Daily Times

Deepika Padukone has made it to the top five of Forbes India’s 2018 list of richest Indians, becoming the first woman to do so. The newlywed actor, whose Padmaavatwent on to break many records, raked in a phenomenal Rs 112.8 crore this year to become the highest-earning woman celebrity. Her husband Ranveer Singh is number eight with Rs 84.67 crores and Ajay Devgn ranks tenth on the list with Rs 74.5 crores.

According to the publication, there are 18 women on the list (which first came out in 2012) – down from 21 in 2017. Actors Alia Bhatt, Anushka Sharma, Katrina Kaif and shuttlers PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal are part of the 100.

Maintaining his position on the top for the third time is superstar Salman Khan. With earnings amounting to Rs 253.25 crore, the 52-year-old became India’s highest-paid celebrity on the list. Priyanka Chopra lost her last year’s seventh rank (Rs 68 crore) and settled for No 49 with Rs 18 crore as earnings in 2018. Apart from them, while India cricket captain Virat Kohli bagged the second spot (Rs 228.09 crore). He is the first sportsperson to make it to the spot, regularly dominated by a showbiz personality. Akshay Kumar held the third place with a total gross of Rs 185 crore. With no release during the period under review, Shah Rukh Khan slipped from his number two position to No 13 after raking in Rs 56 crore this year.

Aamir Khan ranks sixth with Rs 97.5 crore, closely followed by his “Thugs of Hindostan” co-star Amitabh Bachchan at No 7 with Rs 96.17 as earnings. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who raked in Rs 101.77 crore, was at fifth position.

Forbes noted that the period under its consideration was October 1, 2017, to September 30, 2018. The cumulative earnings figure for 2018 amounted to Rs 3,140.25 crore, which is 17 per cent higher than last year’s Rs 2,683 crore.

Published in Daily Times, December 6^th 2018.