While choosing career options, many consult google to rank the highest-paid jobs in the world. The list shows several options that need education but not one that needs skills. Good skills can earn you a fortune. If you don’t trust this fact, head below to check out some of the richest people in the world who charge millions for their skills.
List of the Richest Actors in the World
The names below will be familiar to you. Not just money, their spot-on acting skills gave these people fame and respect like no other. Let’s begin with some of the renowned personalities worldwide!
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10. Bill Cosby
Net Worth: $400 Million
Bill Cosby was born in Pennsylvania and belonged to a financially sound family that sent him to Mary Channing Winster School in Philadephia. He was an all-rounder and was elected class president and sports captain. He had a great sense of humor since the start and that is what made him famous among his fellows. Cosby joined the naval force to follow in the footsteps of his father but soon left it.
In 1961, he started his job as a bartender and realized that he could get bigger tips just by cracking jokes and making the customers laugh. That’s when he decided to quit studies for pursuing stage comedy. After working for several comedy clubs, Cosby got a proposal for NBC’s The Tonight Show. Following it, he got another game-changing offer by Warner Brothers in 1964 in the form of ‘Bill Cosby is a Very Funny Fellow…Right!’. Cosby did many standup comedies but none could beat his concert film ‘Bill Cosby: Himself’ which is regarded as the greatest comedy concert film in history. He has won many awards and several nominations as well.
9. Jack Nicholson
Net Worth: $400 Million
John Joseph Nicholson, most commonly known as Jack Nicholson is next in line to gain the title of the wealthiest actor in the world. This American actor plus filmmaker is worth 400 million USD. Jack Nicholson belonged to a pretty dramatic family. He said that his family tree is pretty baffling. He was raised in Neptune City in his mother’s Roman Catholic Church. Jack Nicholson was not in any way associated with the Hollywood industry but had gifted skills in acting. His first job in this industry was as an animation director for MGM Cartoon Studio. While working, he discovered his likeness towards acting and declined his promotion for this reason.
He started working as an actor back in 1955 in the TV series Tales of Wells Fargo. Later he got acting training in the Players Ring Theater. After pursuing a not-so-successful career in acting, Nicholson turned towards the direction seat and he wrote and directed a super hit screenplay ‘The Trip’ in 1967, though the editing was badly conducted and took away the title of the hit. Other than these, Nicholson acted in the low-budget film ‘Easy Rider’ that turned out to be a huge success and was even nominated for Oscars. He has been nominated numerous times and owns many awards as well.
8. Amitabh Bachchan
Net Worth: $400 Million
Amitabh Bachchan is known as the superstar of the golden Bollywood era. He has a net worth of 400 million USD. He is an actor, producer, TV host, playback singer, and also a former politician. Belonging to the senior acting class, Amitabh Bachchan’s name is still pretty common among the kids in India and surrounding countries. He has given Bollywood some of the record-breakers and blockbuster hits. He was born in 1942 in Allahabad, India, and belonged to a well-educated family. Bachchan had no plans ahead of pursuing acting at first but changed his mind later.
His journey started as a mere voice narrator in a famous Hindi film. In 1973, he auditioned and was signed for a film Zanjeer that became a hit and brought him to the spotlight. Since then, he has appeared in over 200 films of multiple genres. He is also known by names such as Shahenshah (king) of Bollywood, Sadi Ka Mahayanak (Greatest actor of the century), and Big B. Bachchan has not just won hearts, but awards as well, both national and international. He is best known for his 90’s film Sholay, Amar Akbar, Anthony, Deewar, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, Baghban, Don, and Wazir.
7. Adam Sandler
Net Worth: $420 Million
Adam Sandler, which may have surprised you, ranks 7th on the list as the wealthiest actor in Hollywood. He has a net worth of 420 million USD. This comedian can put life to any lifeless, boring and serious film scene through his dialogue delivery and expressions. His acting skills are the reason why big producers cast him at the rate of $20 million per movie. His comedy genres include; observational comedy, surreal comedy, blue comedy, musical comedy, sketch comedy, and satire. Sandler was born in a middle-class family in Brooklyn. He developed his passion and gift of acting when he was a teen associated with BBYO. Later, he auditioned in Hollywood for minor and major roles.
