Listen Live
Donate
 on air
Schedule

KCRW

Read & Explore

  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Food
  • Culture
  • Events

Listen

  • Live Radio
  • Music
  • Podcasts
  • Full Schedule

Information

  • About
  • Careers
  • Help / FAQ
  • Newsletters
  • Contact

Support

  • Become a Member
  • Become a VIP
  • Ways to Give
  • Shop
  • Member Perks

Become a Member

Donate to KCRW to support this cultural hub for music discovery, in-depth journalism, community storytelling, and free events. You'll become a KCRW Member and get a year of exclusive benefits.

DonateGive Monthly

Copyright 2025 KCRW. All rights reserved.

Report a Bug|Privacy Policy|Terms of Service|
Cookie Policy
|FCC Public Files

Forbes' Most Overrated List

Last week, Forbes released its second-annual list of Hollywood's most overpaid movie stars.  As with most stories about Hollywood, it's a wonderfully salacious tidbit that ultimately doesn't mean a whole helluva lot...

  • Share
By Matt Holzman • Sep 15, 2008 • 4m Listen

I'm Matt Holzman with The Business Brief, a guide to what's happening in and around the business.

list of Hollywood's most overpaid movie stars. As with most stories about Hollywood, it's a wonderfully salacious tidbit that ultimately doesn't mean a whole helluva lot.

Nicole Kidman, who's last three films, according to Forbes, earned a mere dollar for every dollar she was paid. Kidman is followed by Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Garner, J-Lo, Jim Carrey, Nicholas Cage, Drew Barrymore, Will Ferrell and Cate Blanchett as the top ten "least bankable" stars.

Russell Crowe, who topped the overpaid list last year, is respectably placed on the best earners list this year.

Stranger than Fiction, and I really enjoyed the film, but it was ultimately too far out for the general audience.

Shrek movies to date.

bajillion times what I do. And yes, we all think teachers should be making much more than they do. But what does it mean to be overpaid, when stars make only what the market will bear and what their value proves out over time? I will bet you that if you figured the lifetime figures for most of the stars on the list and you included merchandise and other ancillary income you would find that all of them return a pretty good bang for their buck.

Jeffrey Skilling or Dennis Kozlowski destroys a company, he takes the livelihood of his employees and millions from investors.

TheBusiness@KCRW.org.

You can podcast this commentary, share it with a friend, or embed it on your blog with the click of a button from our new media player at KCRW.com/TheBusinessBrief. For KCRW, I'm Matt Holzman.

  • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

    Matt Holzman

    Producer, 'The Document'

    Culture