Simon Cowell hails from the United Kingdom, and at the tender age of just 55 he has a list of accomplishments that are the envy of his contemporaries. Regularly featured on the front covers of music and TV magazines, Forbes world’s most influential celebrities, and other multimedia platforms, Simon Cowell is anything but ordinary. In 2013 he was #17 on the Forbes list of the world’s highest-paid celebrities. By 2014 his star had dropped to #42 on the Forbes list, but he remains one of the most influential and outspoken celebrities on the planet. He is perhaps best known for The X Factor, which continues to garner tremendous international acclaim despite it being cancelled in the US after just 3 seasons. Plunging ratings in the US began occurring when Simon Cowell left the show as a judge and decided instead to head over to the UK where he felt his star power was more appreciated. For those who didn’t know, Simon Cowell’s SYCO label is responsible for the immensely popular group – One Direction. Outside of music, Simon Cowell and his partner Lauren Silverman have a child together, Eric Cowell. And another one is on the way.
Simon Cowell’s Rise to Fame and Fortune
Simon Cowell has always been an outspoken individual, and while the world at large only knew this when he featured on American Idol, his rise to the top was a long time coming. Born in London England in 1959, he began working in the music industry as a result of his father’s position as an executive at EMI Music Publishing. Simon was not given any handouts, and he started in the mail room and worked his way to the top. His father – Eric Philip Cowell – got him a foot in the door, but everything that happened since then was Simon’s own doing. Simon’s penchant for socialising probably came from his mother Julie Brett who was a socialite herself. As a troublesome teen, he failed to complete high school and regularly avoided interviews that his father had set up for him. Instead, he pursued his passion which ultimately was in the same industry as his father. By 1979 he was an assistant to the A&R executive at any EMI Music Publishing.
In the 80s Simon partnered with Ellis Rich from EMI to form E&S Music. After a string of hits, Simon departed. By the mid-80s he formed the relatively successful Fanfare Records. The company shuttered by 1989 and Simon moved in with his parents. His next gig began with BMG Records as a consultant. Such was his ability at BMG Records that he managed to sign up multiple singers for the company, enabling it to make sales of 150m + records which spurred 70 hits across the US and the UK. But for Cowell, the true taste of success came in 2001. It was then that him and Simon Fuller produced Pop Idol. This was one of the most unique concepts of its time, and it allowed the UK public to choose which contestants would win a coveted record deal with BMG. A year later American Idol debuted and none other than Simon Cowell was in the judge’s chair offering acerbic commentary to those he deemed unworthy of progressing to the later rounds. Some of the many stars that came through the ranks include David Cook, Jordan Sparks, Taylor Hicks, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson, Fantasia Barrino and others. In 2014, Simon Cowell was firmly placed at position #8 with a net worth of £300 million according to the Music Rich List for the United Kingdom and Ireland. Since then, Cowell has added several hundred million dollars to his net worth.
Net worth of $550 million + $95 million annual salary
Not complacent to rest on his laurels, Simon Cowell utilised his incredible talents in TV and his musical prowess to establish yet another company known as SYCO TV in 2002. Among others, this new venture gave birth to The X Factor, America’s Got Talent and American Inventor. With all the checks and balances tallied up, the sum total of Simon Cowell’s incomes routinely exceeds $95 million per annum. Pop Idol for example is seen in over 100 countries worldwide, and thanks to American Idol, Simon Cowell was able to earn a staggering $33 million salary for every season that it aired. His final year hosting American Idol was in 2010, but he went on from there to host his other hit series – The X Factor. The most successful component of Simon Cowell’s financial empire is his SYCO Entertainment label. Between 2009 and 2014 the SYCO label brought in revenues of $374 million. In 2014 Cowell signed over 20% of his 50% holding in the label to the CEO of the Arcadia Group – Sir Philip Green. SYCO TV and Sony have had a long-standing relationship. Such is the incredible popularity of the X Factor in the UK, that it was neck and neck with Strictly Come Dancing – both managing viewerships of 8.8 million people weekly.
Future Financial Prospects for Simon Cowell
While American Idol may be something of the past, Simon Cowell is in discussions with Ryan Seacrest about an upcoming new project. Cowell wants Seacrest to join up with him in the new show, but Seacrest’s salary of $15 million is the only point of contention between the two. For 2016, Simon’s DJ talent show will air in the UK, and there is talk that the same show will be brought to America. With One Direction splitting up, Simon remains uncertain about the future prospects of the group, but he readily admits that taking a break may perhaps be the best thing for the young lads. One thing is certain: Whatever Simon touches turns to gold, and that’s unlikely to change moving forward!
