Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has unseated his actor-friend Shah Rukh Khan to become the top earning celebrity of 2016 in the Forbes India Celebrity 100 List with an estimated income of Rs 270.33 crore.
The other leading names in the list include skipper Virat Kohli, actor Akshay Kumar and M S Dhoni chronologically.
However, the 50-year-old Salman is ranked at No 2 in terms of fame, which is topped by ace cricketer Kohli.
In the fifth rich 100 celeb list released by Forbes India, the ranking is based on two parameters: estimates of entertainment-related earnings and estimates of fame during the period October 2015 to September 2016.
The magazine attributed the rise of Salman to his box office hits– the Sooraj Barjatya-directed ‘Prem Ratan Dhan Payo’ in late 2015 and then ‘Sultan’ in 2016.
The magazine further said Salman’s estimated total earnings constitutes 9.84 per cent of the total wealth of the top 100 celebs at Rs 2,745 crore for the year.
SRK at No 2, has reportedly earned Rs 221.75 crore and also comes at No 3 in terms of fame. He lost his perch at the top in what was a mixed year for him both in terms of box office success and brands endorsed.
When it comes to fame ranking, Test cricket captain Virat Kohli is the most popular celebrity and this has improved his earnings rank to No 3 with a reported Rs 134.44 crore earnings. In 2015, Kohli was ranked No 7.
With an estimated earnings of Rs 203.03 crore and the fame rank of 11, Akshay Kumar has also moved up to No 4 on the list, driven by the successes of his flicks ‘Airlift’, ‘Rustom’ and ‘Housefull 3’, apart from growing endorsements.
Though Mahendra Singh Dhoni with an estimated earnings of Rs 122.48 crore and fame ranking of four, retired from Test cricket in December 2014, his fame quotient has shot up this year because of the biopic on him, fetching him the fifth position overall in this year’s list.
The magazine chief executvie Joy Chakraborthy said the fifth list is based on the evaluaton of the talent across the entire entertainment world including idols from Bollywood to sports world thereby creating a truly holistic list.
Magazine Editor Sourav Majumdar said, “movies and sports are very big businesses and this year’s list is also ample evidence of the enormous influence of Bollywood and cricket in the country.”
