Angelina tops Forbes' Celebrity 100 power list
London (ANI): Angelina Jolie has overthrown Oprah Winfrey by becoming the world''s most powerful celebrity in the annual list compiled by business magazine Forbes. Oprah, the talk-show queen, topped the list for the previous two years and remained highest earner, making 275 million dollars in the past 12 months.
However, this year, Jolie, 34- the Hollywood actress, human rights campaigner and mother-of-six-has relegated Winfrey to second place. Forbes' Celebrity 100 power rankings are based on a combination of earning power and media exposure. The 'Tomb Raider' star and partner Brad Pitt, are the most photographed couple in the world.
Jolie's 27 million dollars earnings in the past year included a 14 million dollars magazine deal for exclusive rights to the first pictures of the couple's twins, Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline, who were born in August. Pitt, on the other hand, is ranked in ninth place, one spot behind his ex-wife, Jennifer Aniston.
"In addition to nearly doubling her earnings in the past year, Angelina Jolie is the most famous star on the planet. She is in the dialogue of popular culture nearly every day - for her acting, for her relationship with Brad Pitt, for her children and for her philanthropic endeavours. All of this exposure leads to an extremely powerful celebrity brand," The Telegraph quoted Forbes as saying.
Madonna occupies the third spot, not only because of her world tour, but also her high profile divorce from Guy Ritchie and her thwarted attempt to adopt a second child from Malawi. At the fourth spot in the list is Beyonce, the US singer.
Tiger Woods is the highest ranked male celebrity, in fifth place, as the golfer remains the highest-paid sports star in the world, according to the magazine. And Bruce Springsteen, who will headline the Glastonbury Festival later this month, director Steven Spielberg and basketball player Kobe Bryant complete the top 10.
After her much-publicised multiple breakdowns last year, Britney Spears has occupied the 13th spot in the list this year, thanks to her new album and her 'Circus' tour. While Tom Cruise stays at 20th position, George Clooney stayed at 48 in the list.
Footballer David Beckham and teen sensation Miley Cyrus occupy the 28th and 29th spot respectively. US President Barack Obama is the first sitting head of state to appear on the list, which has been published annually since 1999.
Here is the list of the 100 most powerful celebrities of 2009:
Rank and name pay in million dollars:
1
Angelina
Jolie
27
2
Oprah
Winfrey
275
3
Madonna
110
4
Beyonce
Knowles
87
5
Tiger
Woods
110
6
Bruce
Springsteen
70
7
Steven
Spielberg
150
8
Jennifer
Aniston
25
9
Brad
Pitt
28
10
Kobe
Bryant
45
11
Will
Smith
45
12
Dr.
Phil
McGraw
80
13
Britney
Spears
35
14
David
Letterman
45
15
Coldplay
70
16
Adam
Sandler
55
17
Harrison
Ford
65
18
Michael
Jordan
45
19
LeBron
James
40
20
Tom
Cruise
33
21
Bon
Jovi
50
22
Donald
Trump
50
23
Rush
Limbaugh
54
24
George
Lucas
170
25
Simon
Cowell
75
26
Stephenie
Meyer
50
27
Roger
Federer
33
28
David
Beckham
42
29
Miley
Cyrus
25
30
Tyler
Perry
75
31
Kenny
Chesney
65
32
Jay-Z
35
33
Clint
Eastwood
35
34
Howard
Stern
70
35
Sean
Combs
30
36
Phil
Mickelson
40
37
Jerry
Seinfeld
85
38
Dave
Matthews
Band
65
39
Tom
Hanks
35
40
Ellen
DeGeneres
35
41
Eddie
Murphy
40
42
Rascal
Flatts
60
43
Jay
Leno
32
44
Ryan
Seacrest
38
45
Nicolas
Cage
40
46
Kanye
West
25
47
AC/DC
60
48
George
Clooney
25
49
Barack
Obama
2
50
50
Cent
20
51
Brian
Grazer/Ron
Howard
45
52
Kimi
Raikkonen
45
53
Jerry
Bruckheimer
100
54
Chris
Rock
42
55
Ronaldinho
30
56
Jim
Carrey
30
57
Manny
Pacquiao
40
58
Sarah
Jessica
Parker
27
59
Toby
Keith
52
60
Jonas
Brothers
25
61
James
Patterson
60
62
Kevin
Garnett
30
63
Jeff
Gordon
30
64
Meryl
Streep
24
65
Larry
David
55
66
Derek
Jeter
30
67
Serena
Williams
17
68
Stephen
King
30
69
Taylor
Swift
18
70
Daniel
Radcliffe
25
71
Reese
Witherspoon
15
72
Gisele
Bundchen
25
73
Cameron
Diaz
20
74
Nicole
Kidman
9
75
Carrie
Underwood
14
76
Maria
Sharapova
22
77
Venus
Williams
15
78
Heidi
Klum
16
79
Rachael
Ray
15
80
David
Copperfield
30
81
Glenn
Beck
23
82
Katherine
Heigl
18
83
Jon
Stewart
14
84
Jeff
Dunham
30
85
Anne
Hathaway
7
86
Tina
Fey
7
87
Drew
Barrymore
12
88
Charlie
Sheen
21
89
Eva
Longoria
Parker
9
90
Ana
Ivanovic
10
91
Alec
Baldwin
8
92
Sandra
Bullock
17
93
Steve
Carell
20
94
Hugh
Laurie
10
95
Wolfgang
Puck
18
96
Penn
&
Teller
20
97
Kate
Moss
8
98
Mariska
Hargitay
8
99
Jennifer
Love
Hewitt
6
100
Danica
Patrick
7