Everyone should know this by now: Never count Oprah out. Despite
business stumbles and an $88 million earnings drop since last year, Oprah Winfrey returns to the top of Forbes’ annual Celebrity 100 ranking of the most powerful celebrities after two years in second place. She leads a female-dominated top 10 that includes Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Madonna, Taylor Swift and Ellen DeGeneres.
Even without her eponymous daytime talk show, Winfrey made an
estimated $77 million between June 2012 and June 2013, down from last
year’s $165 million. While she wasn’t the highest earner on our list,
her money, mixed with strong fame scores in metrics like press mentions
and social networking power, pushed her to the top.
Winfrey remains a powerful force in Hollywood. Her Oprah Winfrey Network, once a drifting cable outpost that lost an estimated $330 million
for parent company Discovery between 2008 and the end of 2012, is now a
smoothish-running media machine that could turn a profit by the end of
2013.
Mistakes like Rose O’Donnell’s talk show? History. Nailing must-see
viewing, like her two-night interview with disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong, is Winfrey’s focus now, as are scripted shows with help from fellow Celebrity 100 member Tyler Perry.
In the near future, shows that don’t star Winfrey could become as much
of a draw as her own programs. Winfrey also earns from an empire that
includes her O magazine, talk shows from protégés like Rachael Ray and Dr. Phil, and a network on SiriusXM satellite radio.
Unlike most FORBES lists, which are based on earnings or
net worth, our annual Celebrity 100 takes a stab at measuring that most
ephemeral of riches: fame. Yes, we factor in celebrity earnings over the
last 12 months, but we also tally how often each celebrity is mentioned
in print and on TV, and gauge the strength of their Internet presence
and how they’re viewed by a critical constituency: American consumers.
This year we added a marketability score (1-100) for each celebrity
that was developed by Encino, Calif.-based market research firm E-Poll, based on opinion polling about 46 different attributes for 6,600 different celebrities. Will Smith, Jennifer Aniston and Sandra Bullock are the most marketable celebrities on our list (Fifty Shades of Grey author E.L. James ranks dead last in that category).
For social networking strength, we worked with another new partner, Starcount, a Singapore-based company that measures impact across 11 social media platforms including Facebook FB +5.16%, Twitter, YouTube and Google GOOG -0.47% +. Each celebrity’s Starcount number gives a sense of how popular he or she is on the Internet.
Pop stars tend to do very well on this metric. Last year’s Celebrity 100 cover boy, Justin Bieber, has the most social networking power of the 100 celebrities on our list, followed by Rihanna and Lady Gaga.
Of course, because we’re FORBES, money carries the most weight in our
rankings, and thanks to that Madonna is back on the Celeb 100–in fifth
place–after two years off the list. Even though her newest album, MDNA,
was a flop, the Material Girl still managed to rank as this year’s top
earner thanks to a world tour that helped her rake in $125 million
between June 2012 and June 2013.
Lady Gaga, who topped our list in 2011 and is often considered
Madonna’s heir, ranks second despite cutting her tour short due to a hip
injury. Gaga still managed to earn $80 million and get the second-most
press mentions of anyone on our list (behind Rihanna). Gaga is also a
master of social networking. Her Little Monsters hang on her every
tweet, making her the third most successful social networker on our
list.
Together with Beyonce (fourth,) Taylor Swift (sixth) and Ellen
Degeneres (10th) women occupy six of the top 10 slots on this year’s
list, down from seven last year. Overall, they landed 35 of 100 slots,
about the same as last year.
The four men who crack the top 10 are director Steven Spielberg (third), rock band Bon Jovi (seventh), tennis player Roger Federer (eighth), and pop star Bieber (ninth).
Spielberg is up seven spots from last year, with estimated earnings
of $100 million. The director was back in peak form with political
biopic Lincoln. The film not only earned two Oscars, it also
grossed a tidy $275 million at the global box office on a budget of $65
million. Spielberg’s TV work isn’t going quite as well, DreamWorks’ Smash
was recently canceled by NBC. But he’s got several new shows in the
works, including a small screen version of the popular video game, Halo.
Federer, the highest-ranked athlete on our list, is up 23 spots from
last year thanks to the most impressive endorsement portfolio in sports.
Ten sponsors collectively pay him more than $40 million annually. He’s
also a press darling. Federer ranks seventh for celebrities with the
most mentions in print.
Last year’s number one, Jennifer Lopez, falls to 12th place on our list this time around. With American Idol
in her rearview mirror, Lopez just doesn’t carry the same buzz as a
year ago, despite the ratings implosion of the show. No worries, though.
She still managed to pull in $45 million from a major concert tour and
endless endorsement work.
Oprah Winfrey
Celebrity 100 Rank: No. 1
Pictured Home: Promised Land, Montecito, Calif.
Sale Price: $50 million in 2001
Current Market Value: $88 million
The
media billionaire's 23,000-square-foot Georgian-style manse sits on
more than 40 acres, boasting a tea house, more than 600 rose bushes and
an upscale outhouse
Madonna
Celebrity 100 Rank: No. 5
Pictured Home: French country-Style Estate, Beverly Hills, Calif.
List Price: $22.5 million
Listed With: Sotheby's International Realty
The
pop powerhouse put her Beverly Hills compound on the Multiple Listing
Services in January after reportedly shopping it quietly as a pocket
listing. The property spans 1.25 acres and has a 17,000-square foot home
with nine bedrooms, multiple offices, staff quarters, a two-story
dining room, a gym and a resort-style pool. She recently sold a duplex
co-op apartment in Manhattan's Harperly Hall building for $16 million, a
32% discount off of the initial $23.5 million asking price. She
currently resides in a triple-wide Georgian townhouse on Manhattan's
Upper East Side purchased for $32.5 million in 2009.
