I’m sure most of you are like me in that, when I try to imagine what a leading actor or actress in Hollywood makes, I just think cha-ching and the figure of “a gazillion” comes to mind. It’s naturally an unimaginable amount of money, even for someone who is doing OK in terms of income, to imagine not just never having to worry about how much money they’re spending, but actually having to worry about what to do with all this money?! Take a look. 


Normally when you’re crunching the numbers on your taxes, the “net” income is the amount you had after you paid into Social Security, Medicare, and whatever expenses you might’ve been able to write off. This breakdown’s net is just the money after everything is taken care of, the infinity pool, the housing, the fine art collection and the meager 25 G’s they donated to charity. My favorite part, though, is the creative accounting concerning this “loan-out corporation.” They explain that it’s the doohickey that makes it so that the actors pay less in taxes. I mean, yeah, you have to skim where you can to make sure you squeeze every cent.

Of course the implication is never that this is an evil industry. It’s no secret we as a society like to see movies. Ticket sales equal dollars, we give a crap who sells us makeup and hair care products, and we buy the clothes they wear. So even if it seems they’ve hit the jackpot, at least we know where they money is coming from. It is still interesting to see exactly what that unimaginable figure actually looks like. Nearly five million dollars in whatever money. Hey guys, how about some venture capitalism? I’d love to start a hair salon. Oh wait, you can’t hear me. Not will all that money shoved in your ears [via NYmag].

Does shedding some light on the real numbers surprise you? Did you think they made even more?