In this article, we will be taking a look at the 15 richest actors in the world. To skip our detailed analysis, you can go directly to see the 5 richest actors in the world.
While celebrities in general, and actors in particular, have always been counted among the rich and famous, commanding the adoration of millions of fans, the richest actors in the world have never seen a net worth as high as right now. While many believe that actors do not deserve the riches they earn as the job does not require brilliance nor a lot of physical labor, the truth is that only a few actors make it to the very top, with their performances commanding a significant following, which in turn allows them to demand higher paychecks for their work. Further, movies and TV shows are universally popular thereby attracting large audience as compared to niche interests.
One of the reasons why actors are earning more than ever before is due to the advent of streaming, which has made content more accessible than ever before. With the biggest streamers including Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) and The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) commanding hundreds of millions of subscribers, the importance of having popular shows and movies available for subscribers cannot be understated, which is why these streaming giants are spending extravagant amounts of money not just to gain rights to existing movies and TV shows, but create original content, for which actors are being paid tens of millions of dollars. Dwayne Johnson for example, was paid $20 million for Red Notice, a movie created by Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) while Ryan Reynolds earned $26 million for Six Feet Under, another Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) production, all of which has gone to make the richest actors in the world even richer.
Even though streaming is still a relatively new industry at less than two decades old, its exponential growth has seen many more competitors join in, with examples including HBO with Max, Hulu and several others. Because of this, Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), once the undisputed king of streaming, lost nearly a million subscribers in YTD June 2022, and its stock plummeted. However, the company has gone on to post a huge recovery, with its share price increasing by over 150% in the last one year, showing that investing in the right streaming companies can still prove a potentially lucrative return.
15 Richest Actors in the World
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Another way that the richest actors in the world have multiplied their wealth many times over is through social media, and arguably the pioneer of this is Kim Kardashian. The reality TV star gained infamy from the release of a sex tape, but converted that into widespread popularity with a reality show starring her family, which in turn was leveraged into gaining hundreds of millions of followers across several social media platforms by maintaining an active presence on different platforms including Facebook and Twitter (see Kim Kardashian's stock portfolio).
Most actors now command a major presence on social media, and can often charge hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions, for a simple post. Of these social media platforms, Instagram, owned by Meta Platforms, Inc. (META), is by far the most popular, where celebrities and even social media influences, can make a lot of money endorsing products if they have a large enough follower base. In fact, most celebrities are now on Instagram, allowing followers to have a more intimate look at their lives through a visual medium and the large user base of the platform allows celebrities to earn much more money for simple endorsements.
However, many of the richest actors in the world don't derive a majority of their income from their actual acting roles, social media posts or endorsements; they earn through their businesses. Many of the richest actors and richest actresses have started to invest their significant earnings into businesses, or started their own businesses, which have earned them generational wealth. Be it Dwayne Johnson's many different pursuits, including Teremana Tequila, Jessica Alba's The Honest Company, Inc. (NYSE:HNST), Ryan Reynold's holdings in Mint Mobile which was sold to T-Mobile US, Inc. (NASDAQ:TMUS) or George Clooney's Casamigos which was sold to Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO), actors' involvement in businesses has never been as strong and impactful as it is now. It doesn't hurt that since most successful celebrities already have a following in millions, it is easier for them to attract customers and the wealth earned from successful businesses is several magnitudes higher than what can be earned through starring in movies, no matter how successful. That is why the richest actors and actresses in the world still have a net worth well below some of the richest families in the world, as the latter's wealth is derived through generations of successful businesses.
Methodology
It wasn't an easy task to determine the richest actors and actresses in the world, mainly because no one really records this statistic. While you can find the net worth of any celebrity on random websites, most of which are unreliable to say the least, legitimate publications such as Forbes only maintain sometimes yearly lists of highest paid actors. To finalize our rankings, we used Forbes' richest actors list from 2018 to 2022 and its highest paid entertainers list of 2022, since there wasn't any such list in 2021. We assessed Kim Kardashian's net worth separately based on an article from Forbes confirming her as a billionaire. We separately also used BBC to determine Ryan Reynold's earning from his major business sales and any other such deals made in this time period. There are some notable exceptions such as Jessica Alba, who was worth $341 million in 2021 according to Forbes when The Honest Company, Inc. (NYSE:HNST) was expected to be valued somewhere around $1.3 billion to $1.7 billion. However, the company's stock has completely collapsed since, losing more than 90% of its value and the company's current valuation of $187 million means that the proportionate wealth of Jessica Alba is just $37.5 million, which is not sufficient to make this list.
15. Ben Affleck
Total earnings: $55 million
Ben Affleck may be in the news now for his marriage to Jennifer Lopez, but his bankability in Hollywood has ensured he is able to consistently amass a massive fortune.
14. Bradley Cooper
Total earnings: $57 million
Bradley Cooper made a very wise decision as the producer and actor in "A Star is Born" to not earn a salary but share in the profits. The runaway success of the movie ensured he made a fortune while even endorsement deals earn the major Hollywood star millions of dollars.
13. Mark Wahlberg
Total earnings: $58 million
Mark Wahlberg has been one of Hollywood's most bankable actor for several years now, and while he's earned tens of millions of dollars from Netflix, he also works as a producer, not to mention a stake in his family's own burger chain, Wahlburgers.
12. Will Smith
Total earnings: $121.5 million
Will Smith was one of the most popular actors in the world for decades, before losing most of his goodwill due to one moment of losing his temper. Smith is one of the celebrities who have leveraged social media to amplify their wealth and earns millions from various social media platforms, in addition to signing a deal with Snapchat for a lockdown series, not to mention a starring role in Netflix's "Bright 2".
11. Adam Sandler
Total earnings: $137.5 million
Adam Sandler may not be one of the most critically acclaimed movie stars of all-time, but his deal with Netflix has ensured that he gets to make movies casting people close to him while also still being counted among the richest actors in the world. Adam Sandler has a four-movie $250 million deal with Netflix, which will ensure his continued appearance in our list for the foreseeable future.
10. Chris Hemsworth
Total earnings: $140.9 million
Chris Hemsworth became a household name portraying Thor in the Marvel Universe, which is where he's earned most of his fortune from, commanding $15 million per movie and a share in the profits in addition.
9. Jackie Chan
Total earnings: $143.5 million
One of the most beloved actors of our time, Jackie Chan has continued to be active even in his 60s, earning a large part of his fortune acting in various movies, endorsements and producer credits. However, a lot of his recent earnings have to do with him owning his own line of movie theaters as well as other business ventures.
8. Robert Downey Jr.
Total earnings: $147 million
Robert Downey Jr. kickstarted the Marvel Universe, and rightfully was the highest paid actor in a franchise dominated by some of the biggest names in the industry. Spearheading the most successful franchise in history has allowed Robert Downey Jr. to command a massive payday for attaching himself to a movie.
7. Akshay Kumar
Total earnings: $154 million
The only Bollywood actor among the richest actors in the world, Akshay Kumar is well-known for doing several films every single year, as well as his adherence to an efficient shooting system which allows him to wrap up a movie in just a couple of months, and sometimes even earlier. This high volume of work has allowed him to become the highest paid Bollywood actor.
6. Tyler Perry
Total earnings: $165 million
Tyler Perry's majority earnings come from the fact that he owns the content he produces and so continues to earn from work done several years ago, not to mention his Madea franchise, which alone has earned over $600 million.
