Last year he pulled in $72 million, $45 million from Idol, $15 million from Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor (he owns both and appears as a judge on each) and $12 million of profit from his record label, which features past Idol winners. (0)

So Cowell is trying to build his company, Syco, into an entertainment phenom to produce television programs, records and movies–without featuring Simon Cowell. (0)

Shows he produces but does not star in have been relative disappointments: In the 2006–07 television season his show American Inventor (geeks compete; the winner’s idea gets marketed) attracted an average 6.4 million viewers; Idol drew 31 million. (0)

Next, spend millions of dollars grooming the star-to-be, grab the right songs, outfits and clubs to play until the first album. (0)

On the way to the American Idol set from his Beverly Hills home he had to abandon his $1.6 million Bugatti on the street because he was running out of gas and couldn’t find one of two stations that sell racing fuel. (0)

But he found himself struggling to be heard at EMI, and in 1983, at age 23, he left to start his own record label, Fanfare. (0)

Her song “So Macho” peaked at number two on the U.K. charts in 1986 and was the year’s tenth-biggest-selling hit. (0)

Find talent at a small venue and sign the singer to a contract with an advance. (0)
Couldn’t you bypass radio and get more firepower out of acts that TV had already exposed? (0)

Mix a cranky Cowell with a terrible act and you get great TV. (0)

clipped from www.forbes.com

The World’s Most Powerful Celebrities

In Depth:

Simon Cowell

Heidi Klum

Shaquille O’Neal

Mark Wahlberg

Comedy Central

In Pictures:

The Celebrity 100

Video Profile:

The Future Billionaire: 50 Cent

The Pretty Face: Heidi Klum

The Reality Star: Lauren Conrad

The Dunkman: Shaquille O’Neal

The (Very Rich) Scribe: James Patterson

The Rock Entrepreneur: Sammy Hagar

The Celebrity 100

In Pictures: The World’s Most Powerful TV Personalities

Simon Cowell

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