photo:mid-day.com
In some surprising news, Bollywood’s biggest star topped anything Hollywood has to offer as the latest figures show that Shah Rukh Khan earned $48 million dollars last year alone on his way to a personal net worth estimated at $600 million. SRK earned this mostly from endorsement deals as King Khan earned $5 million for last year’s hit ‘Chennai Express’.
Tom Cruise, in comparison, comes in at an almost paltry by comparison $400 million. As for others on the list hailing from Bollywood, Salman Khan is second with an estimated $200 million and Amir Khan is not far behind with $180 million.
Bollywood finds itself in good company in the global wealth race as Shah Rukh Khan is topped only by comedian Jerry Seinfeld’s $820 million fortune and tied by Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor’s $600 million fortune.
Others on the list include Mel Gibson at $425 million, Jack Nicholson at $400 million, Johnny Depp at $350 million, Keanu Reeves at $350 million, and Tom Hanks at $350 million.
How does King Khan feel about being more than halfway to a billion dollars in a country where 11.8% of the population falls below the international poverty level of $1.25 of income daily? Shah Rukh says he overcame humble beginnings to become the financial behemoth he is today and was accused of borrowing from author J.K. Rowling when he told an audience “Let me tell you, poverty is not an ennobling experience at all. Poverty entails fear and stress and sometimes, depression. I’ve seen my parents go through it many times — it means a thousand petty humiliations and hardships.”
Well, we’re sure Shah Rukh has made sure that neither he nor his family will ever experience those hardships again with 600 million reasons why! Hooray for Bollywood?!?
