If You Smell What the Rock is Cooking it Probably Smells Like a Lot of Money

    It’s been many, many years (and one bout of puberty) since we were avid wrestling fans, but Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock) is not any ordinary wrestler: He’s now an international movie star and a bona-fide A-List celebrity who may someday be known to more people as an actor than a wrestler. (Does he even wrestle anymore? We don’t know.)

    Oh, and he’s also very, very rich.

    The Rock tops this year’s Forbes list of highest paid actors, earning a whopping $64.5 million over the past 12 months (via Vulture). Jackie Chan finished a close second with $61 million (earned mostly through films he made in China), while Matt Damon landed in the third spot with $55 million.

    Forbes attributes Mr. Rock’s big payday to upfront fees he earned for Central Intelligence, Fast 8 and the forthcoming Baywatch movie. Meanwhile, Forbes notes that Chan “mints money” with his movies over in China.

    Here’s the full top-ten list via Forbes:

    1. Dwayne Jonson: $64.5 million
    2. Jackie Chan: $61 million
    3. Matt Damon: $55 million
    4. Tom Cruise: $53 million
    5. Johnny Depp: $48 million
    6. Ben Affleck: $43 million
    7. Vin Diesel: $35 million
    8. Shah Rukh Khan: $33 million
    9. Robert Downey Jr.: $33 million
    10. Akshay Kumar: $31.5 million

    And in case you’re wondering, the top-earning actress for the year, Jennifer Lawrence, would have placed sixth on this list. So you know, that might be something for Hollywood to talk about at some point.

     Photo: Eva Rinaldi