Ashton Kutcher - $24 Million Salary: Ashton Kutcher Tops Forbes' Actors Rich List

$24 Million Salary: Ashton Kutcher Tops Forbes' Actors Rich List

Ashton Kutcher has been named TV’s highest paid actor. The Two and a Half Men star may have disgraced himself in the celebrity gossip world, by allegedly cheating on his partner Demi Moore, but in the world of television, he’s still hot property and commands a staggering fee for his appearances in the show.

According to Forbes’ annual survey of the highest paid television actors, Kutcher earned $24 million between May 2011 and May 2012. His predecessor on Two and a Half Men, Charlie Sheen (who left the show in a pretty dramatic fashion after suffering what appeared to be some kind of mental breakdown) did not even make the Top 10. That said, when Sheen was at the top of his game, he out-classed Kutcher significantly, with earnings of $40 million. Sheen wasn’t the only big name star to mysteriously disappear from the Top 10 though. Steve Carell, who proved to be a massive hit on the small screen with the US adaptation of Ricky Gervais’ The Office, also dropped off the list.

Snapping at Kutcher’s heels at the top of the list was Hugh Laurie, who ranked second with $18 million, largely for his role in House. Ray Romano earned an equal amount, and still appears to be raking it in with re-runs of his classic Everybody Loves Raymond comedy. Alec Baldwin’s in next with $15 million, still charming TV audiences with his role in 30 Rock.