by their album Ring Ring, which became one of Sweden's biggest hits in 1973.
After coming third in Melodifestivalen (the Swedish selection process for Eurovision)that same year, the group –which had rebranded to ABBA by that point–enjoyed more success in 1974 when theywonnot only Melodifestivalenbut also the Eurovision Song Contestwith Waterloo.
Their victory was a fast-track to global fame, andby 1979, the band was making net profits of $15 million thanks to record sales, merchandise, and other revenue streams. When adjusted for inflation, that'sthe equivalent of $68.1million (£54m) today.
...to global megastars
ABBA may have parted ways in 1982, but the legacy of their 10-year partnership – during which they reportedly sold more than 375 million records – lives on through ventures such as Mamma Mia! The Musical and the virtual ABBA Voyage tour.
And it's not just new projects that are lining their pockets. The group also receives royalties from their music,which was estimated to bring in a yearly total of £2.5 million apiece back in 2011.
That's the equivalent of around $4.4 million (£3.5m) today, although it's likely that that number is now much higher thanks to theMamma Mia! Here We Go Again movie (a sequel to the original 2008 film)released in 2018.
The band also profits from ABBA The Museum, which is locatedin Stockholm and has reportedly generated over $125 million (£100m) since it opened in May 2013.
ABBA-maniais still alive and welland is bringing in millions – in fact, if you convert their net worths to Swedish kroner, every member of ABBA is a billionaire in their home country. But which bandmate is the richest in 2024?
Agnetha Fältskog: estimated net worth $200 million (£160m)
Agnetha Fältskog is believed to be the least wealthy of the four bandmates, though she still has a staggeringfortune of $200 million (£160m).
Born in the Swedish city of Jönköping in 1950, the singer had a successful solo career before joining ABBA, with her debut single Jag Var Så Kär (I Was So In Love) becoming a number-one hit in her home country.
Fältskogsigned with the record company Cupol Records in the late 1960s and released five studio albums before ABBA's Eurovision win in 1974:four as a soloist and one as part of the ensemble castin the Swedish recording ofJesus Christ Superstar.
Agnetha Fältskog: estimated net worth $200 million (£160m)
After ABBA's split – not to mention the breakdown of her marriage to Björn Ulvaeus, with whom she has two children–Fältskog released a string of solo studio albums between 1982 and 1988.
She has just one writing credit for an ABBA song, 1973's Disillusion, with the band's music almost entirely composed by Benny and Björn. However, Fältskog is a talented composer in her own right and went back to writing music as a solo artist in the 1980s.
After the release of her 1988 album I Stand Alone,Fältskog withdrew from public life, later admitting: "I was so tired... and just wanted to be calm and be with my children."
Her personal life was troubled by a series of relationship issues and the tragic death of her mother. In 1996, Fältskog released her autobiography,As I Am: ABBA Before and Beyond, whichreportedly sold around 50,000 copies. And her career was far from over...
Agnetha Fältskog: estimated net worth $200 million (£160m)
After a 17-year break from making music, 2004 saw Fältskog releaseMy Colouring Book, which featuredcovers of songs she'd loved as a teen back inthe 1960s.
This was followed bythe release of her fifth post-ABBA studio albumAin 2013. Featuring backing vocals from her daughter Linda, A was Fältskog's most commercially successful solo record to date and catapulted the singer back into the public eye.
Fast-forward a few years and ABBA had reunited, with work well underway on their new album,Voyage, which was released in 2021. And last year, Fältskog surprised fans with a new single,Where Do We Go From Here?, and dropped areimagined version of her acclaimed 2013 solo album, entitled A+.
Benny Andersson: estimated net worth $230 million (£183m)
Benny Andersson, pictured in 1970, is the next-richest ABBA bandmate, with an estimated net worth of $230 million (£183m).
Having already found fame as the keyboard player in popular Swedish band Hep Stars,Andersson met Björn Ulvaeus in 1966and the pair began writing songs together. He also collaborated with songwriterLasse Berghagen, with whom Andersson wrote a song for the Swedish Eurovision trials in 1969.
Their song finished in second place and, more significantly,Andersson met Anni-Frid Lyngstad backstage. The songwriter and singer soon became a couple, with Andersson introducing Lyngstad to Ulvaeus and his partnerFältskog.
Benny Andersson: estimated net worth $230 million (£183m)
With Andersson writing the music and Ulvaeus writing the lyrics, the pair penned all of ABBA's songs. When the bandparted ways in 1982, the songwriters continued to work together.
Their first major projectpost-ABBA wasChess, a musical centred around a chess tournament between a Russian grandmasterand his American competitor. Andersson and Ulvaeus composed the music that accompanied the words by British lyricist Tim Rice.
The production ran for three years in the West End of London, though it lastedjust two months on Broadway. However, it's since been reprised on stages around the world, most recently in Australia in 2021.
By the mid-1990s, Andersson and Ulvaeus had launched a second musical, Kristina From Duvemåla. The show took the pairfive years to write and received glowing reviews when it premiered in Malmöin 1995.
Benny Andersson: estimated net worth $230 million (£183m)
Andersson has also worked as a producer, most notably for the film adaptation of the musicalMamma Mia!in 2008 – which became the fastest selling DVD in UK history – and its 2018 sequel,Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.
