2019 Celebrity 100 - Forbes India Magazine

Virat Kohli topples Salman Khan for top spot on 2019 Celebrity 100 list

For the first time, a sportsperson has unseated Bollywood biggies for pole position; Salman Khan drops to no 3 as Akshay Kumar climbs to second place

BY SALIL PANCHAL, Forbes India Staff

4 min read

PUBLISHED: Dec 19, 2019 07:02:21 AM IST

UPDATED: Dec 19, 2019 07:54:31 AM IST

In 2018, the domination of the Khans of Bollywood was being challenged–at least in terms of annual earnings–by a sportsman: The hugely popular and ever consistent cricketer Virat Kohli.

Kohli’s march continues this year as, for the first time in eight years since the launch of the Forbes India Celebrity 100 List, he has replaced actors at the pole position. The 31-year-old is now perched right at the top on the back of ₹252.72 crore he earned between October 1, 2018, and September 30, 2019 (our period under consideration). This was through match fees, the BCCI central contract, brand endorsements and an eight-figure fee for every sponsored Instagram post.

Actor Akshay Kumar (₹293.25 crore) climbs up a spot to No 2 while Salman Khan, who ruled at the top since 2016, slips to No 3.

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It is also for the first time that two women, Deepika Padukone and Alia Bhatt, are part of the Top 10. Besides, nearly a third of the list are women, backed by earnings through lucrative brand endorsements and a high fame quotient—actors like Disha Patani, Kriti Sanon and Sara Ali Khan have debuted on the list, thanks to endorsements and fame despite not having a large volume of work through our time period.

Overall too, this year’s 100 celebrities have earned 22 percent more than last year’s, with their revenues jumping to ₹3,842.94 from ₹3,140.25 crore in 2018. Shah Rukh Khan, who had just one release, an underwhelming Zero in 2018, climbed back into the top 10, despite earning 27 percent less than last year, with ₹124.38 crore.

Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar holds a unique distinction of featuring in the top 10 every year despite retiring from the game in 2013. This year, his earnings, excluding returns on investments, stood at nearly ₹77 crore. Brand Tendulkar is indeed intact and going strong.

As seen for a few years now, box-office ticket sales alone are not impacting the earnings of entertainment celebrities. The sale of satellite TV rights, music rights, home video and digital streaming by producers, several of whom are top actors, means they will still take a sizeable amount home even if the movie struggles at the theatres.

The impact of alternative media and platforms such as Amazon Prime, Netflix, Star India’s Hotstar, Viacom 18’s Voot and Zee5 have facilitated the rise of over-the-top (OTT) actors. This has seen the fortunes of Kalki Koechlin (Made in Heaven, Sacred Games) and Saif Ali Khan (Sacred Games) gain substantially.

We also introduce celebrity chefs, such as Ranveer Brar and Vikas Khanna, in our top 100 list, backed by their TV shows and brand endorsements.

In the next few pages, read our in-depth profiles, trend stories and data analysis to get a glimpse into the making of the stars and the brands.

The 2019 Celeb 100 List compiled by Divya J Shekhar, Naandika Tripathi, Naini Thaker, Pankti Mehta Kadakia, Pranit Sarda, Salil Panchal and Varsha Meghani

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