kalanithi maran is one of india’s richest media owners. forbes says he is worth about $2.1 billion as of august 2026. a year earlier, his wealth was estimated at $1.78-1.84 billion. the increase came from his company’s strong performance.
most of his money comes from sun tv network. he owns 75% of the company. the company is worth about ₹18,370 crore. he started the company and still runs it as chairman.
how sun tv grew
maran started small. in 1990, he launched a tamil magazine called poomaalai. three years later, he started sun tv. the channel became very popular very quickly.
in 2006, he took sun tv public. he sold 10% of the company and raised $133 million. that gave him money to expand.
today, sun tv network is huge. it has 21 tv channels in four languages. it has 69 fm radio stations. it has a dth service called sun direct. it has newspapers and magazines. it has an ott platform called sunnxt.
the company is doing well financially. in q1 fy27, revenue was ₹1,457.8 crore. that is up 13% from last year. profit was ₹618.8 crore, up 17%. the company’s margin is over 50%, which is very high for media companies.
the ipl team
sun group bought the hyderabad ipl team in 2013. they paid ₹85.05 crore per year. the team was called sunrisers hyderabad. they won the ipl title in 2016. they were runners-up in 2018.
today, the team is worth a lot. estimates put it between ₹17,500 crore and ₹18,400 crore. that makes it the fourth most valuable team in the ipl. the brand value alone is $168 million.
kavya maran runs the team. she is kalanithi’s daughter. she has been the ceo since 2018. her net worth is about ₹409 crore.
other businesses
maran owns more than just tv and cricket. he has stakes in over 17 private companies. kal holdings is his investment company. kal airways is an airline company. kungumam publications runs newspapers and magazines. south asia fm and kal radio run radio stations.
he also owns a big house worth ₹100 crore. his office has tv screens showing all 21 channels he owns.
what you can learn
think long-term. maran started with a small magazine in 1990. he built a huge empire over 30 years. wealth takes time to build.
diversify. he does tv, radio, print, dth, and cricket. that protects him if one business does badly.
keep control. he owns 75% of sun tv. that gives him full control. he does not have to answer to shareholders.
build for scale. his channels cover four languages. that gives him an advantage over competitors who only do one language.
frequently asked questions
1. what is kalanithi maran’s net worth in 2026?
$2.1 billion as of august 2026.
2. how much of sun tv does he own?
75%, according to the march 2026 shareholding pattern.
3. how much is sunrisers hyderabad worth?
between ₹17,500-18,400 crore. that is the fourth highest in the ipl.
4. how did he build his wealth?
he started with a magazine in 1990. he built sun tv into a media empire over three decades.
5. who runs the ipl team?
his daughter kavya maran. she has been the ceo since 2018.
