The five members of One Direction are said to have raked in nearly £100 million since they formed two years ago.

The popular boyband were pieced together from solo contestants on the X Factor in 2010 before finishing third in the competition.

They have gone on to achieve global success since and a new edition of Tom Bower's Simon Cowell biography claims that they have made £100 million between them so far. He 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."

Bower continues: "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 £100 million ($162 million). Naturally, Sony and Syco raked in much more."