His acting career began in 1987, with the comedy sitcom ‘The Cosby Show’ in which he played a side role. He was offered a film debut at the young age of 16, which he accepted and from there he gained fame. He has also worked as a comedy scriptwriter for Saturday Night Live when he was just 17. His super hit movies include; Big Daddy, 50 First Dates, Grownups, Just Go With It, and Hotel Transylvania. He has won 5 MTV awards, 4 Kids Choice Awards, 2 People’s Choice awards, and 3 Teen Choice awards among several others.
6. Mel Gibson
Net Worth: $425 Million
With a net worth of 425 million USD, Mel Gibson comes 6th on the list of the richest actors on this planet. He is mostly known for playing lead hero roles in Hollywood films. Most of the above-listed actors belonged to the middle or lower class where they had to work their way up to wealth and fame, but that’s not the case for Gibson. He was born in a family where his parents were financially stable and his paternal grandfather was a millionaire. Therefore, he got his education from the best and led a pretty carefree childhood like any other rich kid. While growing up Gibson realized his lack of interest in business and decided to discover his passions. After a few years of self-counseling, Gibson came up with the idea of joining theatre to take some steps towards the glamorous world of showbiz.
In 1977, after graduating from the National Institute of Dramatic Art, Gibson started to work on his film ‘Mad Max’ and simultaneously worked as a stage actor. In the same year, he made his debut role in ‘Summer City’, which rose him to prominence. His first American film was ‘The River’, which opened the doors of Hollywood to him. In 2002, Gibson did a total of 3 films including ‘M. Night Shyamalan’s Signs’ that became the turning point of Gibson’s career. Mel Gibson has been awarded quite several times, some of which are; Academy Awards, People’s Choice Awards, Outstanding Contribution to World Cinema Award, and even the Forbes ‘World’s Most Powerful Celebrity-2004’.
5. George Clooney
Net Worth: $500 Million
Next up, we have the dashing George Clooney. He is an actor, director, producer, screenwriter, and philanthropist with a Net worth of 500 million USD. He was born in Lexington in a Roman Catholic family. According to Clooney, although his family was strictly religious, he never knew if he fitted there. When he was in middle school, he went through an illness that temporarily paralyzed half of his face. He was bullied and made fun of in his high school years due to his facial paralysis. He switched from North Kentucky University to the University of Cincinnati but didn’t complete graduation. Soon afterward, he decided to put a brake on his shoe business and go for acting.
He started his career in 1978 in a mini TV series ’Centennial’. In 1984, Clooney started getting offers from big houses which he accepted. However, none of those roles made him prominent onscreen. It was in 1988, thanks to a supporting role in the series ‘Roseanne’ that brought Clooney to fame. Since then, George Clooney has not remained an ordinary name. He has been part of famous films such as; Ocean’s Eleven, The Descendants, Three Kings, and Syriana, all of which he played the leading character. Many of them have been titled “Highest Grossing Films of the Year”. He has won BAFTA, Golden Globe, Peoples Choice, and Critics awards several times in his career.
4. Tom Cruise
Net Worth: $600 Million
Who doesn’t know this charming personality? Thomas Cruise, commonly known as Tom Cruise is one of the wealthiest celebrities in all of North America. This evergreen and never-aging personality is worth $600 million and when we say evergreen, we mean it. This Hollywood superstar ages reversely, it seems. He was born in New York in 1962. Cruise was brought up by a merchant father and a teacher mother in states of poverty. He describes his father as the source who made him independent and strong but that doesn’t mean his father was his inspiration. Cruise often recalls his father as a ‘bully’ in his interviews.
He first began being attracted towards acting when he was in fourth grade when he took part in a play. Cruise has mentioned attending 15 schools in a total of 14 years, due to frequent shifting and expelling. When he turned 18, he came to LA to audition for Tv roles. In 1981, he got signed up for his debut film ‘Endless Love. Since then, he has been appearing in many films, some of which are his own productions. His most notable films include; Mission Impossible series, Knight and Day, Minority Report, Top Gun, and Vanilla Sky. He has been awarded more than 26 awards including the Golden Globe and People’s Choice Awards.
