Salman Khan may today be among India’s richest actors, but his journey to superstardom came from a family that once faced financial difficulties. The M3M Hurun India Rich List 2026 has estimated Salman’s wealth at Rs 3,000 crore. Shah Rukh Khan tops the list of wealthy Indian actors with an estimated Rs 10,000 crore, while Amitabh Bachchan follows with Rs 4,000 crore.However, long before Salman became one of Bollywood’s biggest names, his family struggled to pay his school fees on time. The actor once recalled an incident from his childhood when he was asked to stand outside his classroom because his fees had not been paid.Appearing on Kajol and Twinkle Khanna’s talk show ‘Two Much’, Salman said he was frequently punished at school because of his mischievous behaviour. But on one particular occasion, he was sent out of the classroom for a reason that had nothing to do with his conduct.“I was punished outside, and my father (Salim Khan) asked, ‘What has he done now?’ I was in grade four. My dad spoke to the teacher, and she said, ‘No Mr Khan, it is not his fault, it’s your fault.’ He asked, ‘What did I do?’ She said, ‘Your fees, which you were supposed to pay, are not on time, so we kept him outside.’ Then he said, ‘Then you should be making me stand there.’ After this, my father went to the principal, did whatever he could to pay the money, but two weeks later, this incident happened again and they took me out of school.”Aamir Khan, who was also present during the conversation and had briefly attended the same school, said he too had experienced a similar situation because of delayed fee payments.“Yes, I do remember my parents couldn’t pay fees on time either, and then they would announce our names in the assembly,” he said.Financial difficulties were not unfamiliar to Salman’s father, veteran screenwriter Salim Khan. When he arrived in Mumbai in the 1960s, Salim was struggling to establish himself as an actor. In the documentary series ‘Angry Young Men’, which traces the careers and lives of Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, he recalled staying in a guesthouse around Marine Drive and paying Rs 55 a month for half a room.“My first ambition was to rent the entire room for Rs 110, but that wish was never fulfilled,” he recalled.Salim initially hoped to make a career as an actor before eventually moving towards screenwriting in the late 1960s. His partnership with Javed Akhtar went on to produce some of Hindi cinema’s most influential films, including ‘Zanjeer’, ‘Sholay’ and ‘Deewaar’. The duo, popularly known as Salim-Javed, also became among the highest-paid screenwriters of their time.Salman’s own journey in the film industry was far from an overnight success. Before becoming an actor, he worked as an assistant director on Shashilal K Nair’s ‘Falak’. He made his acting debut with a supporting role in ‘Biwi Ho To Aisi’ in 1988.His career changed with Sooraj Barjatya’s ‘Maine Pyaar Kiya’, which released in 1989 and established him as a leading man. Yet, despite the film becoming a blockbuster, Salman has revealed that he struggled to find work immediately afterwards.“I did not get any work for four or five months after Maine Pyaar Kiya came out. I thought I would not even get any work because Bhagyashree decided that she would get married and quit films,” he said on ‘Aap Ki Adalat’.Salman has previously recalled that Bhagyashree was being credited heavily for the film’s success at the time, which added to the uncertainty surrounding his own next project.Salim Khan eventually stepped in and asked producer GP Sippy to announce that Salman had been signed for a film. After the announcement appeared in a trade magazine, offers reportedly started coming in for the young actor.Salman received Rs 31,000 for his debut film. His remuneration was later increased to Rs 75,000 after the makers appreciated his commitment and hard work.Interestingly, Salman has also recalled earning just Rs 75 as a background dancer at the age of 14. During the ‘Two Much’ conversation, he revealed that the amount was what he was paid after performing at an event at Mumbai’s Taj Hotel.
