Forbes' annual Celebrity 100 list ranks the world's ultra famous personalities from the film, TV, music, fashion, food and sports worlds based on entertainment-related earnings as well as exposure in television, radio, and print and online media.
Jolie the “Most Powerful” celebrity
The pillow-lipped actress has earned the top spot on Forbes' latest Celebrity 100 list after beating Oprah Winfrey, who had held the No. 1 position for the past two years.
Although Jolie grossed $27 million in 2008, compared with Winfrey 's whopping $275 million, the fame she earned by appearing constantly on magazine covers and TV, radio, newspaper and Web stories propelled her to the top spot.
"We try and measure a celebrity's power, and we look at two metrics to do that," Forbes’ senior editor, Matthew Miller, said. "We look at money, and we look at fame."
"Angelina Jolie is, by far, the most famous celebrity on the planet," he said. "There's not a day that goes by where she's not on the cover of a tabloid magazine or a regular magazine.
“There's not day that goes by when people are not talking about her philanthropy or her relationship with Brad Pitt or her movies or her children. All of that lends to a more popular, more robust and, frankly, more valuable brand."
Other top celebrities in the list
Following the aforementioned two celebrities in the list are Madonna, Beyonce Knowles, and Tiger Woods. The Pop Queen’s "Hard Candy" tour helped her rise 18 spots on the list to No. 3, with net earning of $110 million this past year, followed by Knowles who remains in the same spot as last year, at No. 4 with $87 million.
Golfer Tiger Woods, the world’s highest-paid athlete, dropped down three spots to No. 5 with $110 million, becoming the highest-ranking male celebrity in Forbes’ list.
Jolie’s partner Brad Pitt, who has six children with the actress, came in at No. 9, with estimated earnings of $28 million, close behind his ex-wife Jennifer Aniston who took spot No. 8.
Obama makes the history
President Barack Obama, at No. 49, became the first sitting head of state to land on the Celebrity 100 list. His historic election last year helped him in becoming the most famous person in the world, besides increasing his book sales.
Obama debuts on this year's Forbes list with book earnings of $2.5 million for the 12-month period.
"Obama is hands-down the most famous person in the world," said Lacey Rose of Forbes magazine. "His historic presidential run helped him sell more than a million copies of his books; he landed on many magazine covers."
"There is a real interest in him as a president, a family man, a celebrity," she said.
Toby Keith (No. 59), Taylor Swift (No. 69), Stephanie Meyer (No. 26), and Alec Baldwin (No. 91) are among the newcomers on this year's list.
Following is the list of top 20 powerful celebrities with their earnings, Web rank, press rank and TV rank, respectively in brackets:
1. Angelina Jolie (27 million, 3, 5, 3)
2. Oprah Winfrey (275 million, 4, 8, 2)
3. Madonna (110 million, 2, 6, 8)
4. Beyonce Knowles (87 million, 2, 20,16)
5. Tiger Woods (110 million, 54, 4, 4)
6. Bruce Springsteen (70 million, 32, 19, 25)
7. Steven Spielberg (150 million, 48, 26, 48)
8. Jennifer Aniston (25 million, 6, 30, 21)
9. Brad Pitt (28 million, 11, 7, 6)
10. Kobe Bryant (45 million, 53, 10 15)
11. Will Smith (45 million, 37, 18, 17)
12. Dr. Phil McGraw (80 million, 74, 55, 10)
13. Britney Spears (35 million, 10, 16,11)
14. David Letterman (45 million, 35,36,9)
15. Coldplay (70 million, 64, 17,57)
16. Adam Sandler (55 million, 25, 43, 44)
17. Harrison Ford (65 million, 13, 48, 75)
18. Michael Jordan (45 million, 33, 19, 39)
19. LeBron James (40 million, 58, 15, 27)
20. Tom Cruise (33 million, 33, 13, 19)
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