Akshay Kumar is the only Indian on Forbes’ list of highest-paid actors in the world

Pratishtha Rana

30 years ago, Akshay Kumar entered the Indian film industry with his debut in Director Raj Sippy’s film Saugandh (1991). Last seen in Good Newwz (2019), alongside Kareena Kapoor; yesterday the actor sealed his position as one of the top 10 highest paid male actors in the world in 2020, as per Forbes. At the 6th place, Kumar is the only Indian celebrity on this list, with total earnings of $48.5 million for the period of June 2019-June 2020.

The former host of Khatron Ke Khiladi, Kumar beat International actors like Jackie Chan, Will Smith and Adam Sandler to clinch this rank. Meanwhile, Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock remains at the number one spot for the second consecutive year.

According to Forbes, various brand endorsements make a major chunk of Kumar’s income and it’s said that Amazon is shelling out a staggering $10 million for his digital debut in the upcoming original Prime series The End.

“I have accepted that the future is digital, hence, last year I had announced my streaming debut. I’m an optimist and I hope and somewhere believe the cinemas will revive. It may take some time, but movies will be back and enjoyed how they are supposed to be viewed, in cinemas on the big screen,” the Padman actor said in an interview with Femina.

The 52-year-old has also begun shooting for his next movie Bell Bottom, while other releases like Laxmmi Bomb, Sooryavanshi, Atrangi Re and Raksha Bandhan are in the pipeline and are heavily anticipated by his fans.

Media reports suggest that before he shot to stardom, the young star worked as a chef and waiter in Thailand and was a martial arts teacher too. In several interviews, the superstar and husband of author-actor Twinkle Khanna, has talked about the importance of a disciplined lifestyle that includes as much hard work as does a cozy vacation and quality time with family.

Dearly known as Akki by many, he owns a spectacular Portuguese-style bungalow in Goa that overlooks the sea. It is estimated to be about ₹5 crore in value. His abode in Mumbai’s posh locale Juhu, according to MensXP is valued at around ₹80 crore.

Apart from these lavish properties, the National Film Award recipient (for Rustom and Airlift) also owns a private jet worth ₹260 crores and a fleet of extravagant cars and bikes including Harley Davidson V-Rod, Rolls Royce Phantom, Bentley Continental GT and a spacious Mercedes-Benz V-Class.

He has also been on the forefront with generous contributions in the fight against Covid-19. In March, he donated a sum of ₹25 crore to PM Cares Fund, ₹3 crore to BMC and ₹2 crore to the Mumbai Police Foundation.