Forbes World’s Top Most Powerful Celebrity 100

Forbes Celebrity 100 - The world's most powerful celebrities.

Angelina Jolie grabbed the No. 1 spot from the talk show queen on the magazine's annual Celebrity 100 list, which ranks the rich and famous based on media exposure and career earnings over the past year.

Angelina Jolie has dethroned Oprah Winfrey as the world's most powerful celebrity, a reigning tabloid fixture, earned $27 million, bumping her up from third place on last year's list, Forbes said, adding that she wields more power due to high-profile turns in hit films such as "Wanted" and "Kung Fu Panda."

At No. 2, Winfrey is still the highest earner — $275 million.

Madonna came in third, trailed by Beyonce, Tiger Woods, Bruce Springsteen and Steven Spielberg.

Two other celebs tied up in Jolie's tabloid universe — Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt — came in at eighth and ninth place, respectively.

Tenth place goes to Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, thanks in part to endorsement deals scored after the Beijing Olympics.

The primary reason celebrities are still making big money: Many stars are locked into long-term performance and endorsement contracts. If the economy does not improve, expect the downturn to catch up to the A-list next year.

The Celebrity 100, which includes film and television actors, models, chefs, athletes, authors and musicians, is a measure of entertainment-related earnings and media visibility (exposure in print, television, radio and online). The earnings estimates consist of pre-tax income between June 2008 and June 2009. Management, agent and attorney fees are not deducted.

The Celebrity 100 is a measure of power based on money and fame. Earnings estimates, which include income from films, television shows, endorsements, books and other entertainment ventures, are calculated between June 2008 and June 2009. Figures were rounded off where appropriate. Sources include Billboard, Pollstar, Adams Media Research, Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen BookScan, Nielsen Media Research and SNL Kagan. Fame is calculated using Web hits on Google Blog Search, TV/radio mentions on LexisNexis, overall press mentions on Factiva and the number of times a celebrity's image appeared on the cover of 25 consumer magazines.

source content: Forbes.com

Watch the full list of The world's most powerful celebrities.