Bollywood's richest man and only billionaire began as toothbrush seller, now richer than SRK, Salman, Aamir combined

The richest man in Bollywood has dwarfed even industry titans such as Aditya Chopra, Karan Johar, and Bhushan Kumar with a net worth of $1.5 billion.

The 2025 edition of Forbes Billionaire List was unveiled by the magazine on Wednesday morning. The list features an exhaustive mention of the 3028 dollar billionaires in the world, including 205 from India. These include a few from the world of entertainment and media, including Bollywood's only billionaire and richest man - an entrepreneur who once made toothbrushes and is now richer than the biggest superstars of the industry.

Ronnie Screwvala and Shah Rukh Khan at a Chennai Express event in 2013.

Bollywood's richest man

According to Forbes, the only person from the Hindi film industry with a wealth of over a billion dollars is movie magnate and entrepreneur Ronnie Screwvala. The media mogul has a net worth of $1.5 billion, according to Forbes' new list. This makes him richer than not just every superstar in the industry, but even wealthier than the biggest of them combined. For instance, Shah Rukh Khan ($770 million), Salman Khan ($390 million), and Aamir Khan ($220 million) have a combined net worth of $1.38 billion, still less than Ronnie Screwvala's incredible wealth. He also towers over the likes of Gulshan Kumar (around $900 million) and Aditya Chopra ($800 million), the other rich filmmakers in Bollywood.

Forbes puts Ronnie Screwvala's wealth at $1.5 billion.

Ronnie Screwvala's tryst with Bollywood

Born in Bombay in 1956, Screwvala began his entrepreneurial journey by manufacturing toothbrushes in the late 70s. In the early 80s, as colour TV arrived in India courtesy of the Asian Games, Screwvala capitalised on the boom of cable TV by pioneering the concept across Indian metros. This paved the way for his entry into the entertainment sector. In 1990, he founded UTV, which later became UTV Motion Pictures. Over the next two decades, the production houses gave iconic films like Swades, Rang De Basanti, Khosla Ka Ghosla, Jodhaa Akbar, Fashion, Delhi Belly, and Barfim, as well as TV shows such as Shanti, Hip Hip Hurray, Shaka Laka Boom Boom, Khichdi, and Shararat.

In 2012, he sold UTV to Disney in a billion-dollar deal and cashed out, setting up RSVP Movies five years later. This re-entry in the entertainment world saw him produce Kedarnath, Uri, The Sky Is Pink, and Sam Bahadur among others. In 2024, Screwvala made his screen debut as one of the sharks on Shark Tank India.

How Ronnie Screwvala made his billions

But cinema isn't Ronnie Screwvala's only source of income. The 68-year-old has invested in and founded several other startups, notably UpGrad, Unilazer, and USports. The success of these companies and his movie business have allowed him to build his massive fortune.