One is an investment banker from London and the other is one of the most prolific
musicians of all time — but they have more in common than you might think.
Paul McCartney is one of the most successful songwriters of all time and
one of the richest musicians in the world. Despite his popularity and iconic status,
his five children have made their own names for themselves — and now that they are all
grown up, Paul reportedly loves being a grandfather to his eight grandchildren.
Though most of his grandchildren live a private life away from the limelight,
one McCartney is clearly as dashing as the famous pop star — Arthur Alistair Donald,
Mary's first child, and Paul's eldest grandson. Though he hasn't followed in his granddad's
footsteps, Arthur is the spitting image of Paul McCartney in his younger days.
When the legendary singer strolled through the grounds with his look-alike grandson at
Yale University in 2017, many people took note of the similarities between the two. However,
Arthur reportedly doesn't share Paul's love of music. Paul told the BBC:
"Following me — for a McCartney kid — it's not that easy. So,
I don't push them into it or even encourage them to do it for a living."
Unlike his grandfather, Arthur has a negligible social media presence. The versatile singer often
shares a glimpse of his life with his nearly 4 million followers on Instagram and over 8
million on Facebook. But his grandson prefers to be a private person and maintains a safe
distance from social media. On why her children keep a low profile, Mary told one journalist:
"I have to be very careful with them about social media because I don't think any kids should
Instagram the location they're in or pictures of their school uniform. There should be privacy,
and certain people aren't necessarily having as great a time as they're making out."
The world renowned pop musician reportedly helped Arthur with a university project
about the Swinging Sixties and disclosed how the British transport system helped
make The Beatles. Discussing his new book in 2021, McCartney remembered:
"He was doing an essay, his final thesis at university. He wanted to look into the
cultural revolution in Britain, so we talked [...] Every story I told
him... 'I met George Harrison on the bus' and 'I saw John Lennon on the bus' and he
very cleverly [...] looked at why buses were so good after the Second World War."
At the same time, McCartney has been inspired by his nickname 'Grandude' to write a children's
picture book called Hey Grandude!. McCartney spoke on what motivated him to write the book, saying:
"I wanted to write it for grandparents everywhere — and the kids — so it gives
you something to read to the grandkids at bedtime."
"See the compass needle spin - let the magic fun begin!"
While Paul McCartney's children went to the local school to have a 'normal' upbringing,
18-year-old Arthur left University College School in Hampstead and moved
to the United States. There, he pursued his bachelor's degree in history from the
prestigious Yale University in Connecticut. Interestingly, Yale University had awarded
Arthur's legendary songwriter granddad an honorary Doctorate of Music in 2008.
Arthur's mother, Mary, hosts her own cooking show Mary McCartney Serves It Up,
and her ex-husband and Arthur's father, Alistair Donald, is a television director
and producer. Since his grandfather is a musician and his parents belong to showbiz,
it would have probably been natural and easier for Arthur to pursue a career in entertainment.
He even interned for Lucasfilm, a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, in the summer of 2018.
The same year, he was spotted with Ava Phillippe, Oscar-winner Reese Witherspoon's daughter,
strolling the streets of Mayfair and coming out of the celebrity bar Sketch. Naturally,
this sparked rumors of a relationship between the two teenagers. Later, he attended a London
screening of the '60s documentary My Generation, featuring Paul McCartney,
along with his mother and grandfather. While he has apparently inherited his grandfather's looks,
Arthur has clearly taken a different path in life; since June 2020,
he has worked as an investment banking analyst at Goldman Sachs.