Simon Cowell He may be living the high life now, but it wasn’t always like that. It’s hard to believe, but at one time he didn’t have enough money for a single black T-shirt or pair of aviator shades. The media executive has opened up about being “broke” before achieving great success.
Simon Cowell hasn’t always been rolling in cash
Simon revealed that he once went bankrupt when he was 20. In a recent episode of how to fail Podcast, he explained that it all started when his first music venture failed. He said: “I started a label with about £4,000 or £5,000, and someone supported me financially. The person who supported me… had his company bought out by another company or something – I can’t remember – and that company closed down.”
The American Idol judge said the failure cost him dearly financially. He said: “I was deep in debt. I mean literally, I was bankrupt. I think I owed the bank about 250,000 pounds ($300 million). My house, I think, when I sold it, I still owed about 70 grand on the mortgage.”
He also revealed the moment when his situation really hit home. He said: “Luckily, my parents were living in London, and I had to go from my old house to their apartment, and I only had £5. I thought would £5 get me in a cab to my mum and dad? And that was it. That was the moment I thought, ‘God, I’m really broke.’
He said the failure taught him an important lesson: “I had success, but I had no money. At that moment everything became real, and I really learned a lesson, don’t borrow money. Just live with what you have and be happy with it.”
The TV producer has come a long way since then – his net worth is now said to be around $600 million.
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