Cowell’s £45m in a year
… even though we’ve barely seen him on our TV screens
SIMON Cowell has pocketed £45.3million in one year despite hardly being on UK TV screens.
Cowell’s company Syco Holdings reportedly raked in the hefty sum in the 12 months to March this year, taking his overall fortune to more than £400million.
The whopping sum is a result of a series of successful ventures under the Syco umbrella, including Britain’s Got Talent and America’s Got Talent, which both pulled in viewers during the pandemic. Syco made almost £65million in its last financial year and had £40million left over from the previous period.
Cowell’s payout is more than double the £21.4million singer Ed Sheeran paid himself last year and triple the £14.5million the Beckhams pocketed in 2019.
‘Simon may not have been on screen but his busy empire globally goes from strength to strength,’ a source told The Sun.
‘It is clear from these figures that his influence in the entertainment industry is still vast.’ The cash for the 62-year-old comes five months after he parted ways with Sony Music Entertainment.
He took full control of the TV interests while the entertainment giant held on to Syco’s artists and music back catalogue.
The star, who has a seven-yearold son, Eric, with girlfriend Lauren Silverman, is said to be keen on expanding his empire by working with Netflix. Earlier this year he announced that one of his biggest talent shows, The X Factor had been axed after 17 years.
He is launching a new talent show called Walk The Line which he had planned to be a judge on, but recently he said he had enlisted Gary Barlow instead as he needed to ‘step back’.
The star underwent back surgery in August 2020 following an accident on an electric bike which almost left him paralysed. Since then he has overhauled his lifestyle and has spent less time on screen. Last year, he stepped back from judging duties on America’s Got Talent and had to leave Britain’s Got Talent to fully focus on his rehab and physical therapy.
He is expected to return for the next series of the British talent show next year.