Forbes list: Why Kohli's ranking and fortunes skyrocketed in last 3 years

 | Updated: Dec 19, 2019, 10:20 PM IST

Virat Kohli became the first sportsman ever to unseat a Bollywood celebrity in Forbes India’s ‘Celebrity 100’ list on Thursday. 

Kohli becomes first sportsman to claim top spot

Forbes India announced its ‘Celebrity 100’ list and for the first time, a sportsman has unseated Bollywood celebrities to claim the top spot. 

While Indian team vice-captain rose 12 spots to land at number 11 with a total earning of 54.29 crores. 

(Photograph:AFP)

Kohli topples Salman Khan

In the 8th edition of the list, Kohli jumped one spot, toppling Salman Khan to become the highest-earning celebrity in India with an estimated revenue of ₹252.72 crores during October 1, 2018, and September 30, 2019. 

Salman Khan slipped to the third rank, below Akshay Kumar, with an aggregate earning of 229.25 crores with only one movie release (Bharat) this year. 

(Photograph:AFP)

Charges eight-figure fee for each Instagram post

The Indian captain's earnings were an estimated aggregate of his match fees, the BCCI central contract, brand endorsements and an eight-figure fee of Rs 1,35,66,749 for sponsored Instagram posts. 
 

(Photograph:AFP)

Top spot for ICC batting rankings

The 31-year-old, Indian captain holds the top spot in ICC batting rankings for both Test and ODI matches with 826 runs in 13 Test innings and 1,054 runs in ODI innings in 2019. 

Former Indian team captain, MS Dhoni retained his spot at number 5 in the Forbes list despite an approximate 33 per cent increase in his earnings from 101 crores in 2018 to 135 crores in 2019. 

(Photograph:AFP)
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Banks up on revenue

Kohli has been on the list for three consecutive years now, making his debut as number 3 in 2017 with a net earnings of 100.72 crores. 

While former captain, Sachin Tendulkar retained his spot at number 9 by earning 76.96 crores solely through endorsements, a slight dip from his revenue of 80 crores in 2018. 

(Photograph:AFP)

Rising through the ranks

Kohli has been on the list for three consecutive years now, making his debut as number 3 in 2017 with a net earnings of 100.72 crores. 
 

(Photograph:AFP)

128 per cent increase in earnings in 2018

Kohli saw an approximate 128 per cent increase in his earnings in 2018 and landed on the second spot in the list with an aggregate revenue of 228.09 crores. 

His estimated earnings in 2019 was pegged at about Rs 253 crore.
 

(Photograph:AFP)