The Sunday Times of London won’t publish its Rich List 2010 until Sunday, but names are beginning to leak out, including Simon Cowell and Warner Music Group chairman-CEO Edgar Bronfman.
Reuters says Cowell increased his personal fortune by £45 million ($69 million) in the past year, according to the list.
Cowell, who is a judge on both "The X Factor" and "American Idol," earned more than half of his £165 million fortune from TV work alone in the past two years.
Cheryl Cole, Cowell’s fellow "X Factor" judge, saw her personal wealth increase 150 percent to £10 million.
Bronfman, who moved from New York to London last year, tops the 2010 Sunday Times British Music Millionaires chart with a fortune of £1.64 billion ($2.5 billion), according to Billboard. He rainks No. 25 overall in the 2010 list of the 1,000 richest people in Britain.
At No. 3: musical theater composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, down from No. 2 in 2009 as his fortune dipped from £750 million ($1.15 billion) to £700 million ($1.07 billion).
London theater impresario Cameron Mackintosh remains unchanged at No. 4.
In fifth place was Paul McCartney, who despite increasing his wealth by 8% to £475 million ($727.3 million) slipped from No. 3.
The list, which profiles the 1,000 richest people and families in Britain, is based on identifiable wealth, such as land, property and significant shares in publicly quoted companies; it does not count wealth held in bank accounts. It includes anyone born in Britain, based in Britain or with a major share of their wealth in Britain.