The composer makes a lot of his income from his company Littlestar Productions, which manages the rights to the Mamma Mia! brand. In 2015 alone,Andersson and Ulvaeus are believed to have made $4.3 million in royalties and dividends from the franchise. That's the equivalent of $5.5 million (£4.4m) in 2024.
In addition to royalties from ABBA-related projects, Andersson has also released a number of solo albums, including 2017's Piano, and has written music for various films and documentaries.
Anni-Frid Lyngstad: estimated net worth $300 million (£239m)
The second "A"in ABBA represents Anni-Frid "Frida" Lyngstad. With an estimated net worth of $300 million (£239m), Lyngstadis the joint-richest bandmate and, much like Agnetha, she'd already embarked on a solo singing career before the band formed.
The 1960s was a busy decade for her. As well as forming a band called the Anni-Frid Four, Lyngstad married her first husbandRagnar Fredriksson, had two children, and shot to prominence after winning New Faces, anationwide Swedish talent competition, in 1967.
The prize was a contract with the recording company EMI and, with her music career kicking off, she reportedly decided to move to Stockholm without her family.
Anni-Frid Lyngstad: estimated net worth $300 million (£239m)
Five years before ABBA won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, Frida participated in the Swedish heats, finishingin fourth place. The competition would change the course of music history, as it's where Lyngstad met Benny Andersson, her future bandmate and husband. She divorced Fredriksson the following year.
Lyngstad released her debut solo albumFridabefore the formation of ABBA and another,Frida Ensam, in 1975 – the year after the band's Eurovision win.
Once the band had broken up, Lyngstad relaunched her solo career with the release of Something's Going On. Selling more than 1.5 million copies, it's the most popular solo album from an ABBA member to date.
Anni-Frid Lyngstad: estimated net worth $300 million (£239m)
Lyngstad's net worth received another major boost courtesy ofher third marriage. After she and Andersson divorced in 1981, Lyngstad went on to marry Prince Heinrich Ruzzo Reuss von Plauen in 1992.
A member of the former sovereign House of Reuss, Heinrich tragically passed away from lymphoma just seven years later, leaving Lyngstad with an estimated inheritance of £75 million, which equates to more than$173 million (£137.5m) in 2024.
These days, Lyngstad lives in Switzerland with her current partner William Henry Smith, who's descended from the founders of UK stationery retailer WHSmith.
Anni-Fridofficially retired from music in 1996, although shereturned to the industry when the band reformed in 2017.
Björn Ulvaeus: estimated net worth $300 million (£239m)
Like Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus is believed to have a net worth of $300 million (£239m).
The musician had his first taste of fame as a member of the Swedish folk band Hootenanny Singers, and is shown here performing with them on German TV in 1966. It was while playing at a music festivalwith the band that he met Benny Andersson. The two quickly became firm friends, although they couldn't start working together until Ulvaeus had completed his military service.
When he returned from the army, Ulvaeus metAndersson again at a gig in Gothenberg and the pair wrote their first song together that night.
By his own admission, the track wasn't a masterpiece ("Let's just say it wasn't the best song we ever wrote," Ulvaeus told British newspaperThe Independent in 1996), though it paved the way for a musical partnership that's still going strong to this day.
Björn Ulvaeus: estimated net worth $300 million (£239m)
Unsurprisingly, the majority of Ulvaeus's net worth has come from royalties and various musical projects, although those aren't the only strings to his bow.
The lyricist isthe major shareholder in Mamma Mia! The Party, an experience that launched in Stockholm in 2016 before relocating to the O2 in London in 2019. Inside a recreation of a Greek taverna, the event sees ticket holders enjoy a four-course meal, an ABBA-themed show, and a disco, with prices starting at £99 ($124) a head.
Ulvaeus is also a co-owner of NoteHeads, a platform that enables musicians to sell sheet music to publishers online, although it's not clear whether the company has ever made significant profits.
Andersson and Ulvaeus are pictured here holding the Swedish Government Music Export Prize, which was awarded to ABBA in 2022 for their contribution to music the previous year.
Björn Ulvaeus: estimated net worth $300 million (£239m)
A staunch campaigner for a cashless society, Ulvaeus came under fire from the Swedish Tax Agency in 2005, with authorities claiming he owed around 90 million Swedish kronor – the equivalent of about $12.8 million (£10m) at the time – in back taxes.
Ulvaeus was accusedof laundering his music royalties through offshore businesses, a charge that the musician denied. He reportedly paid the tax as a precaution, although the full amountwas returned to him in October 2008 afterthe courts ruled that he'd never owed any of the supposed debt.
(Incidentally, Ulvaeus and Andersson have admitted that ABBA wore such outlandish costumes on stage because clothing that couldn't be reworn was eligible for tax breaks!)
In recent interviews, Ulvaeus, who's pictured here with his ex-wife in 2022, has shared his joy at the launch of ABBA Voyage but shut down speculation that the band will reform again. The group remains adamant thattheir recent collaboration wasn't financially motivated – and considering that the foursome famouslyturned down $1 billion to reunite in 2000, it seems that's true...
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