George Clooney may not have helmed a hit in years, but his wallet hasn’t noticed. Thanks to the up to $1 billion purchase of his Casamigos Tequila, Ge
George Clooney may not have helmed a hit in years, but his wallet hasn’t noticed. Thanks to the up to $1 billion purchase of his Casamigos Tequila, George Clooney scored a career high pretax paycheck of $239 million between June 1, 2017 and June 1, 2018. The 57-year-old actor tops Forbes’ annual ranking of highest-paid actors, which tallies both onscreen and extracurricular earnings in 12-month scoring frame.
Last June, British liquor conglomerate, Diageo announced it would purchase Casamigos founded by in 2013 by George Clooney, nightlife entrepreneur Rande Gerber and real estate tycoon Mike Meldman, for $700 million up front with the potential for an extra $300 million over the next decade. This means an estimated $233 million pretax from Casamigos, plus additional earnings from endorsements and older movies for George Clooney.
Coming in, in second place is Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, who banked $124 million pretax. He tallied the largest ever acting take-home from front-of-camera roles in Celebrity 100 history, thanks to giant upfront paychecks and a cut of profits on blockbusters including Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. A huge social following allows him to negotiate an extra seven figures atop his standard contract for promotion, helping nearly double his 2017 earnings.
Rounding out the top three is Robert Downey Jr., who pocketed $81 million, cashing an estimated $15 million up front for 2017’s limited-screen-time role in Spider-Man: Homecoming. He earned several times that amount for Avengers: Infinity War. His co-star, Chris Hemsworth is in fourth place with $64.5 million, thanks to his cut from Marvel movies such as Thor: Ragnarok.
Others on the list include Jackie Chan at number five with $45.5 million, making the cut as China’s top movie star. He appeared in six films released in 2017 and banks extra from a vast array of endorsements, producer credits and even his own line of movie theaters. Among a slew of familiar faces, the only returnee to the ranking is Will Smith at number six with $42 million. His turn in Netflix’s panned Bright earned him an estimated $20 million. A forthcoming role as Genie in Disney’s live action Aladdin adds to his bottom line.
At number seven is Bollywood’s Akshay Kumar with $40.5 million. He brought in backend profits from his film releases like ‘Toilet’ and ‘Padman.’ He also endorsed around 20 brands, including Indian finance conglomerate Tata and battery manufacturer, Eveready. At number eight is Adam Sandler with $39.5 million. Sandler made millions from his Netflix movie deal, which he signed in 2014 and extended for four films in 2017. Forbes said he also earned six-figures for each live comedy act he performed in the last year.
At number nine is Salman Khan at $38.5 million. The Bollywood star, earned $38.5 million from a combination of successful films that he starred in and produced, including 2017’s ‘Tiger Zinda Hai,’ and endorsement deals for consumer items like Suzuki motorcycles and Chlormint gum while at number ten is Chris Evans pulling in $34 million. Evans’ paycheck primarily stemmed from his role as Captain America in Marvel Cinematic Universe films, including the 2018 blockbuster ‘Avengers: Infinity War.’
Together, the world’s ten highest-paid actors tallied $748.5 million between June 1, 2017, and June 1, 2018, before fees and taxes. The salaries of top-earning male leads dwarf those of the world’s highest paid actresses, who earned a cumulative $186 million in the same scoring period, or just one quarter of the men’s paydays.
