The Celebrity 100: Forbes Ranks The Powerful

It is the year of the tween. Coming off a massive concert tour, a hit 3-D movie--and a risqué picture in Vanity Fair--pop star Miley Cyrus (aka Hannah Montana) leads a slew of young stars onto Forbes' annual Celebrity 100 ranking of the world's ultra-famous.

Also building buzz, and drawing dollars, from the under-18 crowd were Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, teen crooners the Jonas Brothers and High School Musical stars Zac Efron and Ashley Tisdale.

Oprah Winfrey remains No. 1 on the Celebrity 100, a power ranking based on both earnings and fame. Despite weakening television ratings and magazine circulation, Winfrey earned $275 million before taxes in the past 12 months, and she remains one of the most famous faces in the world.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[TRex86]

Celebrity culture marks the death of the American mind. That we reward empty brains with wealth and fame says it all.

[toocoldout]

Their brains can't be too empty if they've figure out away to be rich and influential, in such a competitive market. I see nothing wrong with fun entertainment. It's what makes America great.

[trish74]

How is Brad Pitt ahead of Johnny Depp and Will Smith??? Will has consistently been a box-office draw while Brad gets lots of press for his personal life.

[toocoldout]

The list is based on who was powerful enough to generate the most income and media attention over the last 12 months. The rankings change every year.

[ThePhilosopher]

Why do we always insist on ranking everything? Does a 'top 100 most powerful celebrity' list even make sense? What constitutes a powerful celebrity and how does one objectively compare individuals with vastly different focuses and types of influence?

[toocoldout]

Oprah single-handedly got Obama the nomination. He won white women in the most critical state that is Iowa because of her, and he was losing black women quite badly until she campaigned. She also attracted thousands of new volunteers and increased Obama's visibility by an order of magnitude especially among African Americans. Anyone who can have that big an impact on a presidential race is not just the world's most powerful celebrity, but the world's most powerful person.

[Mort]

What have you been drinking?

[toocoldout]

Four million Americans decided to read Eckhart Tolle to read A NEW EARTH because Oprah endorsed it. When she decided to direct that kind of influence behind a political candidate, she became arguabley the most powerful person on Earth in my opinion.

[slobone]

This is a very peculiar list. Justin Timberlake more powerful than Stephen Spielberg? In what universe?

[toocoldout]

Timberlake can attract a lot more attention than Spielberg and that's power.

[slobone]

In that case, why isn't Paris Hilton #1?

[Agnim]

Way to go, Ms O! lol

It is a better world when the good people are on top of it.
And few out there has the size of 'heart' of an Oprah Winfrey.

[cramos]

Dear "O"

Please explain why you were a disciple of the dear Rev Wright?

[toocoldout]

Oprah hasn't set foot anywhere near his church since the 20th century. Oprah's far too intelligent for organized religion. She's a student of inclusive spirituality.

[conniedogs]

Yea Oprah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mort]

I fail to see how being a rich celebrity is the same as being powerful. Maybe they're talking about the power to cause a bunch of ladies to go out and buy whatever book she thinks they ought to. Or the power to crowd folks into a studio in hopes of catching an Eva Peron style golden ticket. Or the power to crash a stranger's wedding, turn it into a circus and not be arrested in the process. Or the power to turn charity work into self-deifying publicity stunts. Instead of power, that's just wealthy entitlement and ego.

[toocoldout]

Or the power to win Obama the nomination. It doesn't get anymore powerful than that.

[Mort]

She didn't win it for him. She was just one of his supporters, but he won the nomination. It was him giving those pivotal speeches, him standing honorably against Hillary's feces slinging, him answering questions, promoting policy, motivating the huge crowds that came to see him whether Oprah was there or not. To give her credit is to insult Obama and all those who support him.