text: Singer Adele Adkins, a mother-of-one, has topped the young music rich list again, earning £5million in the last year, despite releasing no new music . It has been almost four years since her last album but that has not stopped Adele from earning £5million over the last year. Bringing her fortune to a total of £50million, the singer has retained her place at the top of the list of Britain’s richest musicians under the age of 30. The mother-of-one, 26, has double the wealth of her closest rivals – the four members of One Direction and their former compatriot Zayn Malik, 22 - who are worth £25million each. However, the country’s rising stars are hot on the singer’s heels. Ed Sheeran, 24, has enjoyed the year’s biggest rise, with a £13million boost taking his fortune to £20million and moving him from 23rd to seventh on the list. While Sam Smith, 22, is a new entry with £12million, placing him on par with Florence Welch, 28, and the pairing of Arctic Monkey’s guitarist Jamie Cook, 29, with his model wife Katie Downes, 30. Adele, full name is Adele Adkins, faces the toughest female competition from the Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding singer Ellie Goulding, 28, who, alongside Leona Lewis, 30, Jessie J, 27, and Katie Melua, 30, is worth £13million. Having also sung the theme song for the last James Bond instalment Skyfall, Adele’s hotly anticipated but much delayed third album is believed to be set for a release later this year. This is the fourth year in a row Adele has topped the list of the richest young musicians. With such impressive earning power, many of her contemporaries would look to channel their popularity into other lucrative activities. However, the singer has previously ruled that out, telling Vogue: ‘I have absolutely no intention of going into acting or making perfumes. Adele has amassed twice the wealth of her nearest competitors, the four remaining members of One Direction, plus recently departed Zayn Malik, who are worth £25million each . 'I am a singer. I will stick to what I am good at and not spread myself thin and become mediocre at everything I do.’ The figures have been compiled for the new edition of The Sunday Times Rich List, released this weekend and are based on the information about the stars’ land and property portfolios, stocks in public companies and known assets such as art. The young musicians still have a long way to go to catch their older counterparts. Sir Paul McCartney, 72, and his wife Nancy Shevell, 55, top the list of the richest musicians overall for another year. They have added £20million to their joint fortune this year, bringing their total wealth to £730million. Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, 67, and the pop group U2 collectively round off the top three, with £650million and £431million respectively. The highest ranked new entry in the overall list is DJ Calvin Harris, who at 31 is just ineligible for the list of young musicians. Songstress Ellie Goulding is the nearest female competition for Adele, with  wealth of around £13million . Also hitting the £13million mark are Leona Lewis (left) and Jessie J (right), according to the Sunday Times . Rumoured to be dating pop star Taylor Swift, 25, he has debuted at number 30 with a fortune of £70million – joint with Mark Knopfler, 65, of Dire Strait’s and The Who’s Pete Townshend, 69. Harris, a Scottish born DJ and producer who has worked with stars including Kylie Minogue, Rihanna and Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, is reportedly the world’s highest paid DJ, earning $1million (£665,000) for a single performance. Last year, he was the first solo British album to have his songs played more than one billion times on music streaming service Spotify, earning him a pay cheque of £4million. In last year’s Sunday Times list, Calvin Harris was ranked second richest young musician after Adele, with a fortune of £30million. Graduating to the full rankings, he has more than doubled his wealth over the last 12 months. Sir Paul McCartney has not had a UK number one single in decades but that has not stopped him topping the only chart that counts - the top 40 musical millionaires. The former Beatle has a personal fortune of £730 million - £20 million up from last year - and is well ahead of his nearest rival Andrew Lloyd Webber, who is estimated to be worth £650 million. Sir Paul's fortune is given a significant boost by his wife Nancy Shevell, who has a £150 million stake in her family's US trucking business. Irish rockers U2 share a £431 million fortune, with Sir Elton John and Sir Mick Jagger said to be worth £270 million and £225 million respectively. The Sunday Times Rich List 2015 Top 40 music millionaires in the UK and Ireland. Sir Paul McCartney, with his wife Nancy Shevell, is Britain's wealthies musician, with £730million . 1 - Sir Paul McCartney and Nancy Shevell £730 million . 2 - Lord Lloyd-Webber £650 million . 3 - U2 £431 million . 4 - Sir Elton John £270 million . 5 - Sir Mick Jagger £225 million . 6 - Keith Richards £210 million . 7 - Michael Flatley £195 million . 8= Ringo Starr £180 million . 8= Sting £180 million . 10 - Roger Waters £160 million . 11 - Eric Clapton £155 million . 12 - Sir Tom Jones £150 million . 12= Sir Tim Rice £150 million . 12= Rod Stewart £150 million . 15= David Bowie and Iman Abdulmajid £135 million . 15= Robbie Williams £135 million . 17 - Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne £130 million . 18= Phil Collins £110 million . 18= Brian May £110 million . 18= Charlie Watts £110 million . 21= George Michael £105 million . 21= Roger Taylor £105 million . 23 = Jimmy Page £100 million . 23 = Robert Plant £100 million . 25 = Enya £90 million . 25 = David Gilmour £90 million . 27 - John Deacon £85 million . Irish rockers U2 take third spot in the music rich-list with £431million, just behind Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber . 28 - Noel and Liam Gallagher £77 million . 29 - Nick Mason £75 million . 30= Calvin Harris £70 million . 30= Mark Knopfler £70 million . 30= Pete Townshend £70 million . 33= Gary Barlow £65 million . 33= Engelbert Humperdinck £65 million . 35= Barry Gibb £60 million . 35= John Paul Jones £60 million . 37= Kylie Minogue £55 million . 37 = Sir Cliff Richard £55 million . 39 = Guy Berryman £52 million . 39 = Jonny Buckland £52 million . 39 = Will Champion £52 million . 39 = Chris Martin £52 million . Calvin Harris used to take second place in the young music rich list, but now occupies 50th spot in the adult list, reportedly commanding $1million per performace (pictured at T in the Park)
target: Singer has twice the fortune of nearest rivals, boys from One Direction .
  Ed Sheeran saw biggest rise of £13million, taking him to seventh place .
  Sam Smith is new entry with £12million, on a par with Florence Welch .
  Paul McCartney and wife Nancy Shevell still top the adult rich list .