John Lennon Regretted Not Making a Decision That Could Have ‘Made a Million Pounds’
John Lennon wasn’t the biggest fan of The Beatles. He said his life felt like a trap because of the band, and the public notoriety became a major nuisance when Yoko Ono entered his life. The English media — and many Fab Four fans — didn’t warm up to Ono, and it left a sour taste in his mouth. He and Ono moved to New York after The Beatles broke up. John regretted not making a decision that could “have made a million pounds” for the songwriter.
John Lennon sold his house and moved to New York in 1971
John and Ringo Starr maintained a close relationship during their time with The Beatles and beyond.
Ringo’s apartment was the location for John and Yoko’s naked photos that appeared on their Two Virgins album cover. The drummer and songwriter later became suburban London neighbors.
The thinly-veiled racism shown by the hostile press and fans toward Yoko didn’t sit well with John. That made it that much easier to leave England for good. Ringo bought his bandmate’s former home (and burned John’s possessions he left behind) when the singer moved to New York in 1971. He loved living in the big city, but John regretted forgetting to make what could have been a lucrative financial decision.
John regretted not telling the British government he moved out of England: ‘I would have made a million pounds’
English bands The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin lived as tax exiles in the 1970s. The punishing British tax code meant that living abroad for extended periods was a sound financial decision. (Income then wouldn’t be taxed to the British standards).
John moved to New York in such haste that he neglected to tell the government, You Never Give Me Your Money author Peter Doggett revealed. John regretted not making that simple decision because he would have substantially padded his net worth.
“I only decided to live there after I’d moved. I left everything in England. I didn’t even bring any clothes. I just came for a visit and stayed. I should have informed the British government; I’d have got an amazing tax refund. If I’d only thought of it, I would have made a million pounds or something.”
John Lennon
At the peak of The Beatles’ fame, the band fell into Britain’s most punishing tax bracket. According to The Guardian, the government took 87.5% of earnings up to ￡100,000 and 98% for everything above.
John had a No. 1 hit (“Whatever Gets You Thru the Night”) in 1974 and had another three Billboard top-10 singles in the 1970s. If he truly never told the British government that he had moved, then the crown (instead of Uncle Sam) taxed his earnings. He might have left a million pounds on the table, so it’s easy to see why John regretted not making the simple decision to officially leave England for New York.
He also lived near Los Angeles when he moved to the United States
The house he sold to Ringo was just about the only thing tying John to England, and he had his sights on New York for a while. “If I hadn’t bought that f—— house, I’d leave — I’d go and live in New York,” John once said, per Doggett. “It’s f—— great over there, the people are as hip as s—. Britain is at least 200 years behind.”
Even when he and Yoko separated during his Lost Weekend period, John still called New York home. He lived in a lavish penthouse that is now worth millions.
John also spent time living in the LA area during the Lost Weekend years. His living situation came full circle as Ringo was his roommate during his LA stay.
He kept writing and recording music through the mid-1970s, which added to John Lennon’s regret that he never officially rescinded his British tax status.
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