Celebrities Cash In On Star Power

From investing in wellness ventures and skincare products to pumping money into property portals, organic farms and instant-delivery apps, our stars move in strange ways, both in reel and real life. One moment, they are rubbing shoulders with other celebrities on red-carpet events and in the next, they are jet-setting to attend board meetings to ensure their business ventures grow.

The business acumen and sheer grit of some of our leading stars will give any top business school grad a run for his or her money. Take a glance at the net worth of some of India's top stars, and it would become certain that they weren't made just for the celluloid. While Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra-Jonas, Katrina Kaif, Kriti Sanon, and Kareena Kapoor Khan may have forayed into the entrepreneurial path and emerged successful beauty trailblazers, it’s a trend that continues to see an uptick among public figures, as with great star power comes a robust brand value.

The latest name to jump the b-bandwagon happens to be South star Rashmika Mandanna. With a reported net worth of Rs. 66 crore, the 29-year-old has leveraged her soaring brand value and turned entrepreneur in 2025 with her recently launched fragrance line, Dear Diary by RM. In a similar vein, Samantha Ruth Prabhu's self-made 101 cr. dynasty is built through strategic financial moves, endorsements, and her recently-launched wellness venture, Secret Alchemist. The reigning pattern of stars banking on their brand value, and venturing out into the beauty business, sees an all-time uptick with the success of brands like Hyphen (a skincare brand by Kriti Sanon), Mira Kapoor's Akind, global beauty influencer Diipa Buller-Khosla’s Inde-wild and the like.

This brings us to a rather interesting question: what makes Indian celebrities a sure-fire

success in the world of entrepreneurship? Are modern consumers — albeit unknowingly — consumed by the charismatic allure of cine stars? We get experts to deep dive into the trend:

With millions of followers, every social post becomes high-impact, low-cost promotion, accelerating early traction. Beauty’s visual nature also aligns perfectly with platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, helping celebrity brands scale fast. Modern consumers prefer relatable, founder-led labels, and well-informed celebrities offer that human touch — making most of them an instant success. “Unlike older endorsement-driven lines, today’s celebrity brands often pair with strong R&D partners, resulting in genuinely effective formulations that sustain long term credibility,” shares Deepkiran Kaur, Brand Stra-tegist & Founder, DK Select.

In a country where beauty is deeply social and visibly performed, consumers believe they are buying a sliver of the star’s aura, opines Dr. Rutu Mody Kamdar, Founder of Jigsaw Brand Con-sultants. “Indians today have developed a much more sophisticated beauty vocabulary. Actives, barrier repair, serums, peptide complexes… the technical side of beauty has penetrated the mainstream. When a celebrity brand arrives with both aspiration and ingredient-led education, it hits a sweet spot.”

Thinking along similar lines, what also contributes to their success is the intention behind these launches cites Richa Gupta, a brand strategist and entrepreneur. “Stars are far more involved in shaping everything from the brand voice to the visual world. Labels like Hyphen, Akind and Inde Wild work because they balance celebrity recall with product value. At the end of the day, these brands work because they feel personal. Consumers believe they are buying into something the celebrity truly relates to, not just another trend-led experiment. That blend of trust and aspiration becomes a powerful driver of success,” she concludes.

A consumer checklist before buying a celebrity beauty brand:

1. Focus on the ingredients, not the celebrity: Check active ingredients (Vitamin C, Niacinamide, Retinol), ensure they suit your skin type, and avoid strong fragrance or alcohol if you’re sensitive.

2. Read real user reviews on Nykaa, Amazon, Instagram, and YouTube to spot consistent issues like dryness or breakouts.

3. Look for transparency: Reliable brands share full ingredient lists, actives’ percentages, clinical claims, and dermat testing—vagueness is a red flag.

4. Match products to your specific skin concerns, since not all celebrity brands cover every need.

5. If sustainability matters, check for cruelty-free practices, recyclable packaging, and responsible sourcing.

(Note: All net worth values are approx and reported)

NET WORTH: ₹101 CRORE

BRANDS: SAAKI. She’s also co-founded Truly SMA and SECRET ALCHEMIST

NET WORTH: ₹66 CRORE

BRAND: DEAR DIARY, a fragrance line that was launched in July 2025.