Bollywood's richest family once sold fruits, now has ₹10000 crore net worth; it's not Kapoors, Khans, Chopras, or Johars

The richest family in Bollywood has over a billion dollars worth of wealth, but have no big star in their ranks.

It's often said that filmdom has become a family business. For decades, the biggest studios and production houses in Hindi cinema have been family-owned. But now, the big production houses—still family-owned—have grown to be big corporations. This has contributed to the rise in wealth and stature of some of the most prominent Bollywood families. The richest of them all is, in fact, worth ₹10,000 crore.

A young Bhushan Kumar (centre) with Gulshan Kumar and Kishan Kumar in the 90s

The richest family in Bollywood

Hurun India Rich List 2024 revealed the richest Indians from all walks of life. And while billionaires like Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani topped the list, many names from the film industry were also part of it. At the forefront of Bollywood, was the family of Bhushan Kumar, owner of the T-Series group of companies. Hurun put the family's combined wealth at a staggering ₹10,000 crore (over $1.2 billion). This meant that the Kumars were now the richest family in Bollywood, a tag once held by the Kapoors and, eventually, the Chopras.

How Bhushan Kumar's family beat industry biggies

The extended Chopra family - owners of Yash Raj Films and BR Films - were the richest in Bollywood for years before the Kumars took over. Aditya Chopra's wealth drives the family to an estimated net worth of ₹8000 crore, just short of what the T-Series clan owns. Similarly, Shah Rukh Khan's family is reportedly worth around ₹7500 crore, largely due to the actor's wealth. Salman Khan and his brothers are reportedly worth ₹3500 crore, much below the table toppers. Families from the south, such as the Akkinenis or the Mega family (Allu-Konidela family), are reportedly richer than Salman's clan.

Breakdown of Kumar family's wealth

While the Hurun Rich List did not provide a person-by-person breakdown of the wealth owned by the Kumars, industry insiders estimate that up to four-fifths of that comes from Bhushan alone. His sisters Tulsi Kumar and Khushali Kumar are reportedly worth ₹250 crore and ₹100 crore, respectively, as per various sources. Bhushan's uncle, Kishan Kumar, who co-owns T-Series, contributes the rest of the family's wealth.

The Kumar siblings - Tulsi, Bhushan, and Khushali

It is certainly a peak for the family, which started with very modest means. Just one generation ago, their patriarch Gulshan Kumar (Bhushan's father and Kishan's brother) was a fruit vendor in Delhi. His career path changed after he and his father acquired a shop selling music cassettes in the 70s. From there, he graduated to start his own record label, Super Cassettes, which developed into T-Series. Today, the company owns a giant movie studio as well, one of the largest in the country, along with several other subsidiaries and an acting school in Noida.