SINCE shooting to fame on Pop Idol, X Factor then Britain’s Got Talent, Simon Cowell has become rich and powerful beyond his wildest dreams.
But the music mogul, who made millions launching the careers of , and , insists he has no desire to become a billionaire.
Simon, 65, claims that all the super-rich he knows are “obnoxious, snobby and unhappy”; and insists he has nowhere near the £500million he is estimated to be worth.
Although he doesn’t deny being incredibly wealthy, he maintains is not his biggest driver, and with fiancée , 47, and by his side, he is happy with his lot.
Simon said: “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 and the Caribbean or private planes.
“So when the first time — I guess in my early forties, it must have been — I came across this world and saw it and I’m like, ‘What? That is your own boat?’ It was like a cruise ship.
“So there was a point where maybe I felt I haven’t done as well [as I thought], maybe that’s what I want.
“And I did start to mix with some of those people for a couple of years.
“And I’m going to be honest with you, I hated it.
“I didn’t like the people.
“I thought they were obnoxious, I thought they were snobby.
“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.”;
‘Talking to people you don’t know is torture’
Talking on the How To Fail podcast, Simon didn’t name any names when discussing the “billionaire boys’ club”; though he has been pictured with
Although Simon is hardly slumming it, he says he had a conversation with Lauren — his partner of 12 years — to confirm his true feelings about living such a jet-set lifestyle.
He recalls: “I remember saying to Lauren, ‘Do we actually know anyone who’s rich — I mean super-rich — and happy?’.
“She went, ‘no’, and I went, ‘nor me’.
“So we’re fine, we’re doing alright.
“We don’t need any more.”;
Asked if reports of a £500million fortune are accurate, Simon replied: “Oh God, it’s not that.
“I’m not even close to that.
“I’ve made a bit of money, yes, but not that much, no.”;
And disdain for the super-rich isn’t Simon’s only gripe.
am very shy. I can’t go to a pre-party — it’s my worst thing in the world making small talk with people I don’t know.
Simon Cowell
Indeed, as well as hopeless singers to whom he’s given brutal feedback over the years, the talent show judge also hates “small talk”; because he’s “socially inept”;.
He says being in a room full of people he doesn’t know and having to talk to them is “torture”;, and admits he often lets social butterfly partner Lauren do the talking for him.
Simon explains: “I am very shy.
“I can’t go to a pre-party — it’s my worst thing in the world making small talk with people I don’t know.
“If we have a common subject, I’m pretty good, but years ago if I had to go to a party, particularly if we had to stand up with a drink, with horrible food, and just talk to people you don’t know — it’s torture.
“So once I was known by people it was kind of good because it broke the ice with people you meet.
“Instantly they know you, you’re talking about something I like, which is the shows, the artist, whatever, which helped me with my shyness.”;
On Lauren’s influence and how his social anxiety sparked him to walk out of one A-list birthday bash, he added: “Lauren is brilliant in these positions.
“I’m hopeless.
“ had a birthday party, and I’m like, how do I get out of it?
“I said to Lauren, ‘ok, I’ll go, but we have to time it,’ because there’ll be a horrible stand-up pre-drinks — I can’t do that.
“But at the same time, Joan is a diva and if you’re late she’ll kill me.
“So I’m trying to balance everything.
“I thought we’d timed it well. We didn’t.
“For 45 minutes I had to talk to people and I was dying inside.
“I was so stressed by the time I got to the table.
“I left after 30 minutes because I couldn’t deal with it.”;
Simon feels far more comfortable in front of the camera, which he has been doing successfully since becoming a judge on ITV talent show.
He took the job, having previously had no plans to become a TV star, solely to find an act his record label could make millions from.
He had realised he made a rare mistake turning down a judging role on a previous talent show, Popstars, which discovered Hear’Say — who Simon claims were “awful”;.
After Pop Idol, he created telly juggernauts and , plus enjoyed success as a judge on American Idol.
The only major blot on his TV copybook, he admits, is the US X Factor, which flopped after failing to hit his target of “20million viewers”;, which he now regrets aiming for.
, which he continues to adore, as the current 18th series has reached the semi-finals stage.
But it wasn’t always plain sailing, as Simon claims he has “clashed”; with producers over acts who have appeared on the ITV1 show — and battled against a belief the show’s winner was “not important”;.
He explains: “I used to get frustrated when I kept having to remind people why we did this in the first place, which is: what is more important? The show or the end result?
“For me, it’s the end result.
“You want someone at the end of your show to do well, otherwise it would be pointless — seriously pointless.
“There were certain producers who thought the show was more important than what I cared about and so there would be clashes, but now I think we’re in a really good place.
“I think we found that place.
“We have some crazy acts that come on, but they know they’re crazy in a good way.
“So we’re all in on it together.
“At the same time, producers will book someone who they think is brilliant, but I don’t and we just disagree.”;
And Simon says he still gets a thrill from steering a big Saturday night TV hit after all these years.
‘I’m going to be a year younger on my birthday’
He said: “When it’s a live show and I’m sitting in my dressing room and there’s a live TV monitor and I can see the theatre and the studio, I still pinch myself because I can get on the phone and say to the director, ‘Can you make it go green?’ And it will go green in that second. I’m like, ‘brilliant.’ I still get a big kick out of that.”;
I always say to everyone I work with, ‘Don’t ever complain about people asking for photographs or moan about privacy because it you want privacy, be an accountant.
Simon Cowell
Fame has changed significantly during Simon’s time in showbiz, mainly thanks to social media.
But the former record company chief reckons he, and all celebrities, should never take fans or viewers for granted, revealing he has “never refused a selfie request, autograph or handshake.”;
He says: “I always say to everyone I work with, ‘Don’t ever complain about people asking for photographs or moan about privacy because it you want privacy, be an accountant.
“If you want to be well-known, that’s what comes with it.’
“The public are the people who pay your wages, so you have to be nice to them.
“Simple as that.”;
Another big reason why Simon has a zest for life is that he is fitter than ever after breaking his back in an electric bike accident in 2020.
He has also cured his battle with , thanks to specialist “migraine glasses”; which let him get back to at night as they “make me dream”;.
And he now wants to turn back the clock, by ageing backwards.
Simon explains: “I’ve decided on my birthday this year, I’m going to be a year younger.
“I really am and I tell you why — I am honestly fitter this year than last year.
“So instead of being older, I’m actually going to say I’m younger. And I’m not kidding.
“This whole notion that ‘Sixties is the end’. It’s not.
“It’s like 80 is the new 60.
“I really do believe that.
“Forty is the new 20.”;
-  The Britain’s Got Talent Live semi-finals continue on ITV1 on Saturday at 7pm and on ITVX.
