Simon Cowell‘s Syco Entertainment music and television company earned £71 million ($105 million) in the last financial year, according to accounts filed at Companies House.
The London-based business was founded in 2002 and comprises Syco Television, Syco Film and record label imprint Syco Music. Its television assets include global franchises The X Factor and Got Talent, while Syco Music’s roster includes One Direction, Susan Boyle, Little Mix, Il Divo and Ella Henderson, among others.
Of Syco’s £71 million earnings, a £51 million ($77 million) dividend was paid to Sony Music Entertainment Ltd, which owns 50% of the company. A series of further dividends totalling £29 million ($44 million) were paid to Millforth Limited, which is majority owned by Cowell with retail magnate Sir Philip Green owning a 20% share, according to reports.
The Daily Mail reports that Cowell’s share of the profits add up to an estimated £24 million ($36 million), including £900,000 ($1.4 million) pay.
The 55-year-old is believed to have built up a £300 million ($455 million) fortune on the back of globally successful TV formats like X Factor and Got Talent, which is the biggest-selling television format in the world with local versions of the show sold to 58 territories.
Meanwhile, The X Factor is now watched by more than half a billion people with local versions commissioned in 45 countries, according to Syco Entertainment. Artists discovered by The X Factor format have collectively sold more than 150 million records worldwide, including 130 number ones and 250 top 10 records, the company claims. By some distance, it’s most successful discovery is One Direction, who were formed on the U.K. version of X Factor and made chart history last fall by becoming the first group to have their first four albums debut at number one on the Billboard 200.
[Billboard]