Khan was born in New Delhi to Meer Taj Mohammed Khan, a freedom fighter, and Lateef Fatima. He studied at Hansraj College and Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi before beginning his career in television in the late 1980s. He is married to Gauri Khan, an interior designer and film producer, and the couple have three children, including actor Aryan Khan.

Khan began his career in Indian television before making his Bollywood film debut in 1992 with Deewana. He built his early reputation playing morally complex or villainous characters in films such as Baazigar and Darr, before transitioning to romantic leading roles in the mid-to-late 1990s with films including Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), which cemented his status as one of Hindi cinema’s biggest stars. He founded Red Chillies Entertainment with his wife Gauri Khan in 2002, extending his career from acting into production and visual effects.

Photo: Bollywood Hungama via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)

Khan has starred in dozens of major Bollywood productions across four decades, including a notable 2023 comeback year (Pathaan, Jawan, and Dunki) after a brief acting hiatus, all of which were major commercial successes. Red Chillies Entertainment has produced numerous major Bollywood films and operates one of India’s leading VFX studios. In 2008, Khan became a co-owner of Kolkata Knight Riders, one of the founding franchises of the Indian Premier League, a stake that has appreciated substantially as the IPL’s overall valuation has grown.

Indian entertainment trade publications and Forbes have repeatedly ranked Khan among the highest-paid actors in the world, with total annual earnings from film fees, production profits, and endorsements estimated in the tens of millions of dollars in strong years, particularly following the box-office success of his 2023 films. His income streams are unusually diversified for an actor, spanning acting fees, producer profit shares, IPL franchise dividends, and brand endorsements.

Khan’s per-film fees are not consistently disclosed publicly, but Indian trade media (including Bollywood Hungama and various entertainment-business outlets) have reported his fees for major 2023 releases in the range of INR 100+ crore (roughly $12 million or more) per film, before profit-sharing arrangements on top-grossing titles. His Kolkata Knight Riders ownership stake (originally acquired for a reported ~$75 million alongside co-owners) has been separately valued far higher as IPL franchise valuations have risen industry-wide in subsequent years.

Khan has held one of the largest and longest-running celebrity endorsement portfolios in India, with brands over the years including Hyundai, Dish TV, Airtel, D’Decor, Byju’s, and numerous others. Indian celebrity brand-valuation studies (including Duff & Phelps reports) have consistently ranked him among the most valuable celebrity endorsers in the country, with individual deal values not always disclosed but collectively estimated to contribute significantly to his annual income.

Photo: Vinaya Moorthy / Vikatan via Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

Khan’s primary business vehicle is Red Chillies Entertainment, which encompasses film production, a leading VFX and animation studio, and other media ventures, run alongside Gauri Khan. His approximately 55% stake (held jointly with other family/co-owner interests) in Kolkata Knight Riders is one of his most valuable assets, given the rising valuations of IPL franchises. Gauri Khan also runs a successful interior design business, Gauri Khan Designs, which is a separate but related family venture.

Khan’s most famous asset is Mannat, his sea-facing bungalow in Bandra, Mumbai, widely reported as one of the most valuable private residences in India and a well-known landmark that draws fans daily. He and his family are also reported to own a residence in Alibaug, a farmhouse near Mumbai/Delhi, and property in Dubai. He is reported to own a range of luxury vehicles, though as with most celebrity asset reporting, exact current holdings are not independently confirmed.