Shah Rukh Khan
Pictured: Shah Rukh Khan at the Marrakech International Film Festival.Reuters

In one of the celebrated chat shows aired earlier this year, Shah Rukh Khan had said it was okay to run after money and totally fine if someone despised poverty. It is these sentiments and his undying passion for acting that triggered the superstar's desire to become one of the successful faces of the world. 

Forbes released its World's Highest Paid Actors 2016 list, in which SRK is number 8 with yearly earnings of $33 million. He levelled Robert Downey Jr's annual paycheck and successfully elbowed out Salman Khan to become the 8th highest paid actor in the world. It is a 10-slot jump for the "Fan" actor, who pocketed $26 million and was on no. 18 on the list in 2015.

Akshay Kumar ranks at no. 9 with $31.5 million, just a few positions ahead of Salman's $28.5 million haul. The "Rustom" star earned the same as Brad Pitt during Forbes' scoring period, which is from June 1, 2015 to June 1, 2016.

"Baywatch" actor Dwayne Johnson has topped the list with a knockout $64 million and tailing him is Jackie Chan who banked $61 million annually. Thanks to the money "The Martian" made, Matt Damon now sits snug at no. 3 with an impressive $55 million. Tom Cruise and Johnny Depp complete the top five positions with yearly earnings of $53 million and $48 million, respectively.

Together, the actors have tallied a staggering $703.5 million in a single year, which is three times the figure posted by the world's highest paid actresses combined, Forbes reported.

Check the top-20 list below:

Actors Yearly earnings in USD [June 1, 2015- June 1, 2016]
Dwayne Johnson $64 million
Jackie Chan $61 million
Matt Damon $55 million
Tom Cruise $53 million
Johnny Depp $48 million
Ben Affleck $43 million
Vin Diesel $35 million
Shah Rukh Khan $33 million
Robert Downey Jr. $33 million
Akshay Kumar $31.5 million
Brad Pitt $31.5 million
Adam Sandler $30 million
Mark Wahlberg $30 million
Salman Khan $28.5 million
Leonardo Dicaprio $27 million
Chris Pratt $26 million
Will Smith $20.5 million
Amitabh Bachchan $20 million
Mathew McConaughey $18 million
Harrison Ford $15 million