But according to a new book by financial writer Thierry Debels, Verhulst has made a total of €6.6 million from record sales, more than brothers Koen and Kris Wauters of Clouseau, crooner Helmut Lotti or Dani Klein of Vaya Con Dios. Verhulst owes it all to Samson, whose voice until 2005 was the work of Danny Verbiest (himself coming in at Number Seven in the rankings).

Verhulst, born in the Berchem municipality of Antwerp in 1968, made his entry into television with the public broadcaster, then known as the BRT, at the age of only 19. Two years later he paired up with Samson for children's shows around Christmas, and the double act was so successful they got their own series. It's been running ever since, now in repeats, allowing Verhulst to maintain his fresh-faced look.

The record sales are all songs recorded by Samson and Gert, clips for which received extremely generous airtime on the BRT and then Ketnet.

Together with Verbiest and their producer Hans Bourlon, Verhulst set up Studio 100 in 1996, and it's been one of the most successful Flemish growth businesses ever since. It began by producing original children's programmes like Kabouter Plop, Piet Piraat and Mega Mindy, later diversifying into girl pop group K3, Plopsaland theme parks in Flanders, Germany and France, film spin-offs of their most popular brands, musical theatre and the acquisition of classic children's productions like Pipi Longstocking. Verhulst and Bourlon were named Managers of the Year by Trends magazine in 2008, and the company was named Entrepreneur of the Year in 2009.

"It's a constant struggle to maintain my credibility as a business leader while still being a pleasant personality," he explained in an interview. "But kids have never had a problem with that. In fact, Gert is the most boring character in the series. It's the other characters who bring it to life".

Koen Wauters came second in the richest singer list with €5 million, with Helmut Lotti third on €3.8 million.

www.studio100.be