14 DAY TRIAL // It’s a clash of the titans in this year’s Forbes’ Most Powerful Celebrity list, and Lady Gaga comes out the winner: the pop star has managed to bring down Oprah Winfrey from the top spot, which she secured for herself.
Each year, the prestigious Forbes magazine names its most powerful celebrity, which it determines by looking at sales and, of course, appeal and public ranking of said star for the previous year.
While Angelina Jolie landed at number 1 in 2009, last year, it was Oprah who held the title. Those thinking no one could possibly outdo these two should think again, because Lady Gaga can – and did.
Selling out a tour, landing several lucrative endorsement deals, putting out hit after hit and, last but not least, being very close to her fanbase, have made of Gaga the most powerful celebrity on the planet.
“These days that means mastering social media. Lady Gaga topples Oprah Winfrey from her No.1 spot on our list, which she’s given up for only the third time in seven years,” Forbes says.
“Gaga is there not just because of the $90 million she earned with a monster tour, but also because of her 32 million Facebook fans and 10 million Twitter followers – aka Little Monsters – who helped move 1 million digital downloads of her recent single ‘Born This Way’ in only five days,” the magazine notes.
“They’re also happy to buy the MAC makeup, Monster headphones and Virgin Mobile phones she features in her videos,” adds the same publication.
Not that Oprah fared that badly this year either. The Queen of Television, who has just shot her final episode for The Oprah Winfrey Show to great fanfare, is at number 2 in the top, with earnings estimated at $290 million.
Number three goes to another Internet-savvy celebrity, the biggest teen pop star in history, Justin Bieber. He is followed by U2 at 4 and Sir Elton John on the fifth position.
Tiger Woods has made a comeback after the cheating scandal that nearly killed his career, landing at number 6, while Taylor Swift, Bon Jovi, Simon Cowell and Lebron James round up the top 10.