Shivaji Rao Gaekwad was born on 12 December 1950, in Bangalore, Mysore State, India. He is an actor, best known for being one of the most popular stars in Tamil cinema. He has appeared in films such as “Sivaji”, and was the second highest paid actor in Asia next to Jackie Chan. All of his efforts have helped put his net worth to where it is today.
How rich is Rajinikanth? As of mid-2016, sources inform us of a net worth that is at $50 million, mostly earned through a successful career as an actor. He’s had numerous roles in films and has won multiple awards over the course of his career. He’s also appeared in a few American films, and all of these efforts have ensured the position of his wealth.
Rajinikanth Net Worth $50 million
Rajinikanth attended Gavipuram Government Kannada Model Primary School but wasn’t really interested in learning, instead playing a lot of sports. His brother then decided to enroll him at the Hindu monastery Ramakrishna Math, where he would gain a sense of spirituality and also had his first acting opportunities in plays, appearing in a production of “Mahabharata” and earning praise generally for his performances. Eventually, he enrolled at the Acharaya Pathalasa Public School and continued acting in plays. After school, he ended up doing various jobs before becoming a bus conductor for the Bangalore Transport Service. During this time, he joined the acting school Madras Film Institute, and was soon discovered by director K. Balachlander who advised him to learn Tamil.
He made his film debut in “Apoorva Raangangal” in which he had a small role as an abusive husband. The film became controversial, but also very successful as it went on to receive numerous awards, and helped boost Rajinikanth’s popularity. He followed this appearance with “Katha Sangama” and “Anthleni Katha” which was his first major role. In his next films, he became more of an antagonist and was then given his first lead role in “Chilakamma Cheppindi”, which was his transition to protagonist roles.
His career continued to flourish in 1978 when he appeared in 20 films, including “Shankar Salim Simon”, and “Annadammula Savaal”. Rajinikanth became the main hero in the film “Bairavi” and this role would help elevate him to superstar status. He gained critical acclaim for his performance in “Malarum” and also won a Best Actor award. He then appeared in films such as “Allauddinum Albhutha Vilakkum”, “Dharma Yuddam”, and “Ninaithale Inikkum”. In 1980, he was already one of the most popular actors in South India, but decided to take a short break before coming back in “Billa”. He continued in very successful films including “Murattu Kaalal” and “Thiliu Mullu”, which was his first full-length comedy. He tried to break away from the stereotypical action-hero role he was always given, and in 1983 he took a part in his first Bollywood film “Andha Anoon” which went on to gross highly.
In 1990, Rajinikanth had become a household name and was constantly producing blockbuster films. During this time he appeared in “Dharmadorai”, “Khudgarz Mannan”, and “Valli”.The 1995 film “Baasha” would become one of the most popular Indian films in history, and would elevate Rajinikanth’s status. He then appeared in the film “Muthu” which became a huge success in Japan. He continued expanding to other genres, even making his first Bengali film in “Bhagya Debata”. After taking a break in 2001, he returned in “Baba” which fell short of expectations. He started to receiving some criticism, but proved critics wrong in 2005 with “Chandramukhi” which became successful at the box office. He reportedly received a salary of around $8.2 million which raised his net worth dramatically.
In 2011, he battled with several sicknesses but soon returned to make films. One of his latest projects is a mob film entitled “Kabali”.
For his personal life it is known that Rajinikanth married Latha Rangachari in 1981, who once interviewed him for her college magazine. They have two daughters.
