Thanks to her social media power, the 'Born This Way' hitmaker makes her debut as the world's most powerful celebrity of 2011 and dethrones four-time list leader Oprah Winfrey.
- May 19, 2011
AceShowbiz - Lady GaGa has dethroned Oprah Winfrey as the world's most powerful celebrity. On Wednesday, May 18, Forbes magazine released its annual Celebrity 100 list for 2011 and unraveled that the "Born This Way" hitmaker moved up four positions from last year to claim the title from the daytime talk show queen.
Forbes breaks down the list into five categories. While GaGa was way behind four-time list leader Oprah in the money category, she topped the social and web categories. The 25-year-old singer was estimated to have earned $90 million in the past 12 months, and have gathered as much as 32 million Facebook fans and 10 million Twitter followers.
The magazine's editor Dorothy Pomerantz explained, "Lady GaGa beat Oprah this year because of her social media power." She added, "She can use Twitter and Facebook to work the 'little monsters' into a frenzy that leads to record sales and media attention. She's the best example of how celebrities will need to manage their careers in the coming years."
Justin Bieber came in behind Oprah. Making his debut on the list at the tender age of 17, he secured the No. 3 position with the earning of $53 million thanks to concerts, music sales and a 3-D documentary movie, "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never", that grossed $100 million at the global box office. He also holds a YouTube record of 500 million views for his music video "Baby".
Other big newcomers include pop singer Katy Perry at No 12, British director and producer Christopher Nolan at No. 47 and Oscar winner Natalie Portman at No. 75. Tiger Woods, Taylor Swift, Simon Cowell and LeBron James, meanwhile, are among the Top 10. Dropping out of the list entirely are Britney Spears and Daniel Radcliffe.
Top 20 of Forbes' Celebrity 100:
