Simon Cowell is said to earn $250,000 an hour despite the fact he has the ‘attention span of a gnat’.

The 50-year-old music mogul can’t concentrate on anything for too long, but is a great businessman, according to one of his oldest friends.

Mark Hoffman, 36, a property developer who runs Commercial Property Investments with Simon’s brother Nicholas, told UK newspaper the Daily Star: “I’ve known him since before his TV days. Simon is fabulous. He doesn’t pretend to be an expert in things that he’s not.

“He has the attention span of a gnat, so trying to get him to make any decisions can be quite difficult. Simon has got very good advisers around him and they are very protective of him.

“He is a stickler for detail. I guess that’s the mark of a good businessman.”