Simon Cowell is highest-paid man on US prime time TV

In the television world, it is sometimes baffling how celebrities who display what some might consider as deplorable traits are so generously compensated.

This couldn’t be truer than in the case of Simon Cowell, who has been named the highest-paid man on American prime-time television, after raking in $75 million (£45 million) in just 12 months, according to Forbes Magazine.

In the Forbe’s list of Prime Time’s Top-Earning men, Cowell even pushed business magnate Donald Trump,who is also the host of the American version of The Apprentice, into second place.

Cowell has earned his fortune in a way few of us can hope to do. Not only, can he be ‘credited’ for the singing careers of acts such as Zig and Zag, and Robson and Jerome, he is also responsible for insulting his fellow presenters on the X Factor, as well as making vocally-challenged contestants cry.

Lacey Rose at Forbes Magazine said: “While his wallet is no doubt thicker than most, Cowell’s unscripted and diverse resume is a recurring theme on this year’s list of Prime Time’s Top-Earning men. In addition to starring roles on broadcast television, many of them in the reality genre, these boldface names have found ways to pad their resumes and their bank accounts with film roles, production projects, merchandise efforts and endorsement deals.”

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