The wealthiest actress in the history of Indian cinema owned over 10,500 sarees and 1278 kg precious metal
When we say the term ‘India’s richest actress’, names like Aishwarya Rai, Priyanka Chopra, and Deepika Padukone come to mind. If we go further back and look at inflation-adjusted figures, then some may argue that at their peaks, Rekha and Sridevi could have been the richest. But their wealth pales in comparison to this one superstar, who amassed riches beyond imagination.
India’s richest actress ever is...
Actress-turned-politician Jayalalithaa is considered the wealthiest Indian actress ever. In 1997, when Jayalalithaa was at the peak of her political career, she faced legal issues after a raid at her Poes Garden residence in Chennai. The authorities, in their chargesheet against her, alleged that the former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister had amassed a net worth of Rs 900 crore as against her own declaration of Rs 188 crore. Even after not accounting for inflation, this figure is more than Aishwarya Rai’s current net worth of Rs 800 crore. Other top Indian actresses like Priyanka Chopra (Rs 600 crore), Deepika Padukone (Rs 560 crore), and Alia Bhatt (Rs 550 crore) follow.
When Jayalalithaa owned 10500 sarees and a ton of silver
The raid at her home in 1997 revealed the extent of Jayalalithaa’s massive riches. The authorities catalogued as much as 10,500 sarees in her possession, along with 750 pairs of footwear, 91 watches, along with 800 kg silver and 28 kg gold. In 2016, another investigation into her wealth put her precious metal holdings at 1250 kg silver and 21 kg gold. Jayalalithaa also owned eight luxury cars and movable assets worth Rs 42 crore.
Jayalalithaa during her political career
Jayalalithaa’s film and political career
Jayaram Jayalalithaa was born in 1948 in Mandya in the erstwhile Mysore State, which is in present-day Karnataka. In 1961, she began her career as a performer after appearing as a child artiste in the Kannada-language film Sri Shaila Mahathme. This was followed by small roles in films and plays, and she eventually made her debut as a leading actress in Tamil and Telugu films by the mid-1960s. In 1968, she made her Bollywood debut in Izzat alongside Dharmendra. She was the leading actress in the south over the 70s, going to star alongside the most successful actors of the time, namely NT Rama Rao, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Jaishankar, and MG Ramachandran.
In 1980, she put her film career on a pause and ventured into politics. Between 1991 and 2016, she served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for five terms. She was the reigning CM when she passed away in December 2016 at the age of 68.
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 "Jayalalithaa during her acting days")
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