3. Shah Rukh Khan
Net Worth: $690 Million
Could you ever imagine starting from zero and now having a net worth of $690 Million? This is the reality for the proclaimed king of the Bollywood industry. Shah Rukh Khan aka SRK is also known as ‘King Khan’ or ‘Bollywood Badshah’ with a net worth of 690 million USD. SRK was born in New Delhi, India in a politically active family. Growing up, Khan was an athletic and competitive child. In school, he excelled in sports and even won the highest school award known as the ‘Sword of Honour’.
He belonged to the middle class where the dream of pursuing acting was neither appreciated nor encouraged. Therefore, he earned a Bachelor’s degree in economics, but he couldn’t keep himself away from performing on stage.
It was about time that SRK decided to pursue acting full time and auditioned for the 1988 television series ‘Fauji’. He got the lead character and played it exceptionally. This led SRK to get more proposals from the television industry.
Long story short, Khan made his way to the big screen and got signed to four grand films simultaneously for the first time. His most notable works are ‘Dilwale Dulhania Lejayengay’, ‘Dil Se’, ‘Kal Ho Na Ho, ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham’ and ‘My Name Is Khan’. He has received the Padma Shri awards, Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and Legion d’honneur among the numerous other national and international recognitions. Newsweek even named him as one of the fifty most powerful people in the world.
2. Jerry Seinfield
Net Worth: $950 Million
Jerry Seinfield is second on the list for the richest actor in the world with a Net worth of $950 Million. He is also one of the richest comedians in history, making it on the Forbes million to billion rankings. Jerry’s name is a short form of his original name Jerome Allen Seinfield. This stand-up comedian was born in Brooklyn, New York, and graduated from Queen’s College with a major in communications and theatre. His genres include observational comedy, clean comedy, cringe comedy, surreal humor, and deadpan satire.
Seinfield says that he got his humor from his father who had a jolly nature. He further developed this nature as a passion while studying at Queens, where he used to appear at Open Mic Nights. In 1976, Seinfield did an open mic at ‘Catch a Rising Star’ and from there he got a proposal to appear in the Rodney Dangerfield HBO special. He started with minor and guest appearances in comedy sitcoms, until 1987 when he got his first show ‘Stand up Confidential’ airing on HBO. It was this very show that turned the tables for Seinfield and the major production houses who refused to work with him. His notable works include co-creating ‘The Bee Movie’, ‘Seinfield’, ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ and ‘Louie’. He has also been awarded Primetime Emmy Award for outstanding comedy series, among many others.
1. Tyler Perry
Net Worth: $1 Billion
On number, we have Tyler Perry who has a Net worth of 1 Billion USD. He is the first African-American actor to gain this much wealth and status. The now world-renowned actor, producer, and director was born Emmitt Perry Jr., in Louisiana. Perry did not have a very happy childhood. His stepfather, who was a carpenter, used to beat him as a kid and this kept Perry distant from his father and made his childhood a traumatic past. On the contrary, Perry was pretty close to his mother and regularly visited the church with her. When Perry turned 16, he decided to change his name and replaced Emmitt with Tyler.
Speaking of traumatic experiences, Perry’s stepfather was not the only one to hurt his self-esteem, it was revealed by some of Tyler’s interviews that he had been molested several times by people in his parent’s social circle. These events led Perry to drop out of school. Hence, he took a GED and later he started to write.
His career started in 1990, where he financed his script ‘I Know I’ve Been Changed’ with a total of $12000. To his surprise, the play was a flop due to poor musicals. It took Perry 6 years to redevelop the musicals and in 1998, he retooled the play, which led him to the Fox Theatre. This time the play was a huge hit. After that, there was no going back for Tyler Perry. Some of his notable works include ‘Daddy’s Little Girls’, ‘Why Did I Get Married?’, ‘Diary of a Black Woman’, and the character ‘Madea’ that brought fame to his acting.
Conclusion
So, after knowing about the net worth of all the amazing actors, would you like to become an actor too?
