The Drag Me Down hitmakers shot to fame after being mentored by music mogul Simon Cowell on The X Factor in 2010.

“Cynics have always described 1D (One Direction) as Simon Cowell’s cash cow and, seeing these results, it’s not hard to see why. There’s no question bosses work the lads hard, but the financial rewards are astonishing,” a source said.

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“The band is very well paid, so they can hardly complain. They are easily Syco’s (a record label) biggest success story,” the source added.

Zayn Malik

One Direction made an overall profit of 35 million pounds with their company 1D Media last year. Although Zayn Malik abandoned bandmates Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson in favour of a solo career earlier this year, he too gets an equal amount having only quit the band in March.

However, despite the impressive earnings, the band has decided to go on a break next year after releasing five albums and embarking on four tours in just five years.