<p id=”par-1_48″>When they were in <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/the-beatles/?swcfpc=1″>The Beatles</a>, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/george-harrison/?swcfpc=1″>George Harrison</a>, and Ringo Starr were massively successful. According to Harrison, though, they didn’t walk away from the band with as much money as they should have. He said that their company, Apple Corps, employed too many “gangsters.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-george-harrison-said-the-beatles-lost-millions”>George Harrison said The Beatles lost millions</h2>
<p id=”par-2_50″>After The Beatles broke up, they became embroiled in a lawsuit. McCartney <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/paul-mccartney-shared-thought-john-lennon-liked-controversial-allen-klein.html/”>had never trusted</a> their new manager, Allen Klein, and sued the band in order to take control of their catalog from him. Harrison said that as they dealt with this, others were profiting off of their music unfairly.</p>
<p id=”par-3_65″>“Dreadful. I mean, all the money that we ever made from Beatles records and from Beatle films or any source, it all came into this company, Apple, which had been pilfered by all these famous gangsters,” he said, per <a target=”_blank” href=”https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/george-harrison-the-beatles-ripped-off-gangsters/” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Far Out Magazine</a>. “It was a mess, and Paul was suing us three because we had this guy managing us, and it was just a mess.”</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/The-Beatles-2.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”A black and white picture of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, and George Harrison standing with their arms around each other. They are in front of a fireplace.” class=”wp-image-3777791″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>The Beatles | John Pratt/Keystone/Getty Images</figcaption></figure>
<p id=”par-4_12″>He said he found himself in a precarious legal and financial situation.</p>
<p id=”par-5_90″>“I had my own song publishing, you know, it was in New York, which was an illegal company, you know, ’cause this guy had set me in New York, and it meant that I either was breaching some company laws or if I didn’t own the company he owned all my copyrights, and I was in a mess,” he said. “So when Denis (O’Brien) came along, it was like, you know it, it allowed me to breathe again, and he salvaged all the pieces that he could and organized me.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-he-later-had-a-falling-out-with-denis-o-brien”>He later had a falling out with Denis O’Brien</h2>
<p id=”par-6_27″>Harrison hired O’Brien as his manager after he fired Klein. He thought O’Brien was efficient, and they also became good friends. Unfortunately, their relationship ended incredibly poorly.</p>
<p id=”par-7_32″>The two worked together on the <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/george-harrison-said-production-company-handmade-films-good-became-big-shots.html/”>company HandMade Films</a>. When it began to experience financial difficulties, an accountant discovered that Harrison had unknowingly taken on the full financial responsibility while O’Brien profited.</p>
<p id=”par-8_88″>“Every time Denis needed more money for films, he would basically use George’s personal guarantee to guarantee the loan and George had no idea and, of course, the bank assumed he was mega-rich and they never checked and he had personal guarantees that were far greater than his net worth,” HandMade film’s Wendy Palmer said, per the book <em>Very Naughty Boys</em> by Robert Sellers. “I remember clearly Denis going off to see George, clutching the document, and coming back with a signature and we’d have more money again.”</p>
<p id=”par-9_23″>Harrison ultimately sued O’Brien, and their <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/george-harrison-hated-longtime-business-associate-intensity-quite-rare.html/”>working relationship blew up</a>. His friend, Eric Idle, said Harrison felt “bitter, betrayed, angry and let down.”</p>
<p id=”par-10_25″>“He hated [O’Brien] with an intensity that was quite rare for George,” Idle said. “It took him a long time to get over all that.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-george-harrison-once-thought-the-beatles-would-never-make-any-money”>George Harrison once thought The Beatles would never make any money</h2>
<p id=”par-11_28″>In the earliest days of The Beatles, Harrison likely never would have predicted his future financial challenges. He didn’t think the band would make all that much money. </p>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-2″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Beatles-3.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”A black and white picture of Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr of The Beatles wearing suits.” class=”wp-image-3777789″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>The Beatles | Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images</figcaption></figure>
<div class=”related-article related-article–simple”>
<span class=”related-article-flag”>Related</span>
<p class=”related-article__title”>
<a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/dave-grohls-least-favorite-foo-fighters-song-tribute-george-harrison.html/”>
Dave Grohl’s ‘Least Favorite’ Foo Fighters Song Is a Tribute to George Harrison </a>
</p>
</div>
<p id=”par-12_61″>“It’s so hard to become a millionaire,” he said in 1964, per <a href=”https://americansongwriter.com/watch-a-young-humble-george-harrison-incorrectly-predicting-his-future-with-the-beatles/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>American Songwriter</a>. “Maybe if we were just a solo act, then whoever it was, you’d probably be a millionaire. But with four, you know, it’s hard. If we’ll ever be millionaires, we’d probably be all right. But I can’t see us being millionaires and not paying tax as well.”</p>
<p id=”par-13_13″>At the time of his death, Harrison was worth an estimated $400 million.</p>