Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa Highest-Paid Actor in the World

By Carol Kearney
Washington
Last updated on July 17, 2025

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa led People With Money’s annual list of the “100 highest paid actors” released on Wednesday.

Hot news

Breaking Up July 9, 2025
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa Single Again?
Movie News July 17, 2025
‘Pearl Harbor’ named Greatest Film of all time
Rumor Central July 2025
Is Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa secretly gay and hiding in the closet?

It's been a rough year for the actor, but at least he has his millions of dollars to ease the pain. 74-year-old Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa has taken the No. 1 spot on People With Money’s top 10 highest-paid actors for 2025 with an estimated $46 million in combined earnings.

UPDATE 17/07/2025 : This story seems to be false. (read more)

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa tops annual list of highest-paid actors

In 2023 it looked like the actor’s spectacular career was winding down. Suddenly, he was back on top. People With Money reports on Wednesday (July 16) that Tagawa is the highest-paid actor in the world, pulling in an astonishing $46 million between June 2024 and June 2025, a nearly $20 million lead over his closest competition.

People With Money’s factors

In compiling this yearly list, the magazine considers factors such as upfront pay, profit participation, residuals, endorsements and advertising work.

The American actor has an estimated net worth of $145 million. He owes his fortune to smart stock investments, substantial property holdings, lucrative endorsement deals with CoverGirl cosmetics. He also owns several restaurants (the “Fat Tagawa Burger” chain) in Washington, a Football Team (the “Tokyo Angels”), has launched his own brand of Vodka (Pure Wondertagawa - US), and is tackling the juniors market with a top-selling perfume (With Love from Cary-Hiroyuki) and a fashion line called “Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa Seduction”.

The ranking is significant for many Cary-Hiroyuki fans, who have been waiting for his triumphant return to the glory days for what seems like a lifetime.