Forbes 2019: Prabhas Tops From Tollywood

The Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli has beaten Bollywood superstars Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan to grab the top spot in the Forbes 2019 Top Celeb List. Kohli was ranked first despite earning less than Akshay Kumar. The Indian skipper earned Rs 252.72 crore between October 1, 2018, and September 30, 2019 through match fees.

Akshay Kumar also climbed one spot to number two with an earning of Rs 293.25 crore while Salman Khan, who ruled at the top since 2016, slipped to No 3.

Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar holds a unique distinction of featuring in the top 10 every year despite retiring from the game in 2013.

There are 13 celebrities from the South this year (down from 15 in 2018) but their contribution to the cumulative earnings of the top 100 has increased to 12.57 per cent from 11.26 per cent in the previous year.

Coming to Tollywood, young rebel star Prabhas is ranked 44th place with earning of Rs 35 Crores in 2019, while superstar Mahesh Babu got 54th place with an earning of Rs 35 Cr. Director Trivikram marks his debut and gets 77th place with annual earnings of 21.5 Cr.

Forbes said that the ranks are based on an aggregate of the estimated earnings and their calculated fame quotient, via print and social media reach. "Some celebrities who score very high on fame might be ranked higher than those who have stronger revenues, but a poor fame score," it said.