Mark Wahlberg is Highest-Paid Actor, Top 14 Men Outperform Actresses

By Leigh Nordstrom on August 23, 2017

Mark Wahlberg

Debby Wong/REX/Shutterstock

Actresses in Hollywood are more than ever vocalizing their struggles to receive pay comparable to their male counterparts, but according to Forbes’ latest ranking of the highest paid women and men in Hollywood, the industry still has a long way to go.

Mark Wahlberg has been named the highest-paid male actor in Hollywood by Forbes, after taking in $68 million. He uproots last year’s winner, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who made $65 million this year for second place. The other three in the top five are Vin Diesel at $54.5 million, Adam Sandler at $50.5 million and Jackie Chan at $49 million.

The highest paid actress doesn’t come remotely close to Wahlberg – or to the other top 13 men in Forbes’ list, for that matter. The highest-paid actress in Hollywood for 2017, Emma Stone, made $26 million over the last 12 months. She edges out Ryan Reynolds, who at $21 million ranks 15th on the list of top paid men – but the remaining 14 highest-paid male actors officially made more than the highest-paid woman.

Even Stone’s “La La Land” costar Ryan Gosling made more than her, at $29 million – and she’s the one who won the Oscar, after all. In total, over the past year only three actresses brought in over $20 million (Jennifer Aniston and Jennifer Lawrence were the other two), compared with the 16 men who made above that.

Later this year, Wahlberg will be seen in Ridley Scott’s “All the Money in the World” alongside Kevin Spacey and Michelle Williams. Much of Wahlberg’s financial success this year is credited to “Transformers: The Last Knight,” and his apparent rate for the upcoming comedic film “Daddy’s Home 2.” Neither is exactly Oscar-worthy material but Wahlberg is no doubt laughing all the way to the bank.