John Lennon’s Son Once Admitted He Lives Off Beatles Money

TL;DR:

• John Lennon’s son, Sean Ono Lennon, lives off money generated by The Beatles’ songs.
• He explained why he thinks this is the right thing to do.
• At one point, he wanted to strike out on his own.

John Lennon’s son, Sean Ono Lennon, lives off of money generated by The Beatles’ songs. He also makes money by producing scores for films. During an interview, he said he doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with the way he pays his bills.

John Lennon’s son said ‘I can’t deny who I am’ when asked about his finances

During a 1998 interview with Rolling Stone, Sean was asked if he felt financially privileged. “I am relying on my parents’ wealth,” he said. “Completely. But it would be stupid to throw the money away. That would be denial. I can’t deny who I am.”

Sean explained his financial relationship to The Beatles’ songs. “I’m very lucky in that I don’t have to worry about money, simply from the inheritance,” he said. “I inherited the [song] publishing, so I make money from The Beatles’ stuff. That’s where my bread and butter comes from.”

Why John Lennon’s son said he had to take advantage of his privileges

Sean didn’t see this as a problem. “What would be wrong is if I used that for the wrong reasons,” he opined. “I just want to do right by my privileges. And I feel like I have to take advantage of those privileges, in order to honor the situation.

“If I ignore them and rebel against them, which I wanted to do in the past — ‘I don’t want any money, I don’t want any privileges, I just want to be like everybody else’ — that wouldn’t be the right decision,” he added.

Sean admitted his family name created interest in his music that would not be there if he was someone else. He felt he wouldn’t be able to book an interview in Rolling Stone if not for his heritage. On the same token, he worried he might blow his chance to become famous.

Sean Ono Lennon said he is a workaholic and not the slacker that some people think he is

During a 2015 interview with The Guardian, Sean said people would always see him as the “spoiled slacker son” of two major stars. Despite this perception, Sean considers himself a workaholic. He’s earned money from writing music for films and commercials.

Sean thought about releasing music under a different name so the public would judge him on his own merits. Despite this, he decided doing so would be disrespectful to his father.

Sean likes the idea of standing on his own but he’s fine with taking Beatles money.