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Simon Cowell has revealed he isn’t as rich as people think he is and has been forced to ask for support from friends.
The 65-year-old music mogul shot to fame for his cutthroat judging style on singing competition The X Factor, which ran for 15 series between 2004 and 2018. The TV personality has been presenting Britain’s Got Talent since its first show in 2007.
He enjoyed a successful career in the music industry, and is credited with the discovery of bands including One Direction and Little Mix.
But despite his acts making hundreds of millions of dollars across the world, the record executive claims he isn’t as wealthy as expected and says he is often concerned about his finances.
“I always worry about money because I think you have to in a way,” he said on the How to Fail podcast. “You think about Covid as an example.”
Cowell explained that he advised his teams to get “all of our shows into production around the world quicker this year” following rumours of the virus’s spread.
“When you think about that, the wars, and everything else, the instability, what is safe?” he said. “Is it gold, cash, stocks. I don't think anything's safe any longer. I guess your house. Someone did actually say to me once ‘live in your money’. And it was really good advice, i.e, enjoy it, and be happy with it, but understand that the world is precarious.”
The businessman denied that he was worth the £500m figure that has been reported in the past.
“Oh God, it's not that. I'm not even close to that. I'm being serious. I'm not,” he said. “I've made a lot, I'm not going to lie. I've made a bit of money, yes, but not that much, no.”
He explained that he had struggled with funding a recent project and asked friends who then came to his assistance.
“My friends have been great. I did something recently where I just didn't have the money to pay people to help me,” he explained. “So I seriously had to say to about 20 people ‘I'm making something and I really don't have any money, but would you help me?’ And they all said ‘Yes’. And that was the most incredible thing.”
Although he says he would “probably” still describe himself as rich, he said he had no desire to accrue any more money after realising that “no one” he knew who was “super-rich” was happy.
He added: “I've definitely got enough. I don't need any more. I don't yearn for what I thought I wanted a few years ago because when I was a kid I had no idea of anything like yachts, and the Caribbean, or private planes.”
Cowell explained: “I did start to kind of mix with some of those people for a couple of years. And I'm going to be honest, I hated it. I didn't like the people. I thought they were obnoxious, I thought they were snobby, I think a lot of those people thought they were better than other people because they had money - which is ridiculous when you think about it.”
English (US) ·