Many Bollywood actors have made investments in properties, start-ups, and production houses. But there’s one actor, who has appeared in over 190 movies and also worked on an international project with Brad Pitt, who has invested in breweries and now owns one of the largest beer companies in the country.
Meet the veteran actor, who owns India’s third largest beer brand, has an impressive net worth and a successful career in Bollywood
The actor we’re talking about is Danny Denzongpa. The Padma Shri awardee (India’s fourth-highest civilian honour), who made his acting debut with Zaroorat (1971), has been an integral part of the Hindi film industry for the past five decades. Besides having an illustrious career in showbiz, the veteran actor is also a successful businessman, dominating the beer market in the North-East.
The 76-year-old actor, who has an estimated net worth of $10 million (approximately Rs 83 crore) according to Celebrity Net Worth, founded Yuksom Breweries in 1987 in South Sikkim. The brewery manufactures products like He-Man 9000, Dansberg Diet, Dansberg 9000, Dansberg 16000, and more. A few years later, he expanded his business by setting up another brewery in Odisha called Denzong Breweries in 2005. However, the real turning point came in 2009, when Denzongpa quietly acquired Assam’s Rhino Agencies, a two-month-old brewery for nearly Rs 40 crore, according to an Economic Times report. This move not only strengthened his position in the Northeast but also prevented Vijay Mallya‘s alcohol company from entering the market.
According to a DNA report, the three breweries owned by Danny Denzongpa produce around 6.8 lakh HL of alcohol per year. The report also states that Yuksom Breweries is the third-largest beer company in India, contributing around Rs 100 crore to the northeastern region’s economy every year.
Other prominent Bollywood figures who have their own liquor brands
In 2023, Sanjay Dutt entered into the spirits industry. He launched his own Scotch whiskey called The Glenwalk, after making an undisclosed investment in an alcohol and beverage startup, Cartel & Bros. Sharing his views on venturing into the spirits industry, Dutt told MoneyControl, “There’s a huge whisky market in India, which is the largest consumer of whisky in the world. I started my journey with whisky as a teenager, sneaking out with friends to taste the amber spirit.“
Notably, several well-known personalities around the globe such as George Clooney, Drake, Dwayne Johnson, Nick Jonas (husband of Priyanka Chopra), Ryan Reynolds, and others have also ventured into the spirits industry with their own brands.
