India's richest filmmaker is worth Rs 29000 crore; it's not Karan Johar, Aditya Chopra, Bhushan Kumar, Gauri Khan
This film producer owns a massive television network, a production house, two cricket teams, two daily newspapers, five magazines, and a DTH satellite service.
Born to late politician Murasoli Maran and Mallika Maran in Chennai on July 24, 1964, Kalanithi Maran did his schooling from Don Bosco, Chennai and graduation from Loyola College, Chennai. After doing MBA from University of Scranton, Pennsylvania, Kalanithi dabbled in his family's publishing business before launching Sun TV in 1993. The Tamil-language entertainment channel has now evolved into Sun Group, which is now one of the largest media conglomerates in India.
Kalanithi Maran is now the richest filmmaker in India. As of June 2024, the Forbes has listed his net worth as $3.5 billion, which is just above Rs 29000 crore. He appeared on the 82nd spot in the Forbes list of India's richest individuals in 2023 and on the 1062nd spot in the global list of Billionaires in 2024. He produces films under his banner Sun Pictures. The production house has bankrolled some of the biggest blockbusters such as Enthiran, Beast, Petta, Sarkar, and Jailer.
Apart from the TV network with more than 30 channels and the production house, Maran also owns two daily newspapers, five magazines, a DTH satellite service and two cricket teams, Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League and Sunrisers Eastern Cape in South Africa T20 League. The channels broadcast by Maran-owned Sun TV network are also available to the South Indian diaspora in 27 countries around the world, such as Singapore and Malaysia.
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