Akshay Kumar beats Salman Khan by ranking 2nd on Forbes India Celebrity 100 List

2019 has been a brilliant year for the massively popular actor Akshay Kumar. Akshay has already featured in three films this year, Kesari, Mission Mangal and Housefull 4, all of which were huge successes at the box office. His fourth film of 2019, Good Newwz, is about to be released on December 27, 2019. Akshay has also been in the spotlight for the entire year, thanks to media coverage and his impressive social media marketing. Akshay Kumar was the one to start the popular Bala Challenge, which was a massive trend on social media right before the release of Housefull 4.

Akshay Kumar beats Salman Khan in the Forbes Celebrity 100

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Forbes India recently published its Celebrity 100 list, that ranks the topmost celebrities from the country. The ranking depends on both the total net worth of the celeb as well as his/her popularity, which is based on their social media presence and their Media coverage. Some celebrities might be ranked higher than others even if they earn less due to their larger popularity. Interestingly, Akshay Kumar ranked in the second position, beating superstar Salman Khan who took third place. 

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Salman Khan only featured in one film this year, Bharat, but his next film, Dabangg 3, is about to be released on December 20, 2019. The Dabangg series is certainly one of Salman Khan's biggest and most popular franchises, but the movie's release is far too late to affect Forbes Celebrity 100 list. 

In Forbes' list, Akshay Kumar came in at the second position while Salman Khan fell behind to the third rank. Interestingly, last year, it was Akshay who was in the third position while Salman Khan was at the very top, being ranked the number one celebrity in 2018's list. Akshay made an impressive ₹293.25 in total earning this year. In comparison, Salman made around ₹229.25 crores. While still impressive, Salman falls behind Akshay in total earning by ₹64 crores. Along with the fact that this year Akshay Kumar has featured on the big screen for far longer than Salman Khan, it makes perfect sense for Akshay to rise higher in the list and for Salman to drop down in ranking. 

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Though the most interesting part of the list was the fact that the Indian Cricket Team Captain, Virat Kohli, ranked at the very top of the list. This was despite the fact that he only earned ₹252.72 this year, which is still lower than Akshay Kumar's total earnings. However, in spite of earning less than Akshay, Virat still managed to reach rank one thanks to his massive popularity.

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