SIMON COWELL EARNT $75 MILLION LAST YEAR

Pop mogul Simon Cowell earned an astonishing $75 million USD in 2008 alone. The music mogul/producer/promoter topped the list of Prime Time TV’s Top Earning Men as compiled by the respected U.S. publication Forbes Magazine – which details the world’s richest celebrities. He beat such respected celebrities as Donald Trump and Ryan Seacrest to top the list, which is published every year.

Cowell, 50, rose to prominence in the UK due to a series of reality TV music programs, beginning with Pop Idol and including The X-Factor, as well as American Idol in the United States. These were a series of programs showcasing the singing talent of contestants who covered well known songs. Audience votes and judges decisions would decide the winner, whom Cowell would regularly manage.

Cowell took his Pop Idol franchise across the shore to America with the show American Idol where he serves on the panel of judges, the show is still running in the U.S., and in the UK he can most recently be seen as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent as well as the X-Factor.

It is thought that Cowell’s net worth is at the highest it has been in his career so far. This is the highest Cowell has ever been on Forbes’ list; the other two entries to make up the top five were ‘Two And A Half Men’ actor Charlie Sheen who made $21 million and Hollywood actor Steve Carrell.