Pop impresario Simon Cowell has gatecrashed the top 10 of the annual Sunday Times music rich list, with an estimated fortune of £200m.
The X Factor mogul has reached No 6, up from 11 last year. The continued success of the show, plus a US for it this year is credited with his rise.
Clive Calder, who co-founded Zomba Records and its subsidiary Jive, tops the list with £1.3bn, with Andrew Lloyd Webber in second place with £680m. The rest of the top 10 comprises Sir Cameron Mackintosh (£675m), Sir Paul McCartney (£495m), Simon Fuller (£375m), with the four remaining places after Cowell going to Sir Elton John (£195m), Sir Mick Jagger (£190m), Sting (£180m) and Keith Richards (£175m).
Rich List editor Ian Coxon gave Bloomberg this explanation for Cowell’s wealth: “Simon Cowell owns a share of the programmes he’s involved in as well as being in front of the camera. He’s busy behind the scenes and also responsible for many of the performers, so he’s taking pots of money in all directions.”
Recently, Cowell confirmed he would not take a weekly judging role on the UK X Factor, with Take That singer Gary Barlow hotly tipped to replace him. However, the judging panel for the British export remains uncertain, with Cheryl Cole’s future in question. Other performers who have been variously linked to the role include Rihanna, Katy Perry, Nicole Scherzinger, Nicki Minaj and Paula Abdul.
In the Times’ top 20 young music millionaires, woman dominate the top 5 positions.
Classical-crossover singer Katherine Jenkins tops the list with an estimated £13m. Cheryl Cole climbs two spots to second place, shared jointly with Leona Lewis and Katie Melua (all £12m), then Joss Stone (£9m). Charlotte Church (£8m) drops to sixth place, with Adele, Lily Allen, Natasha Bedingfield, Duffy and Amy Winehouse each in joint ninth place with £6m each.
