One Direction made £100 million in the two years

Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik all entered the competition as solo singers but were formed into a group by the judging panel and despite coming third in the show, they have gone on to make the huge amount of money for themselves and an estimated £200 million for their management.

In a new chapter in Tom Bower`s biography of Simon Cowell, `Sweet Revenge`, the author writes: "One Direction were Cowell`s new Westlife - a revival of his mastery of the music business. Nothing had been left to chance by Sony Music, with the band`s hit album `Up All Night` selling over five million copies.

"The songs, publishing, discs, DVDs, merchandising and endorsements brought in huge profits, with the five members of the group together estimated to have earned nearly £100million. Naturally, Sony and Syco raked in much more."

Recently the band signed a deal with Pepsi which is thought to be worth millions but they have also endorsed dolls, books, calendars and are set to embark on a huge world tour next year which will see their earnings increase even more.

sections: Celebrities