Global General

Special

Newsmaker

Asia Pacific

America

Middle East

Europe

Africa

Oprah Winfrey tops Forbes celebrity 'power list'

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-06-13 13:18

NEW YORK - US talkshow diva Oprah Winfrey was ranked the world's most powerful celebrity for the second year running in a new survey published by Forbes magazine on Wednesday.

US talkshow diva Oprah Winfrey, pictured in 2007, was ranked the world's most powerful celebrity for the second year running in a new survey published by Forbes magazine on Wednesday. [Agencies]

The top ranking is based on income over the past 12 months as well as web references, press clippings, broadcast mentions and major magazine covers devoted to the celebrity, Forbes said on its website.

Winfrey, the 54-year-old high priestess of US daytime television, beat out golfer Tiger Woods in second place and Hollywood heavyweight Angelina Jolie in the list.

Forbes reported that Winfrey earned 275 million dollars between June 2007 and June 2008, while Woods pocketed 115 million.

While Jolie earned a fraction of those sums -- 14 million dollars according to Forbes -- the actress came out on top for the number of web hits, securing her place in the top 10.

In fourth place was singer Beyonce Knowles, who finished three places above husband hip-hop mogul Jay-Z, with earnings of 80 million dollars and third overall for the number of web hits.

English football superstar David Beckham's move to the US Major League Soccer team the Los Angeles Galaxy helped catapult him into the top 10, taking fifth place with earnings of 50 million dollars, ahead of actor Johnny Depp in sixth.

In eighth place just behind Jay-Z, British supergroup The Police muscled their way into the top 10 after a year that saw the band reunite for a successful concert tour.

J.K. Rowling, the billionaire author behind the "Harry Potter" books, was in ninth, earning more than any other celebrity on the list over the same period with a mammoth 300 million dollars.

As actor Brad Pitt -- Angelina Jolie's partner -- rounded out the top 10, the upper echelons were notable for some famous absentees.

Rock legends Madonna, The Rolling Stones and Elton John had all fallen out of the top 10, as had actor Tom Cruise.