Beyonce has got all the celebrities behind her booty as she leads Forbes’ list of world’s most powerful celebrity. Crowned as the world’s most influential celeb of 2014, the American singer and actress also leads as the highest-paid black musician in history. Apart from churning out record-breaking foot-tapping songs, the star also makes millions with her line of perfumes, clothing line as well as by endorsing products. By lending her face and name to brands like Pepsi and H&M, she and hubby Jay-Z also became the world’s first billion dollar couple in the music industry. Forbes estimated that Beyoncé earned $115 million between June 1, 2013 and June 1, 2014.
LeBron James is close behind the diva as the second most powerful celebrity. The king of NBA, who happens to lead the rest of the males in the list, has rolled up about $72 million last year. The sportsperson is also NBA’s biggest endorsement star, thanks to deals with Nike, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Upper Deck and others.
The basketball player is followed by Dr. Dre who has earned more in the past 12 months than anyone in the history of the Celebrity 100. Apple’s recent and the most expensive bid by far of $3 billion for Beats by Dre has upped his annual income to $620 million. Forbes reports that it is the highest yearly earnings total of any entertainer ever evaluated by them. The billion-dollar-deal also fetched him the title of the Richest Man in Hip-Hop.
This year’s list has pushed Oprah Winfrey to the fourth slot from last year’s top position. Though her pockets are stuffed with an estimated $82 million in earnings, she has been toppled from the 2013’s 1st rank due to a drop in overall influence and popularity when compared to the top three celebs.
Close on the heels of the Queen of All Media and the richest self-made woman in America is another talk show host Ellen DeGeneres. Estimated to have earned $70 million in the last 12 months, the new queen of daytime TV has moved up the list on the fifth spot. The host of The Ellen DeGeneres Show set two records this year. The first being a ‘selfie’ celeb group photo at the Oscars that became the most re-tweeted Twitter post in history. And the second with a live post-Oscars episode of her show the following day which became the most-watched in the program’s 11 years on air.
Also Gisele Bündchen who happens to be the highest-placed model on the list has made it to the 56th spot.
Forbes’ Celebrity 100 list ranks the most powerful celebrities from the worlds of movies, TV, music, sports, books and modelling, based on fame and money. They claim that they estimate earnings by talking to lawyers, producers, agents and other in-the-know folks to figure out how much over 200 celebrities earned from entertainment-related business in the past year. That includes things like music sales, upfront pay on movies and endorsement work.
