When a fakir at Ajmer Sharif Dargah predicted Shah Rukh Khan's Rs 500 crore wealth
Years before Shah Rukh Khan became one of Indian cinema’s biggest stars, a fakir (Muslim Sufi ascetic or wandering holy person who gives up worldly things to focus entirely on God)) at Ajmer Sharif Dargah told him he would one day earn Rs 500 crore after he lost Rs 5,000 during a visit with his ailing mother. The actor later recalled the incident during the promotions of Happy New Year in 2014.
In recounting the Ajmer visit, however, Shah Rukh made it clear that the memory was not only about money. He linked it to his mother, Lateef Fatima Khan, the prayers they had gone there to offer, and the blessings he believes remained with him long after her death in 1991, before his film career took off with Deewana in 1992.
Shah Rukh said he had gone to Ajmer Sharif with his mother when she was very unwell. They were carrying a chadar (thin blanket) to offer at the shrine when she gave him Rs 5,000 to keep safely. “My mother was very unwell, so I went with her to Ajmer Sharif to pray for her. We were carrying a chadar to offer at the shrine and make a wish. My mother had given me some money to keep safely. It was Rs 5,000,” he said. Embed Youtube ShortsThe superstar said he later realised the money was missing and began searching for it. A fakir sitting at the dargah (Sufi Islamic shrine) asked whether he had lost something and then asked if it was Rs 5,000. “I wondered how he knew. He told me, ‘You have come here; you will not leave empty-handed. You have lost Rs 5,000, but you will earn Rs 500 crore,’” Shah Rukh recalled.
The actor said the exchange stayed with him even though he did not always believe in such things. “Sometimes I don’t believe in such things. We are all educated and think that these things cannot really happen. But this happened to me. He was right. I have the blessings of Ajmer Sharif upon me,” he said.
He also said the moment was not really about the money he later earned. “It isn’t about the money. I have earned a lot of fame and many good things in life. We had gone there seeking my mother’s prayers. She is no longer with me, but her blessings and the blessings of Ajmer Sharif are still upon me,” he said.
The Ajmer Sharif Dargah, the shrine of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, is one of India’s most prominent pilgrimage sites. Devotees from across religions visit the shrine to offer prayers and chadars and seek blessings. Shah Rukh has returned there several times over the years, including ahead of some of his film releases.Remembering his mother
Shah Rukh has spoken on several occasions about his mother, Lateef Fatima Khan, and the impact of losing her in 1991. In a conversation with Simi Garewal, he recalled wanting her to witness the success that came later. “I want my mother to see me, 70 mms, a lot bigger than what I am,” he told Simi.
He also spoke about how unprepared he was for her death, even though he had already gone through a similar loss when his father died of cancer. “I was shooting in Goa, and she had diabetes. When I came back from Goa, she had hurt her foot, and it kept spreading. When she was admitted to the hospital, she contracted septicaemia. I wasn’t prepared, but I had done the same thing for my father. I was in the hospital with him, and slowly he went away,” he said.
Shah Rukh said his mother’s illness led him to pray for the first time in his life. When she was in the ICU and struggling to breathe, he went to the hospital parking lot and prayed for her. “I was not prepared for her to die. I never used to pray, but when she was in the ICU, and she was getting a breathing attack, I went down to the parking lot of a hospital and for the first time, I prayed. I was told to pray 6000 times, and that she won’t have pain,” he said.
He continued, “I did, and the doctor told me that she was going. I have a belief that you die when you are satisfied with life. So I went down and started giving her worries, I said I won’t be happy, and told her that I’ll be a bad person, mistreat her daughter. But she had a beautiful look in her eyes, which said, let me go, I need to rest, and she went.”Hurun list and current wealth
Shah Rukh has featured in the Hurun India Rich List and remains in the billionaire club. In the Hurun India Rich List 2026, he topped the Bollywood names with wealth of Rs 10,800 crore. His wealth is largely driven by Red Chillies Entertainment, the production company he set up in 2002, which has delivered projects such as Om Shanti Om, Happy New Year, Jawan, and the recently released series The Ba***ds of Bollywood, directed by his son Aryan Khan.
In 2008, he invested Rs 165 crore for a 55 per cent stake in IPL side Kolkata Knight Riders, which in 2026 is valued at Rs 13,000-15,000 crore. His personal stake alone is estimated at Rs 7,000-8,000 crore. He is also among the 57 new Indian entrants on the list, though the figures are down 13.5 per cent from 2025, when his wealth was put at Rs 12,490 crore.
The list also includes music names such as Jay-Z at US$2.8 billion, Taylor Swift at US$1.6 billion, and Rihanna at US$1.5 billion. In entertainment, the richest person is George Lucas with a net worth of US$7.6 billion. The Hurun Global Rich List 2026 was released on March 5.- EndsPublished By: Priyanka SharmaPublished On: Sep 15, 2026 17:47 ISTALSO READ | Shah Rukh Khan breaks silence on King's clash with Avengers: Doomsday, Dune Part 3
