Money Mark
Mark Wahlberg is so money and he. . . Â well, he knows it. The Artist Formerly Known As Marky Mark (with a VERY checkered past) has climbed the greasy pole of Hollywood to the tippy-top. He’s #1 in the category show biz cares about most:
From Forbes:
The former rapper-turned-actor is Hollywood’s highest-paid leading man, earning $68 million pretax in our 12 month scoring period.
The Boston native recorded his highest-ever payday thanks to soaring fees for movies such as Transformers: The Last Knight and the forthcoming Daddy’s Home 2. The former may have scored a miserable 15% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and the lowest gross of the franchise to date, but Wahlberg need not worry–fixed compensation means he benefits even when movies don’t do well.
That’s some good business acumen. He even beats out Dwayne Johnson for top dawg, financially:
Wahlberg elbows out last year’s top-ranked star, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (No. 2; $65 million). Johnson continues to rake in top dollar for parts in Baywatch and the upcoming Jumanji, earning $50 million more than his 2016 total. While the lifeguard reboot failed to make a splash at the box office, The Rock’s checking account remains solid thanks to his lucrative role in HBO’s Ballers–and a popularity that pegged him likely to beat President Trump in a prospective 2020 election, per a 2017 poll.
Fair enough.
Forbes also notes:
Hollywood’s highest-paid actors continue to out-earn their female counterparts: The top 10 actors banked a cumulative $488.5 million–nearly three times the $172.5 million combined total of the 10 top-earning women. While only three actresses made more than $20 million in 12 months, 16 actors broached the mark.
This pay disparity comes down to roles: In release schedules dominated by superhero movies and brawny blockbusters, there are simply fewer parts for women that pay the sizeable backend profits that result in leading men’s large paydays, or the franchise sequels that permit aggressive negotiation for favorable deals.
Paging Gal Gadot!
