The talent shows brought Simon a different kind of audience, and his unique, often brutally honest approach has proven rather popular.

Maybe that’s one of the reasons why he’s made so much money, and we’re talking a lot of money. In fact, Simon Cowell’s been paid millions and millions of dollars over the years, with new reports highlighting just how much he made per season of American Idol.

Simon Cowell got his own job in music after he dropped out of school. His father was able to hire him as an assistant at record label EMI, where his responsibilities were to find new talent and develop artists.

As he moved up the ladder at EMI, he went on to start two music labels of his own, though these didn’t achieve any level of success.

He moved back home to live with his parents; something that could’ve broken anyone. For Simon Cowell, though, it was a “relief”.

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“Everything went – my house, my Porsche, all the things I thought were important,” he explained. “I had nice food every night at home. I was quite happy, really.”

Cowell started over and founded S Records Label, to which he signed boybands like 5ive and Westlife. He also signed artist Jerome, who recorded the Righteous Brothers’ hit Unchained Melody in 1995. It turned out to be a top-selling single.

However, it was through talent shows that Simon himself would rise to fame.

“My talent is for creating things the public will like,” he explained. “I’m interested only in making money, for myself, and the people I work for. I mean, that’s absolutely the only criterion I attach.”