Simon Cowell, 65, complains ‘I always worry about money’ as he makes rare financial admission
Simon Cowell, 65, has said he always worries about money while making a rare financial claim.
Opening up about his finances, the Britain’s Got Talent (BGT) judge said he doesn’t make “anywhere as much money” as most people think, adding “I always worry about money”.
Cowell shared the heartfelt confession about his worries, which were worsened during the Coronavirus pandemic, where he said he pushed out his projects early after fears they would be cancelled.
Speaking on the How To Fail podcast, he stated: “I always worry about money because I think you have to in a way. You think about Covid as an example.
“I remember reading it for the first time on a website, and I don’t read a lot of stuff on social media, but I’d heard about it, so I was curious.”
“Second day, the story got bigger to a point where I actually phoned my partner and I said ‘I don’t like the look of this, I have a horrible feeling it’s going to be like that movie Contagion, and I think we need to get all of our shows into production around the world quicker this year.’ And we did.”
He continued by saying he believes nothing is “safe any longer”, and that the “world is precarious”.
Commenting on reports that he’s worth £500 million, he said: “’Oh God, it’s not that. I’m not even close to that. I’m being serious. I’m not.”
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“I’ve made a lot, I’m not going to lie. I’ve made a bit of money, yes, but not that much, no.”
Cowell admitted he’s even had to ask friends for a loan to work on a project because he didn’t have enough money, adding that all 20 people he asked said yes.
However, the father-of-one still classifies himself as rich, saying: “I’ve definitely got enough. I don’t need any more. I don’t yearn for what I thought I wanted a few years ago because when I was a kid I had no idea of anything like yachts, and the Caribbean, or private planes.”
He said he started to mix with the ultra-wealthy, and admitted he thought they were “obnoxious” and “snobby”.
He added: “I think a lot of those people thought they were better than other people because they had money – which is ridiculous when you think about it.”
Cowell further claimed that nobody he knows who is “super rich” is actually happy.
He downsized his company SyCo to “focus on family” and said he doesn’t feel the need to make as much money anymore.
Although BGT continues to be a huge hit, drawing around five million viewers per episode, Cowell has scaled back some of his other ventures.
The X Factor aired for 14 years, from 2004 to 2018, but Cowell chose to end the iconic series as ratings declined and he felt that platforms like YouTube were making traditional talent shows less relevant.
The TV star has slowly been stepping back from the spotlight, after his Netflix series The Midas Touch, was recently scrapped.
He also suffered two E-bike accidents- one in 2020 and the other in 2022- leading him to take a step back.