Simon Cowell -- talent show villain

LONDON (Reuters) - Simon Cowell made his fortune through music, television and humiliation.

A successful record producer by the time "Pop Idol" came along six years ago, he hit real pay dirt by playing the role of "Mr Nasty" in a series of TV talent shows on both sides of the Atlantic.

His catchphrase: "I don't mean to be rude, but ..." later became the title of his 2004 autobiography.

The blunt style often reduced contestants to tears but TV audiences, particularly in America, loved it.

Their fascination with the "nasty Brit" has helped him buy a 10-million pound compound in Beverly Hills, complete with Olympic-sized swimming pool and waterfall.

In London, he lives in a seven-million pound former ambassadorial residence in Holland Park and has other houses in Dubai and Marbella.

Cowell, 47, was born in Brighton and dropped out of school at 15, landing his first job as a mail room worker at recording giant EMI where his father worked.

He rose through the music producing ranks with his father's help and eventually set up his own music label "Fanfare," along with a production company Syco.

The ascent was not all plain sailing. Fanfare's parent company folded when Cowell was 30, wiping him out financially and forcing him to live back at his parents' house for a while.

"It was the best thing that ever happened in my life," he later told an interviewer. "I learned the value of money: not to borrow money and not live beyond my means."

Cowell's big TV break, as a judge on "Pop Idol," came in 2001 -- although viewers with long memories might just have recalled him from 11 years earlier, as a humble contestant on the game show "Sale of the Century."

On that occasion, he dutifully answered general knowledge questions to collect a 20-pound set of kitchen utensils, but failed to win the star prize, a Fiat Uno car.

Pop Idol, and the U.S. version "American Idol" which started in 2002, marked the start of Cowell's climb up the rich list as TV bosses realized the shows' popularity was, to a great extent, due to his blunt manner with contestants.

In Britain, Cowell created "The X-Factor," which was so similar in concept to Pop Idol that he was sued by "Idol's" creator Simon Fuller. The case was settled out of court.

Cowell is currently executive producer of ITV's "Grease is the Word" which aims to find the stars of a forthcoming stage revival of the musical "Grease."