In Forbes magazine's annual list of world's highest paid actors released on Wednesday were names of two Indians despite never working for a Hollywood movie. Actors Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar were a part of the list for 2018 that was topped by Hollywood star George Clooney.

Clooney, 57, has reportedly earned an estimated $239 million between June 2017 and June 2018, largely due to the sale of his tequila company, marking the highest earnings in his 35-years career in the entertainment business. He hasn't acted in a film since 2016.

Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar was at the seventh position on the list with earnings at $40.5 million for the same period while Salman Khan was ranked ninth with earnings worth $38.5 million. They also made it to the top 100 highest-paid entertainers 2018 list released last month at 76th and 82nd positions respectively.

The top ten actors with the highest earnings in the world for 2018 according to Forbes are:

1. George Clooney - $ 239m
2. Dwayne Johnson - $124m
3. Robert Downey Jr - $81m
4. Chris Hemsworth - $64.5m
5. Jackie Chan -$45.5m
6. Will Smith - $42m
7. Akshay Kumar - $40.5m
8. Adam Sandler - $39.5m
9. Salman Khan - $38.5m
10. Chris Evans - $34m

Forbes has compiled its 2018 list based on estimated pre-tax earnings from June 2017 to June 2018, before deducting fees for managers, based on data from Nielsen, movie database IMDB, and interviews with industry experts and celebrities themselves.

These top 10 actors have collectively earned around $784 million according to the list, sharply higher than the cumulative $186 million earned by top 10 female actors, whose list was released last week. Scarlett Johansson topped the annual list at $40.5 million in pre-tax earnings.

Forbes has attributed part of the gender gap to the dominance of superhero and action movies that tend to be more male-oriented and earn hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office.