Forbes' Highest-Paid Actors List Shines Light On Gender Inequality

Top-earning actress Emma Stone took home a fraction of Mark Wahlberg's annual wage.
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Forbes’ newly-released figures about the highest-paid men in Hollywood have once again shone a light on the disparity in pay between male and female stars.

Last week, the financial news outlet revealed that Emma Stone had been the top-earning actress of the past 12 months, thanks to her Oscar-winning turn in ‘La La Land’.

They’ve now compiled a similar list of top earners among the men in the film world, with ‘Transformers’ actor Mark Wahlberg coming out on top, having earned around $68 million (£53.1 million) in the last year, more than double Emma’s reported $26 million (£20.3 million).

Mark Wahlberg
Mark Wahlberg
Timothy Hiatt via Getty Images

Just to really drive that point home… Emma Stone won an Academy Award in the last 12 months and earned less than half of what Mark got during a year in which he appeared in ‘Transformers: The Last Knight’, which got lukewarm reviews at best.

Emma also earned less than the top 14 highest-paid actors, including her co-star Ryan Gosling, whose performance in the Hollywood-based musical was received less well than hers.

Emma Stone and her Oscar
Emma Stone and her Oscar
Jim Smeal/Rex/Shutterstock

What’s more, the new figures reveal that the 10 highest-earning actors collectively earned $488.5 million (£381.7 million), more than two and a half times what their female counterparts made on $172.5 million (£134.8 million).

As Forbes writer Natalie Robehmed put it: “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.”

Other actors making up Forbes’ list of highest-paid actors include Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Vin Diesel, Adam Sandler and Jackie Chan.

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