Simon Cowell began his career in the music industry back in 1979, when he joined EMI Music Publishing. Having learnt what it took to make a hit record, he was quick to set up his own label, ‘Fanfare’ with partner Iain Burton.

Proving that he had an ear for a hit, BMG offered Simon the position of A&R Consultant in 1989. His time at BMG saw him pioneer some of the biggest selling hits in the industry, including bands 'Five' and 'Westlife'. He can also be credited with the emergence of TV hits from the likes of cartoon puppets 'Zig & Zag', 'The Teletubbies' and 'Robson & Jerome'.

Not only has Simon made records, he also breaks them: over a ten year period, via his company ‘S Records’, he has achieved sales of over 25 million albums, over 70 top 30 records, and 17 Number 1 singles. His band 'Westlife' has achieved an impressive 10 Number 1 hits alone.

Following the success of the 'Popstars' TV series, Simon joined forces with Simon Fuller to produce a ‘talent’ show where the public decides who wins. This show became the TV phenomenon, ‘Pop Idol’.

‘Pop Idol’ became compulsive viewing, attracting over 11 million viewers. The first ever winner, Will Young, picked up 4.6 million votes in a live final. Despite Simon favouring the runner-up, Gareth Gates Will Young’s debut release 'Evergreen'/'Anything Is Possible', broke the record for the biggest selling debut single ever - reaching 1.8 million sales. Thanks to Simon cropping up in the ‘production’ credits of most of his artists' records, he has cleverly managed to secure himself a share of the royalties.

Despite his successes, Simon has also turned down many bands that went on to find success elsewhere – most notably ‘The Spice Girls’ and ‘Take That’, simply because he thought Gary Barlow was too fat to be a star!

Simon has now become a celebrity in his own right, serving as a judge on both the UK and US version of the ‘Pop Idol’ show. He spends his time between the UK and America, and has set up his own production company, Syco TV, which co-produced the latest breed of talent show – ‘The X Factor'.

Life appears to very sweet indeed for Simon Cowell. The Sunday Times Rich List recently estimated that he earned £33.5m in one year alone, thanks to the global success of the 'Pop Idol' brand.