Salman Khan has aced the money game by emerging as the highest earning Indian celebrity, according to the Forbes India Celebrity 100 list of 2018. The ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ actor has amassed an income of Rs 253.25 crore through his films, TV appearances and brand endorsements between October 1, 2017, and September 30, 2018 (period under consideration). Salman Khan had two releases in the said period, ‘Tiger Zinda Hai’ and ‘Race 3’, and a production venture ‘Loveyatri’. He topped the Forbes India Celebrity 100 list for the third consecutive year. Salman is now gearing up for a period drama ‘Bharat’, which is scheduled to hit the screens during the festive time of Eid, during June 2019.
Shah Rukh Khan held the second position in the Forbes 2017 list, but with no release in the period under consideration, he was placed at the 13th position, with his earnings dropping from Rs 170.5 crore to Rs 56 crore. It must be noted here that the list comprises of the earnings of the celebs and cinema world stars for that period, and not their net worth. The trajectory could completely change if celebrities’ net worth is taken into consideration instead of the current Forbes India Celebrity 100 list of 2018, including Salman and Shah Rukh Khan.
Here are the top 10 earners according to the Forbes India Celebrity 100 list of 2018:
| Rank | Celebrity | Earnings (Rs crore) |
| 1 | Salman Khan | 253.25 |
| 2 | Virat Kohli | 228.09 |
| 3 | Akshay Kumar | 185 |
| 4 | Deepika Padukone | 112.8 |
| 5 | Mahendra Singh Dhoni | 101.77 |
| 6 | Aamir Khan | 97.5 |
| 7 | Amitabh Bachchan | 96.17 |
| 8 | Ranveer Singh | 84.67 |
| 9 | Sachin Tendulkar | 80 |
| 10 | Ajay Devgn | 74.5 |
