Bollywood celebrities are among the richest in the world. They make enough money to lead a luxurious life for ages to come.
Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Hrithik Roshan, Karan Johar and many other Bollywood celebrities are often listed among the richest entertainers in the world.
But there is someone, who enjoys a net worth of US$1.55 billion ($2 billion), that surpasses all of them.
According to Forbes, filmmaker and entrepreneur Ronnie Screwvala is Bollywood’s sole billionaire.
Next to him on the Bollywood rich list is music company T-Series’ Bhushan Kumar, whose net worth is just under a billion.
According to the Hurun Rich List, the combined net worth of Bhushan’s family is US$1.2 billion, but there are other stakeholders in that wealth too.
Director and producer Aditya Chopra and actor Shah Rukh follow – each worth over US$850 million.
Juhi Chawla, who is India’s richest actress with a net worth of US$550 million, rounds up the top five.
Hindi films earned a staggering Rs13,161 crore ($2 billion) worldwide last year, including US$600 million overseas.
This has made the actors rich and the producers even richer, including Screwvala, who is a Parsi with a surname that reflects the trade of his family – a naming convention commonly found among certain communities in Gujarat and Maharashtra.
The 68-year-old, though, had a humble beginning, with his first business being a toothbrush manufacturing unit that he set up in the 1970s, reported the Hindustan Times.
His family was middle class. Screwvala’s father, who worked in the film distribution industry, gave him a love of media and entertainment at a young age. Growing up with limited resources, Screwvala was raised to value perseverance and hard work.
Starting out as a businessman, he entered the TV industry during the cable TV boom in India in the early 1980s.
In 1990, he used a capital of Rs37,000 to set up UTV. Initially a TV production house, it became a major movie producer.
UTV produced popular TV shows such as Shanti and Sea Hawks, before moving to film production with titles like Swades, Jodhaa Akbar, Fashion, Barfi and Chennai Express.
In 2012, Screwvala sold his share of the company to Disney for a billion dollars, in one of the biggest deals in Indian cinema history.
He eventually founded RSVP Movies, a production house behind films such as Uri and Kedarnath, among others.
In recent times, it has produced films such as Sam Bahadur, Love Sitara, The Immortal Ashwatthama and Captain India.
Screwvala’s entrepreneurial journey did not stop even after his films made massive money. He is also the co-founder of India’s largest online education company upGrad.
Under Screwvala’s leadership, upGrad adopted an innovative approach to online education, offering industry-relevant courses in collaboration with top universities and industry experts.
The platform’s focus on personalised learning, mentorship and hands-on projects has set it apart in India’s competitive edtech landscape.
“Generally, the difference between success and failure is about staying the course,” Screwvala has said.
“Dreaming with your eyes open means being alert to challenges but refusing to let them stop you. You don’t have to be the fastest wildebeest to survive. You just never want to be the slowest.”
