Meet Bollywood's only billionaire who is richer than Aditya Chopra, Shah Rukh Khan, Karan Johar; sold toothbrushes once
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The film industry is a lucrative one, not just because of the glamour and stardom associated with it but also due to the massive amounts of money it generates. For instance, Hindi films earned a staggering ₹13161 crore worldwide last year (2023), including $600 million overseas. This has made the stars rich and the producers even richer. However, surprisingly, only one person in all of Bollywood is a dollar billionaire.
Bollywood's only billionaire and richest man
Film producer Ronnie Screwvala holds the distinction of being the richest person in Bollywood. As per Forbes, Screwvala has a net worth of $1.55 billion (roughly ₹13,000 crore). This makes him the only billionaire associated with Hindi films as well. Next to him in the Bollywood rich list is T-Series' Bhushan Kumar, whose net worth is just under a billion. As per Hurun Rich List, Bhushan's family's combined net worth is $1.2 billion, but there are other stakeholders in that wealth too. Aditya Chopra and Shah Rukh Khan follow them, with both worth over $850 million. Juhi Chawla, who is India's richest female actor with a net worth of $550 million, rounds up the top five.
How Ronnie Screwvala became a billionaire
Ronnie Screwvala had humble beginnings, with his first business being a toothbrush manufacturing unit that he set up in the 1970s. The businessman eventually graduated to the cable business with the cable TV boom in India in the early 1980s. In 1990, Screwvala used a capital of ₹37,000 to set up UTV. Initially a TV production house, it became a major movie producer too. UTV produced fan-favourite 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, one of the biggest deals in Indian cinema history. He eventually founded RSVP Movies, a new production house, which has been behind films like Uri and Kedarnath among others.
Ronnie Screwvala's non-film investments
But Bollywood is not Ronnie Screwvala's only source of income. The entrepreneur also has sizable investments in companies such as pGrad, Usports, and Unliazer, which contribute to his massive wealth. Screwvala was also a judge on Shark Tank season 3.
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