Lady Gaga climbs Forbes Top 100 celebrity list

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As Oprah Winfrey says her goodbyes as the queen of daytime talk television, she has been kicked off the top spot on Forbes Top 100 Celebrity list, slipping to second place in a ranking where she has reigned four times. Lady Gaga is the new No. 1, it was announced on May 18.

Forbes magazine's Celebrity 100 list notes the most powerful people in the entertainment world, taking into consideration income and influence, including social media. The time period ran from May 1, 2010 to May 1, 2011 and while some critics question the methodology, the income and rankings are posted in each category.

The five categories evaluated include: social, web, press, TV/radio and money. Winfrey earned $290 million compared to Lady Gaga's $90 million but Gaga triumphed with 10 million Twitter followers, 32 million Facebook fans and one million digital downloads of her single "Born This Way" in a record five days.

Justin Bieber, another new addition, is the youngest on this 2011 list. At 17 years old, he is No. 3 with $53 million in earnings over 12 months and a YouTube record of 500 million views of the "Baby" music video.

Forbes's remaining Top 10 on the Celebrity 100 are a mix of music and sports figures: U2, Elton John, Tiger Woods, Taylor Swift, Bon Jovi, television impresario Simon Cowell, and Miami Heat basketball player LeBron James.

Actors who made the Top 20 include Angelina Jolie at No. 11, two steps ahead of Johnny Depp at No. 13 and Inception star Leonardo DiCaprio at No. 15, leaping from 71 last year.

The highest-ranked director is Steven Spielberg at No. 22, followed by James Cameron at No. 27 and Christopher Nolan ranked at No. 47

Other newcomers included The Fighter's Mark Wahlberg, Black Swan's Natalie Portman, as well as Grand Slam tennis winner Rafael Nadal ranks No. 46 and Most Valuable Player in football Lionel Messi at No. 63.

Britney Spears fell off the list and Katy Perry joined at No. 12.

www.forbes.com/wealth/celebrities

RC