SRK tops Forbes India celebrity list

Beats peers Salman Khan, Aamir Khan with Rs 257.5 crore in earnings; cricketers M S Dhoni, Virat Kohli figure in the top 10

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Shah Rukh Khan (SRK) is back at No 1 on the 2015 Forbes India Celebrity 100 list after having slipped to No 3 last year. Fifty-year-old Khan wrested the numero uno position from Salman Khan, who dropped to the second spot this year. Amitabh Bachchan slipped to No 3 from No 2 last year. Cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni maintained his rank at No 4, while Virat Kohli lost a spot to end up at number six on the list.

SRK’s earnings are estimated to be Rs 257.5 crore, the highest ever any celebrity has made in the four-year history of the Forbes India Celebrity 100 list. His earnings make up for nine per cent of the total wealth of the top 100 celebrities this year, which is Rs 2,819 crore.

Aamir Khan broke into the top five slot for the first time due to the superhit movie PK and revenues from brand endorsements, which helped him rake in an estimated Rs 104 crore, his highest in the past four years. It is an increase of 145 per cent to the amount he earned in 2012.

The Forbes celeb list is arrived at by measuring money (earnings estimates) and fame. The list includes movie actors, television stars, sportspersons, authors, film directors, music directors, singers and stand-up comedians. Their gross pre-tax earnings are combined with their fame scores to arrive at the Forbes India Celebrity 100 List.

The list makes use of data from agencies such as LexisNexis, TAM-Eikona, Exceed Entertainment, Galatta magazine, IOS Sports & Entertainment, and GroupM ESP for information on celeb endorsements as well on print and TV exposure.

Khan’s rise to the top position is on the back of his earnings; on the fame ranking, he figures at No 4. Bachchan claimed top honours on that list with 18 million followers on Twitter, the highest-ever for any celebrity on the list.

While Deepika Padukone is the only female celebrity in the top 10, Priyanka Chopra features at number 13, followed by Kareena Kapoor Khan at 17th and Katrina Kaif at 18th spots.

A total of 24 female celebrities found their way to the top 100 list and accounted for 17.2 per cent of the total earnings.

The list has also witnessed a few who jumped ranks and moved up considerably higher in just one year. The top three rank gainers are Dhanush who moved up 41 ranks to land at No 37, Rohit Sharma and Allu Arjun (both gained 38 ranks) to reach No 12 and No 42, respectively.


This year’s list has 14 debutants. Among them is cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin, who comes in straight at No 31. Meanwhile, filmmaker S S Rajamouli and actor Prabhas made it to the list thanks to the super hit film Baahubali.

This year, 19 celebs lost their ranks. Among these lot are Sanjay Leela Bhansali, A R Murugadoss and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy.