Who is 2017 X-Factor contestant Danny Lambo?
HOTELIER Danny Lambo gained national attention when he appeared as a contestant on series 14 of The X Factor in 2017.
On the show, he spoke about his love of a particular Italian car brand, as well as his previous attempts to be successful in the industry. But who is he, and how did he make his money?
Who is Danny Lambo?
The cash-flashing Lambo says he is part of a new generation of self-made millionaires ditching modesty in favour of flaunting their riches.
The Croydon-born entrepreneur left school with "no qualifications" and was told by his headmaster he would make nothing of his life.
But he now brags he has proven everybody wrong.
He says: “Both my parents were teachers so their salaries weren’t the best. We had a reasonable house.
"It wasn’t anything grand and my father couldn’t afford to give me a Lamborghini like I could give my son.”
Today his three hotels and property empire allow him to live a luxury lifestyle jetting around the world, buying cars from rappers such as 50 Cent, and treating his many female friends to the finer things in life.
Those include his tipples of choice — a £6,000 rare cognac, £250 bottles of Pol Roger Winston Churchill champagne, or a £1,500 1958 Chateau Haut-Brion
He said: "You have the opportunity to do what you want, when you want. If you've got the balls, nothing can stop you."
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What is Danny Lambo's net worth?
He is believed to be worth in excess of £30million.
This has been through income from his hotel business in London.
How did Danny Lambo make his money?
Danny - real surname is Karne - "earned" the name Lambo because of his passion for 200mph Italian Lamborghini supercars.
These include a purple Diablo which he claims has the loudest exhaust in Britain.
The West London-based tycoon admits his cars are so loud he has to use a megaphone to attract the attention of passing beauties.
He auditioned for The X Factor in September 2017 but unfortunately for him, he didn't make the cut.
Danny - whose son lives with his ex in Moscow - insists he knows the value of money following his relatively normal upbringing.
The self-confessed daydreamer left school aged 16 without any qualifications.
When he was discovered singing in a London bar, little did he know that it would eventually lead to the career which would make his fortune.
Danny and his friends were invited to tour the Far East.
Over the next four years, Danny toured girls' schools and other venues in Asia, Australia and New Zealand, living out of a suitcase in hotels.
When the band split, Danny carried on with his life on the road.
Danny, who was lead singer in the group Jealous, said: "The hotel kind of became my world outside of the music.
"For 21 hours of the day we'd just be hanging out in the hotels. It was all I knew. My best mate would be the concierge and I'd be dating the chambermaids.
"So when I got out of the music industry when I was 21, having sent every penny I'd saved back home, the only thing I knew how to do was run a hotel."
On his return he bought a 30-room B&B in Paddington and with the help of his interior-designer older sister converted it into The Pavilion hotel.
Within months it became an A-list celebrity hotspot with guests including Morrissey, Duran Duran, Pete Doherty, Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss.
The hotel later became known as The Pavilion Fashion Rock 'n' Roll Hotel due to its celebrity clientele.
This success allowed Danny to buy more hotels and invest in property.
He said: "I'm not going to hide my wealth, I don't know why I should. I've worked hard for this. I wasn't born with a silver shoe, so why not flash it?"
Who has Danny Lambo dated?
Danny admits he often questions whether women are genuinely interested in him or his money.
But he reckons he has developed a sixth sense for spotting gold diggers.
He adds: “I’ve got a Mini Cooper too. If I’m serious about a girl, on the first date I’ll take her out in that and if she doesn’t show up for the second date, she’s made a big mistake.
“Of course it is nice to know girls like you for who you are, not just because of what you have.
"But I dated a billionaire once and she turned out to be even more crazy than the gold diggers I’ve met.
"You can’t win either way.”
He claims to have dated models and billionaires during his early days at a hotel owner.