After two years as a runner-up, Oprah Winfrey was named the most powerful celebrity on Wednesday by Forbes, heading the six women and four men who make up the top 10. She’s a the top for the fifth time in the annual ranking of 100 celebrities.
Lady Gaga came in second, followed by director/producer Steven Spielberg, Beyonce and Madonna. Only three people have been on every single one of their lists since 1999: Oprah, Howard Stern and Steven Spielberg.
Jennifer Lopez, who was No. 1 last year, dropped to 12th place.
With $77 million in earnings from June 2012 to 2013, Oprah wasn’t the highest earning celebrity; that went to Madonna who made $125 million, but Forbes said Winfrey’s position in Hollywood, presence in the press, on television and in social media got her to the top. “She still wields an enormous amount of power, which is really what we look for in our fame matrix. She is taking this cable network and turning it around just through the sheer force of her will, her connections and her ability,” Forbes says.
Lady Gaga earned $80 million in the past 12 months and with her powerful social media presence, she took second place. “Even when she is not playing, people are talking about her.”
Spielberg, made $100 million in the last year, the top man on the list, ahead of Bon Jovi at No. 7, tennis champion Roger Federer and Justin Bieber, the youngest on the list, at No.9.
Number six is Taylor Swift, making the list for the first time. Rounding out the top 10 is TV talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.
Forbes bases a celebrity’s earnings on income from tours, books, contracts, endorsements, movies and residuals. Each celebrity was given a marketability score, developed by California market research firm E-Poll. It gauged fame and influence by how often celebrities appear in the media. It used Starcount, a Singapore-based company that looks at 11 social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, to determine their presence in social media.
“In today’s world celebrities have this enormous ability to reach out to their fans, who really are their customers, and to sell their product, which is really themselves. If they don’t take advantage of that it hurts them,” said Forbes.
Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, and Rihanna are particularly good with handling social media, according to Forbes. Top celebrity couples include Beyonce and husband Jay-Z (at 32), American football quarterback Tom Brady (#65) and his model wife Gisele Bundchen (#81), actor Ashton Kutcher (#53) and his girlfriend Mila Kunis (#89).
Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence, No. 49, is new to the list this year, as is Hugh Jackman, who was No. 11, and new father Channing Tatum (#23).
The full list of the top 100 celebrities can be found at www.forbes.com/celebs
