Jesus was right: it seems the meek shall, indeed, inherit the earth.

Earlier this week, Forbes Magazine, the corporate raider's glossy of choice, published its first Ultimate Star Payback list - an attempt to assess which actors offer the best return on an investment - and the results were surprising indeed.

Matt Damon, star of the Bourne films, beat various diminutive scientologists and bellowing Australians to the No 1 spot in the male list. It seems that the producers of Matt's last three films have seen an average return of $29 for every buck they spent on hiring the quietly spoken star. Brad Pitt was in second place, followed by Johnny Depp and - would you believe? - Vince Vaughn.

More surprising still was the appearance of Ms Jennifer Aniston, Vaughn's co-star in The Break Up  at the top of the female list. Somehow or other, Aniston has earned an average $17 for each dollar she was paid. By way of comparison, Tom Cruise and Will Smith pull in just $12. So, just how little are those skinflints paying our Jennifer?