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Thursday, May 22, 2014

Take that, Hollywood: Shah Rukh Khan has more moolah than Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, Eastwood, Nicholson

Only one Hollywood actor is richer than King Khan

WASHINGTON, DC: Bollywood icon Shah Rukh Khan is the world’s second-richest actor, beating out Hollywood royalty like Clint Eastwood, Jack Nicholson, and even Tom Cruise.

Khan (48) is the sole non-American on a list comprised entirely of men. The list was compiled by Wealth-X, a firm that specializes in compiling data and intelligence on the richest and wealthiest individuals in the world. According to their research, Khan is worth an extraordinary $600 million, which is beaten only by the $820 million belonging to comedian/actor Jerry Seinfeld.

Cruise placed #3, with $480 million, followed by Hollywood heartthrob Johnny Depp, who has a net worth of around $450 million. Both actors have had a hard time connecting at the box office of late, but still command very high salaries and often get producer credits on their films; Depp, in particular, normally receives at least $20 million per picture.

Tyler Perry ranked #5, with $450 million in the bank. The African American writer/director/actor is the highest-ranked black individual on the list, and is one of only three non-white men to make the list (Khan and Bill Cosby being the other).

Three-time Oscar-winner Jack Nicholson ranks #6, with $400 million, two-time Oscar-winner Tom Hanks is #7 with $390 million; former TV star and comedian Cosby is #8 with $380 million; Eastwood is #9 with $370 million; and actor Adam Sandler is #10 with $340 million.


All of the people are middle-aged or older men (the youngest person on the list, Perry, is 44).  Seventy percent of the list is comprised of Caucasian men, some of whom have not had a bona fide hit in years, while Seinfeld himself is rich largely from the royalties and DVD sales he accrues from syndication of the “Seinfeld” show, which ended 15 years ago.

The most noticeable aspect of the list, however, is the dearth of women. Stars like Meryl Streep, Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Lawrence, and Sandra Bullock are nowhere to be found despite being some of the highest-grossing stars, male or female, in the world.

Although one could argue as to the creative quality of Khan’s most recent projects, there’s no denying that they’ve all been massive commercial successes. His most recent film, Chennai Express, earned him somewhere around $5 million. Khan acts as a producer on just about all of his films, and has done so for the better part of a decade, meaning he reaps most of the profits (and also incurs the most loss, if the film underperforms).

In becoming the second-richest actor in the world, he has beat out competitors Salman Khan, who regularly breaks box office records with each of his new releases, and Aamir Khan, whose Dhoom 3 is currently the highest-grossing Indian film ever by a wide margin.

On Twitter, King Khan addressed the Wealth-X ranking, saying “No man is rich enough to buy back his past. O.Wilde. [referring to author Oscar Wilde] That said, work hard, make a good living [and] don’t forget to pray, the world awaits [you].”


Words we can all certainly live by, rich or not.

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