Meet Bollywood's only billionaire with net worth of $1.5 billion who is richer than Shah Rukh, Salman, Aamir Khan

Mint

5 hours ago

Bollywood may be ruled by superstars like Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, and other big names. However, when it comes to wealth, one name towers above them all—and surprisingly, it's not even an actor. With a staggering net worth of $1.5 billion, this powerhouse of the Hindi film industry has quietly outpaced iconic figures like Amitabh Bachchan, Gulshan Kumar, Aditya Chopra, and more.
According to the 2025 edition of the Forbes Billionaire List, Ronnie Screwvala is not only the richest man in Bollywood but also the only billionaire from the industry.
The list featured 3,028 dollar billionaires worldwide, including 205 from India. Among them, Ronnie was the sole name from Bollywood to earn a spot on the prestigious list.
With an estimated net worth of $1.5 billion, Screwvala has surpassed the industry's biggest stars. He beats even the richest actor Shah Rukh Khan (net worth: $770 million), as well as Salman Khan ($390 million) and Aamir Khan ($220 million). In fact, the combined net worth of all three Khans still falls short of Ronnie's fortune.
He has also edged out other high-profile industry moguls like Gulshan Kumar (around $900 million) and Aditya Chopra ($800 million), making him wealthier than some of the most influential film families in India.
But Ronnie Screwvala's road to success was far from easy. Long before the billion-dollar deals, he used to sell toothbrushes.
Born in Bombay in 1956, Screwvala began his entrepreneurial journey in the late 1970s with a modest toothbrush manufacturing business. Everything changed in the early 1980s when colour televisions entered Indian homes during the Asian Games. Seeing a golden opportunity, he became one of the early pioneers of cable television in India's metro cities, which marked his first step into the media and entertainment world.
In 1990, he founded UTV, which would go on to become one of India's most influential entertainment companies. Under UTV Motion Pictures, he produced several pathbreaking and successful films such as Swades, Rang De Basanti, Khosla Ka Ghosla, Jodhaa Akbar, Fashion, Delhi Belly, and Barfi!.
Beyond films, he also left a lasting mark on Indian television with popular shows like Shanti, Hip Hip Hurray, Shaka Laka Boom Boom, Khichdi, and Shararat—all of which continue to hold nostalgic value for '90s kids.
In 2012, Screwvala sold UTV to Disney in a landmark billion-dollar deal and stepped away from the company. After a brief hiatus, he returned in 2017 with RSVP Movies, reigniting his creative journey. Since then, he has backed critically acclaimed films like Kedarnath (starring Sushant Singh Rajput), Uri: The Surgical Strike (Vicky Kaushal), The Sky Is Pink (Priyanka Chopra), and Sam Bahadur (Vicky Kaushal).
In 2024, Screwvala made his on-screen debut as one of the sharks on Shark Tank India, sharing his entrepreneurial wisdom with the next generation of innovators.
But his empire isn't built on cinema alone. At 68, Ronnie is also a seasoned investor and entrepreneur. He has founded and invested in several successful ventures including ed-tech platform UpGrad, investment firm Unilazer Ventures, and sports enterprise USports.
On the work front, his most recent release was Azaad, starring Ajay Devgn and Diana Penty. The film also marked the debut of Ajay's nephew Aaman Devgan and Rasha Thadani, daughter of Raveena Tandon.