Just over a month ago, Forbes released its list of the highest paid celebrities in the world between June 2015 and June 2016. There were musicians, athletes, comedians, actors and actresses, as well as some multimedia threats. We’ve sifted out all 16 actors and actresses (some of whom fall into that versatile “multimedia threat” category) who appeared on the Forbes list for a countdown of mega-millionaires.
It’s an interesting mix that definitely shows there’s a gender gap (just four women appear, although Taylor Swift is the top-earning celebrity overall, at an insane $170 million in the past year). But, while it’s mostly American, there are four thespians on the list born outside of the U.S.A., two of whom aren’t even particularly well known in Western pop culture. And, at the risk of sounding click-baity, No. 1 just might surprise you.
Here are the 16 Highest Paid Actors Of 2016.
16. BRAD PITT: $31.5 MILLION
We’re guessing a dozen or so years ago, when he was starring in Troy, The Big Short.
So where did that $31.5 million come from? Well, while he wasn’t the star of The Big Short, he did produce it, and the movie made over $133 million worldwide on a $28 million budget thanks in large part to its Best Picture nomination. On top of that, he made a couple bucks as a producer selling the Afghanistan war satire War Machine to Netflix, scheduled to stream later this year. He’s starring in that one as well, plus another wartime flick, Allied, coming out in November.
15. AKSHAY KUMAR: $31.5 MILLION
Akshay Kumar is living proof that you don’t have to be a Hollywood star to bring home massive bags of cash; being a Bollywood star will suffice. Bollywood, of course, is a loose term for Hindi language productions made in India, where there’s a built-in audience of over a billion. The 48-year-old actor is a talented martial artist and is known for his action films. In fact, he’s almost the Brad Pitt of India, married to a former award-winning actress over there named Twinkle Khanna, who herself (like Jolie) is the daughter of actors.
In 2008 he was named the “sexiest man alive” by the Indian version of People and in between a super-active lifestyle (charity work, kickboxing, swimming, basketball, parkour), he tends to churn out four or five films a year. The more you work, the more money you make, right? Plus, he has banked a lot through endorsements over the years, hawking everything from Levis to whiskey, LG electronics to a tea company.
14. MELISSA MCCARTHY: $33 MILLION
Before busting out in 2011’s Gilmore Girls and Samantha Who? But her Bridesmaids role, as Megan, was far from quiet. She showed how hilariously and cluelessly obnoxious she could be and it made her a star. After that her first starring role was in Identity Thief (2013), and she helped it earn nearly $174 million.
She’s now clearly getting paid for her box-office clout. She reportedly took home $14 million for this summer’s Mike & Molly. Plus, before she was an actress, she was ionate about fashion, and has since parlayed her on-screen success into a clothing line called Seven7, which offers stylish fashions for plus-size women.
13. SHAH RUKH KHAN: $33 MILLION
A couple items back we suggested Akshay Kumar could be the Brad Pitt of Bollywood. But Shah Rukh Khan could be the Tom Cruise, just a little step ahead in of superstardom. After all, Khan is nicknamed the “King of Bollywood.” While Kumar is more of an action star, Khan has done it all: starring in romantic comedies and action thrillers, playing villains, and getting rave reviews in dramas like My Name is Khan in 2010, playing a man with Asperger syndrome – a role we’d label Oscar bait on this side of the pond.
On top of his superstardom in India as an actor, he’s also become a shrewd businessman. In fact, he made his $33 million despite only appearing in two films released in the last year. He also co-founded a successful production company in 2002 called Red Chillies Entertainment, co-owns an Indian Premier League cricket team called the Kolkata Knight Riders and he’s been known to endorse many products.
12. ROBERT DOWNEY JR.: $33 MILLION
When you’re Iron Man, you get the big bucks. What more can we say, really? In fact, you most likely get paid more than the lead actor of the title character in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Robert Downey Jr. made $40 million and Captain America himself, Chris Evans made “just” $6.9 million.
Civil War was the only film last year’s highest paid actor ($80 million) starred in over the past year, so the bulk of his income came from that blockbuster. So, enter the endorsement to round things off. RDJ has signed a $12 million deal to be the face of HTC smartphones. Next year could thrust him back towards the top spot, though. He’ll surely get paid handsomely for an appearance in Sherlock Holmes 3 in the works as well, where he, of course, plays the title master sleuth.
11. VIN DIESEL: $35 MILLION
The man who’s synonymous with the Fast 8 currently filming, that he has largely to thank for his riches. When he came on as a producer for the fourth flick, Fast and Furious, in 2009, he helped turn around what was a sagging series, and he’s been riding their success to the bank ever since. In fact, the ninth and 10th installments have already been announced.
But when you’re an action star of Diesel’s caliber, just one franchise won’t cut it. He also got paid over the past year for his voice acting role as tree dude Groot in xXx: Return of Xander Cage. That’s how you make $35: by being really busy. And really famous.
10. JENNIFER LOPEZ: $39.5 MILLION
It’s got to be hard to maintain your humble status as “Jenny from the block,” as her song goes, when you’ve pocketed nearly $40 million in the past year alone. You’ve got to it, J-Lo is versatile, starting her career off as a Fly Girl dancer on In Living Color and moving on to become not just a movie star, but a star of both reality and scripted TV, plus a wildly successful singer. When you’ve got all that going on at such a high level, it’s almost surprising she’s not higher on this list.
Let’s look back at exactly what she’s done in the past year. Her judging gig on the final season of American Idol reportedly brought home $17.5 million alone. The 47-year-old Bronx native also starred in the NBC crime drama Ice Age: Collision Course, her Vegas song and dance show, her fragrance line, and various endorsement deals. We’re exhausted just writing about it.
9. SOFIA VERGARA: $43 MILLION
For us, this was the most surprising entertainer on the list, and she cracked the top 10. On the surface, most of us know Sofia Vergara as Gloria, the fiery Colombian trophy wife on the uber-popular ABC sitcom Modern Family. She’s great on the show, but she couldn’t possibly make $43 million in one calendar year from a sitcom, could she, even if it is the number two sitcom on TV?
Well, she and the other main cast reportedly worked out a new deal for the coming eighth season that will bring in $350,000 each per episode, plus a cut of the back end. Assuming 22 episodes, that’ll come to $7.7 million for the season before the back-end bonus. Clearly, even with this raise it won’t get her to $43 million. So, of course, it’s endorsements with the likes of Cover Girl, Head & Shoulders and others, plus her own talent management company, that brings home the bacon.
8. BEN AFFLECK: $43 MILLION
Ben Affleck is the second of three actors on this list who made part of their millions from playing a superhero. The 44-year-old two-time Oscar winner (neither for acting) made his controversial debut as Batman this year in Justice League movies, in 2017 and 2019.
Despite all of his past success, Forbes says that his Batman payday, which includes not just his salary, but a back-end deal, has resulted in Affleck’s most lucrative year to date. Also contributing is his starring role in the crime thriller The ant, which is slated for release in October. Just imagine the power couple he and J-Lo, number 10 on this list, would be if they hadn’t split up years ago.
7. JENNIFER LAWRENCE: $46 MILLION
And, following the Caped Crusader, we have the third and final superhero actor on this list. Oscar-winner Jennifer Lawrence (X-Men: Apocalypse earlier this year to contribute a good chunk to her 2015-16 fortune.
J-Law’s starring role in huge franchises like that, plus The Hunger Games, which finished up last year with engers, about a troubled space journey, co-starring Chris Pratt. And yet she’s still all the way down at number seven on this list. It’s no wonder that she’s been so vocal about Hollywood’s wage gap.