It’s easy to intellectualise Shah Rukh Khan’s three-decade reign over Hindi cinema — to dissect his craft, his charisma, his business acumen. But none of those quite explain his magic. The truth is simpler and perhaps more romantic. Millions love him not just as a movie star, but as a love story that India dreamt of and then later witnessed it turn into a reality.
In a 2022 BBC article on Khan, economist and author Shrayana Bhattacharya explained the phenomenon that is SRK very interestingly. Khan rose to fame in the 1990s, just as India opened its doors to the world. Liberalisation was reshaping the economy, cable TV was bringing global culture home and a new generation was learning to dream bigger.
Khan has been a glittering constant through over 30 years of change, aspiration and consumer dreams. Blending the ordinary with the romantic, he became both the face and the feeling of a transforming nation. Through his on-screen charm and off-screen eloquence, SRK helped middle-class India make emotional sense of liberalisation, its ambitions and insecurities, its yearning for belonging amid newfound freedom.
He has lived several cinematic lives; from falling in love amid mustard fields, mourning loss under Brooklyn Bridge to breaking into song and dance on top of a train. Each film expanded the idea of Indianness, suggesting that to be Indian was no longer bound by geography. But it was a feeling you could carry across continents. By marrying desi warmth with global flair, Khan didn’t just ride the wave of globalisation, he instead became its most elegant storyteller.
Antidote to rigid masculinity
For the generation growing up in the India of the 1990s, Shah Rukh felt like the antidote to decades of rigid masculinity. The 1970s had been ruled by Amitabh Bachchan’s “Angry Young Man”. The 1980s softened that silhouette, first with Anil Kapoor’s invisible superhero in ‘Mr India’ and then Aamir Khan’s endearing romantic in ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’. But in 1992, a 26-year-old with restless energy, a mop of hair and an unmistakable twinkle in his eyes made his debut in ‘Deewana’. He appeared only after the interval, yet when he burst onto the screen on a motorcycle, singing ‘Koi na koi chahiye pyar karne wala’, a new era had unmistakably begun.
By the time ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ arrived in 1995, Khan had redefined what it meant to be a hero. The image of Raj, arms stretched wide in the mustard fields, wasn’t just a romantic cliché — it was a quiet revolution. He wasn’t the mard who conquered; he was the man who listened, laughed and cried. Against the Kuljeets of the world — burly, entitled and patriarchal — Raj was tender, self-aware and respectful. He could tease and flirt, but he also cooked, sang with aunties and waited for consent.
Three decades, over a hundred films, countless fan clubs and several swoon-worthy characters later, SRK is no longer just a superstar but a global icon. The actor now sits on a jaw-dropping net worth of Rs 12,490 crore ($1.4 billion), according to the 2025 Hurun India Rich List.
Now, if you’re wondering how SRK built this mountain of wealth, it’s not just films and dimples. The man is a brand, a businessman and a savvy investor. We dig in to discover his income sources:
The Bollywood business: Films & production
Let’s start with the obvious — Bollywood. Though he hasn’t always had back-to-back releases in recent years, SRK’s films still rake in hundreds of crores. According to sources, SRK does not charge an upfront fee for his films. Instead, he collaborates in a profit sharing capacity as an actor. The business of a film ascertains the amount SRK takes home for it.
As a producer through Red Chillies Entertainment, he has backed hits like ‘Jawan’, ‘Chennai Express’, ‘Happy New Year’ and ‘Main Hoon Na’, among others.
Red Chillies is not just a production company, it’s a full-blown entertainment powerhouse with a successful VFX division. In FY23, the company posted a net profit of Rs 85 crore, a massive jump from a Rs 22 crore loss the previous year. Its revenue more than doubled to Rs 300 crore.
Beyond the silver screen: Strategic investments
Khan’s business acumen was in the spotlight once again in 2011 when he acquired a 26% strategic stake in the Indian arm of KidZania, the global chain of interactive edutainment centres for children. Interestingly, the move came after the $3.5-billion Comcraft Group, which holds KidZania’s India franchise rights, sought a high-profile minority investor for strengthening the brand’s presence and credibility in the country.
Recently, Khan’s family office became one of the 29 elite investors participating in a $1 billion co-investment platform launched by Mumbai-based Ashika Group. The average ticket size per family office in the initiative was reported to be around $35 million.
Sporting empire: Kolkata Knight Riders
Then there’s the IPL. Khan co-owns the Kolkata Knight Riders along with Juhi Chawla and Jay Mehta. KKR’s brand value stood at a whopping Rs 942 crore after winning the 2024 IPL. While no official number has been pinned on Khan’s exact earnings from IPL, estimates suggest he takes home about Rs 250 crore annually from the franchise alone.
SRK’s real estate portfolio
Shah Rukh Khan’s lifestyle screams luxury and his real estate portfolio backs that up. His most iconic possession is, of course, Mannat, the sea-facing six-storey bungalow in Mumbai that has become a pilgrimage site for fans. Valued at around Rs 200 crore, Mannat is considered by many as a monument to SRK’s journey from Delhi’s Gautam Nagar to Mumbai’s elite Bandstand. Then there’s his Rs 183 crore apartment in London, located in the posh Park Lane area. And, he also has a villa in Los Angeles, which is reportedly available for rent on Airbnb at over Rs 1 lakh per night.
The actor also owns a plush villa in Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah, worth approximately Rs 18 crore. It’s a sprawling beachfront home complete with a private pool and personal beach access. In Alibaug, SRK owns a sleek and serene holiday home valued at Rs 15 crore.
Brand called Shah Rukh
But SRK’s business acumen does not stop at cricket, cinema or real estate. He’s a brand darling, endorsing everything from Everest Spices and Ultratech Cement to Sunfeast Dark Fantasy, Rungta Steel, Myntra and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.
In 2024, SRK was seen promoting 34 brands on television between January and July, compared to 21 in the same period in 2023. That’s a 62% jump in just a year and a 133% increase since 2021, per TAM Media Research. It’s clear: when Shah Rukh endorses, the world listens and buys.
He’s a businessman who thinks like a dreamer. A superstar who walks like he’s still trying to prove himself. And even at 60, he’s pushing boundaries, earning awards, breaking records and charming generations. Happy birthday, King!