Tom Cruise Tops Hollywood’s “Highest Paid Actor” List

Tom Cruise is Hollywood’s highest paid actor for the period from May 2011 through May 2012. Cruise earned the top spot on Forbes‘ list thanks to the success of last years Mission: Impossible sequel for which he is not only an actor but also a producer with a back-end deal that earned him a large portion of the movies profits.

In 2011 through May 2012 Tom Cruise earned $75 million, far eclipsing the next closest salary earner in Leonardo DiCaprio who pulled in $37 million.

Also topping the list was Adam Sandler with $37 million, Dwayne Johnson with $36 million and Ben Still who earned $33 million.

If Katie Holmes ends up receiving child support from Tom Cruise she could take $400,000 annually out of his earned income. While New York works off a formula of 17% of a couple’s total income the state typically caps those payments at $400,000 with a judge’s discretion being used for other payments.

What might be most surprising about this list is the closeness in numbers to the top earning females. While Hollywood use to report a large discrepancy between actors and actresses Kristen Stewart during the same period earned $34.5 million followed by Cameron diaz with $34 million and Sandra Bullock who earned $25 million, much of which she was still earning from her 2009 smash hit The Blind Side.

The trick to a high paying Hollywood salary? Become popular enough to earn a portion of your movies gross box office and then sit back and collect lifetime royalties for your time on set.

Are you surprised by Tom Cruise’s “top earner” position?