India skipper Virat Kohli was ranked as the most valuable celebrity for the fourth consecutive year with a brand valuation at $237.7 million, according to the Celebrity Brand Valuation Study 2020 by Duff & Phelps. Following Kohli was superstar Akshay Kumar, who witnessed a jump 13.8 per cent, with valuation of $118.9 million followed by actor Ranveer Singh in the third spot with a brand value of $102.9 million.
Talking about the impact of the pandemic on the endorsement space, Aviral Jain, Managing Director, Duff & Phelps said, “The overall brand value of the top 20 celebrities in 2020 is estimated at $1 billion, which saw a dip of nearly 5 per cent from last year due to the impact of the pandemic. This is also the first time that we saw a decline in the number of endorsements done by the top 20 celebrities, which had been in the past been growing at 15-16 per cent. In 2020, the number of endorsements fell by about 4 per cent.”
“While established celebrities continue to dominate our rankings, millennials with a strong social media presence continue to climb the ladder,” said Jain adding that these rising millennial celebs were in greater demand during the pandemic owing to their popularity among the youth.
Meanwhile, Kohli on Thursday called the triumph in Australia the most special series win for his team, but he did not mind missing it for the birth of his child, the “greatest moment” of his life. Kohli had flown back home after the first Test and weeks after the Adelaide debacle, he was blessed with a baby girl.
As the cricketer and his wife Anushka Sharma anxiously waited the arrival of their child, the Indian captain was glued to his phone to track his team’s remarkable turnaround Down Under. On the eve of the first Test against England, Kohli was asked to express the range of emotions he felt about becoming a father and not being part of one of India’s greatest series wins.
