Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan among Forbes’ highest paid Celebrities in world
New York, July 17 : Bollywood superstars Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan, with earnings of $40.5 million and $37.7 million, have made it to Forbes' World's Highest-Paid Celebrities 2018 list, topped by former professional boxer Floyd Mayweather.
Akshay, 50, and Salman, 52, are the only two Indians in the list, which was unveiled on Monday. Akshay is ranked 76th, while Salman is placed on 82 in the list, which includes athletes, musicians, personalities, actors and comedians.
According to Forbes, the world's 100 top-earning entertainers pulled in a combined USD 6.3 billion pre-tax over the past 12 months, up 22 per cent from last year and 11 superstars crossed the $100 million threshold, more than double the number from the last two years combined.
The Celebrity 100 list ranks front-of-camera stars around the globe using their pre-tax earnings from June 1, 2017 through June 1, 2018, before deducting fees for managers, lawyers and agents. Estimates are based on numbers from Nielsen, Pollstar, IMDB, SoundScan, NPD BookScan and ComScore, as well as interviews with industry experts and many of the stars themselves.
Akshay has been described by Forbes as one of Bollywood's leading men who "has transitioned to socially-conscious roles, such as 'Toilet: Ek Prem Katha", a comedy supporting government campaigns to improve sanitation, and 'Pad Man' about a guy hoping to provide inexpensive sanitary pads to rural communities".
"He still mints millions from backend profits and endorsing some 20 brands, including Tata and Eveready," the description read.
As for Salman, he has been called Bollywood's "mainstay" who "continues to produce and star in hits such as 'Tiger Zinda Hai', cashing in on backend profits. Coupled with a slew of endorsements from Suzuki motorcycles to Chlormint gum, he remains one of India's top earners."
Mayweather tops the ranking with $285 million in pre-tax earnings, almost entirely on the strength of his August 2017 fight versus listmate Conor McGregor.
George Clooney finishes second with $239 million, most of it coming from liquor giant Diageo's purchase of Casamigos, the tequila company he co-founded, giving him the best annual take-home of his or any actor's career.
Forbes' cover star Kylie Jenner pulled in $166.5 million to claim the No. 3 spot, boosted by a sprawling cosmetics empire that has her on the verge of becoming a billionaire before she is old enough to drink.
Judge Judy Sheindlin's $147 million puts her at No. 4 -- buoyed by the sale of her TV library for $100 million -- while Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson rounds out the top five with $124 million thanks to blockbusters like newly-released "Skyscraper".
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WR suspends TTE after he makes passenger write apology letter for asking him to speak in Marathi
Mumbai, Nov 5: The Western Railway has suspended a train ticket examiner (TTE) for allegedly making a passenger write an apology after the latter asked him to speak in Marathi, an official said on Tuesday.
The action came after a photograph of the apology letter surfaced on social media, and passengers staged a protest, he said.
Talking to PTI, Vineet Abhishek, chief public relations officer of Western Railway, said an inquiry is ordered into the incident that took place at Nallasopara station on November 3, and TTE Rakesh Mourya has been suspended.
"All passengers, regardless of their religion, language, or region, are equal to us. Providing excellent service to them is our goal. The matter will be investigated thoroughly, and necessary action will be taken," he said.
Around 70 to 80 passengers staged a protest at Nallasopara station after the purported apology letter surfaced on social media on Monday, officials said.
According to officials, the TTE asked the passenger, Amit Patil, and his wife to furnish their local train tickets. The couple asked him to speak to them in Marathi as they did not understand Hindi, and an argument ensued.
The TTE took the couple to the office of the Railway Protection Force, where Patil claimed that the official had threatened them and made him write an apology, they said.
The Western Railway, in its statement, affirmed its commitment to respecting all languages and passengers.
"Western Railway respects all languages spoken across the country and values the diversity of our passengers, standing firm on unity in diversity," it stated.
