The $80 million man

From rapper to TV actor to film star, Will Smith has risen to the top of the Hollywood A list.

Forbes magazine reports this week that the 39-year-old Philadelphia native is now officially the highest paid actor in Hollywood.

Smith raked in $80 million last year, according to Forbes. "Frequently called the hardest-working man in Hollywood, Smith has proved that no matter the genre--be it sci-fi thriller (Warner Bros.' I Am Legend) or sappy drama (Sony's The Pursuit of Happyness)--he can deliver an audience," the magazine reported.

Smith beat out Pirates of the Caribbean star Johnny Depp, who finished second with $72 million, and Norbit star Eddie Murphy, who pulled in $55 million.

It's not just his 2007 paychecks that make Smith wealthy. With a worldwide career box office of $4.4 billion, Will Smith is described by Newsweek as "the most powerful actor in Hollywood." And that was written last year.

The competition isn't even close. "Smith's worldwide box office is more than Adam Sandler's and Will Ferrell's combined," reports Newsweek's Sean Smith. "He's bankable in every genre, whether sci-fi (I, Robot), action-comedy (Men in Black), romantic comedy (Hitch) or drama (The Pursuit of Happyness)."

Eight Consecutive Blockbusters

Now the top-paid, Grammy-winning, Oscar-nominated Smith has a new honor to add to his list of achievements. Thanks to the success of his new movie Hancock, Smith has become "the first actor in Hollywood history to have eight straight movies eclipse $100 million at the box office," Forbes reported.

Smith's first film to break the $100 million U.S. box office revenue number was the 1996 mega hit Independence Day, which also earned nearly $600 million worldwide. Since then, he's released Men In Black, Enemy of the State and Wild Wild West, all of which grossed more than $100 million in the U.S.

Although the 2001 film Ali was not a commercial success, Smith's last eight movies have all more than compensated. Men in Black II took in $441 million worldwide. Bad Boys II made $273 million worldwide and I, Robot earned $347 million worldwide.

Smith's three most recent films have also found stunning success at the box office. The Pursuit of Happyness in 2006 earned $307 million, last year's I Am Legend earned an eye-popping $584 million and this summer's Hancock has already earned $373 million worldwide.

In a year in which an African American has become the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, Venus Williams won Wimbledon, Tiger Woods has dominated golf even while out on an injury, and Oprah Winfrey remains the queen of television, Smith's success may be rooted in the same appeal the others enjoy.

Smith may be the Barack Obama of Hollywood, or Obama may be the Will Smith of politics. As one top studio executive told Newsweek about Smith, "He invites the white community in, yet he's credible with the black community. That's a pretty hard trick."