One Direction came in third place behind runner-up Rebecca Ferguson and winner Matt Cardle in the 2010 series of the
X Factor.
But they have more than eclipsed their pop rivals in the two years since and according to reports the five lads - Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson - have made a whopping £100million since being in the spotlight.
That’s apparently on top of the estimated £200million they’ve earned for
X Factor boss Simon Cowell and record bosses at Sony.
The boy’s vast gains were let slip in the latest chapter of Simon Cowell’s unauthorised biography from Tom Bower, the man who also revealed
Dannii Minogue and Simon’s secret affair.
The controversial biographer explains: “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.”
Their astounding global success has made them one of Britain’s most financially successful pop groups ever, with devoted legions of fans keen to buy all 1D merchandise and endorsed products.
The One Thing singers, who are between the ages of 18 and 20, have put their names to Nokia phones, Pokemon games and Hasbro toys.
They were also revealed earlier this month as the global face of Pepsi - a deal worth a reported cool £11million.
And it doesn’t look like the popularity of the cheeky chappies is set to wane anytime soon, as this year’s world tour was such a triumph that they’ve signed up for a mammoth 101-date 2013 follow-up tour.
The hardest working lads in showbiz have already sold out all of their arena shows, which will see them perform across Europe, North and Central America and Australasia.
You can’t say they haven’t earned their success!
