How Abhay Deol went from 14 flops to the richest Deol: His ₹400 crore wealth is more than Sunny Deol-Bobby Deol combined

Hindustan Times

a day ago

For a decade, even as box office success eluded Abhay Deol, the actor carved a niche for himself as the 'thinking man's star'. With carefully curated films and impeccable performances, Abhay became a favourite lead actor in the parallel genre of cinema. Eventually, box office success came his way, too, with gems like Dev D and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. But still, he was always the 'third Deol brother'. His cousins - Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol - had seen more success as leading men, giving blockbusters on their own in their heydays. Abhay Deol has a reported net worth of nearly $50 million (
₹ 400 crore).
Yet, over time, Abhay was able to set himself apart in one manner - business investments. The actor has now amassed a fortune that is in hundreds of crores, reportedly making him the richest Deol. And he has done that without the traditional box office windfall coming his way.
Abhay Deol net worth
Reports from Lifestyle Asia and Medium put Abhay Deol's net worth at ₹400 crore in 2023-24. This would mean he is about three times richer than Sunny Deol, who has a reported net worth of ₹120 crore. The younger Deol sibling, Bobby, has a reported net worth of around ₹70 crore. Both the senior Deols have seen their wealth being boosted by hit films in the last couple of years - Gadar 2 and Jaat for Sunny, and Animal for Bobby. Yet, their combined net worth is not even half as much as Abhay's.
Abhay Deol is richer than his cousins Sunny and Bobby, who have both had more successful acting careers.
How Abhay Deol built his millions
Abhay Deol began his acting journey with Imtiaz Ali's Socha Na Tha in 2005. In the 20 years since, he has worked in 23 more films, apart from 4 web series. Box office success has been elusive to Abhay over the course of his career, with only three of his films - Dev D, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, and Raanjhana - being clean hits. The last two were ensemble films. 14 of his other films have been flops or disasters. Over the years, a few of his other films that did not do well in theatres have attained cult status, though, raising his stature. These include Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, Shanghai, and Ek Chalis Ki Last Local. Abhay reportedly earns around ₹10 crore a year from his acting ventures. Over the last few years, that has largely meant streaming projects like Trial By Fire.
Abhay Deol has earned more from his restaurant business and investments than films.
The secret to his enormous net worth is diversification. Early in his career, Abhay ventured into entrepreneurship, co-founding the successful restaurant chain The Fatty Cow. In addition, he owns a film production company called Forbidden Films. The actor also reportedly owns several properties. He had shelled out ₹27 crore for his Mumbai home years ago, and it is worth much more today. Abhay also owns properties in Mumbai and Punjab, apart from an eco-friendly glass house in Goa.
Abhay Deol on money and wealth
Despite being active in films for two decades, Abhay has led a life away from the limelight. Talking about his relationship with money and fame, he told ETimes in 2022: "I was never enamoured by fame, because money doesn't bring you happiness. Satisfaction comes from being who you are and having the freedom to do what you want to. That could be making small films, because they speak to you and they represent you with authenticity. That's worth more than any money in the world, any amount of fame."
Abhay was last seen in the critically-acclaimed 2023 Netflix mini series, Trial By Fire, which also starred Rasika Deshpande in the lead role.