Taylor Swift
Celebrity 100 Rank: No. 6
Pictured Home: Oceanfront Mansion, Watch Hill, R.I.
Sale Price: estimated $17 million in 2013
The
country-pop princess has kept busy with real estate. In April news
broke that Swift had purchased a Cape Cod-style Rhode Island beach home,
spanning five acres and 700 feet of beachfront, all-cash. Earlier this
year she flipped another beach estate in Hyannis Port, Mass. for about
$5.7 million -- a decent profit on the $4.8 million she shelled out for
the Cape Cod retreat in November. Other properties include a Cape
Cod-style home in Beverly Hills, Calif. that the songstress bought in
2012 for $4 million and two properties in Nashville, Tenn. area.
Ryan Seacrest
Celebrity 100 Rank: No. 26
Pictured Home: Coldwater Canyon Compound, Beverly Hills, Calif.
Sales Price: $37 million
The 'American Idol' TV producer-host purchased fellow Celebrity 100
listmaker Ellen DeGeneres' Beverly Hills compound in 2012. The gated
compound touts 15,000 square feet of living space, three guest houses, a
swimming pool and koi ponds. He finally sold his Hollywood Hills
Mediterranean, once owned by Kevin Costner, for $11 million in
September, after two years on and off the market.
Jon Bon Jovi
Celebrity 100 Rank: No. 7 (for the entire Bon Jovi Band)
Pictured Home: New Museum Penthouse, New York, N.Y.
List Price: $42 million
Listed With: Corcoran Group
The
rock star purchased his Manhattan penthouse, located in SoHo, in 2007
and reportedly poured millions into renovations. The 7,452-square foot
spread has five bedrooms, five and a half baths, wood-burning
fireplaces, multiple terraces and floor-to-ceiling windows offering
360-degree views of the city.
Justin Bieber
Celebrity 100 Rank: No. 9
Home: Estates of the Oaks Mansion, Calabasas, Calif.
Sale Price: $6.5 million in 2012
The
pop star known as the Biebs snapped up this six bed, seven bath
Hacienda-style home last year. Spanning 9,200 feet of living space, the
home is located in the Estates of the Oaks of Calabasas, tucked behind
two sets of gates, in the suburbs of Los Angeles.
Ellen DeGeneres
Celebrity 100 Rank: No. 10
Pictured Home: Tuscan-style Villa, Santa Barbara, Calif.
Last List Price: $26.5 million
Talk show host DeGeneres and her wife Portia De Rossi have been buying
and selling real estate throughout Southern California. After selling
their Beverly Hills compound to fellow Celebrity 100 listmaker Ryan
Seacrest in 2012, the couple bought a $12 million 4,100-square foot
Malibu home remodeled by Brad Pitt. They purchased another Beverly Hills
home --a Hal-Levitt-designed Midcentury Modern in Trousdale Estates --
last May. So far in 2013, they have listed a Beverly Hills penthouse
condo for $899,000 and recently acquired a 13-acre Santa Barbara estate
that had been listed for $26.5 million. The TV stars also own an
equestrian estate in Hidden Valley, Calif.
Jennifer Lopez
Celebrity 100 Rank: No. 12
Pictured Home: Hamptons Estate, Water Mill, N.Y.
Sales Price: $10 million
The
actress-turned-songstress picked up this Hamptons beach house in May
after sparking house hunting rumors in the area for the better part of
two years. The three-acre estate has an 8,500-square foot Traditional
with eight bedrooms, seven-and-a-half baths, a theater, a sauna, a steam
room, a pool with pool house, and covered porches. Lopez also owns two
homes in Glen Head, N.Y. and a sprawling compound in Hidden Hills,
Calif., according to Zillow.
Rihanna
Celebrity 100 Rank: No. 13
Pictured Home: Modern Mansion, Pacific Palisades, Calif.
Sales Price: $12 million
The
pop diva snapped up a Los Angeles-area 11,000-square foot manse in
December that has seven bedrooms, nine baths, media rooms, a sun deck, a
pool, a 6,000-square-foot garden, and an outdoor barbecue area. The new
purchase came on the heels of a short sale tied to a Beverly Hills home
that she had scooped up in 2009 only to have it flood and suffer
extensive flood damage.
Lebron James
Celebrity 100 Rank: No. 16
Pictured Home: Coconut Grove Mansion, Miami, Fla.
Sales Price: $9 million in 2010
The
basketball star's12,178-square foot Coconut Grove waterfront mansion
touts six bedrooms, eight and a half baths, a wine cellar, a home
theater and a back yard with infinity pool and dockage for two 60-foot
yachts. He purchased it after deciding to join the Miami Heat NBA team
in 2010.
Katy Perry
Celebrity 100 Rank: No. 18
Pictured Home: Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, Calif.
List Price: $6.5 million
Listed With: Teles Properties Beverly Hills
After
hanging onto the Hollywood Hills abode she purchased in 2011 with
ex-husband Russell Brand post-divorce, the pop star is selling it for
$6.5 million. In May the songstress dropped $11.2 million on several
neighboring properties in Hollywood Hills West that together tout two
swimming pools, two guesthouses and four acres of land.
Leonardo DiCaprio
Celebrity 100 Rank: No. 21
Home: Malibu Colony Road, Malibu, Calif.
List Price: $18.9 million
Listed With: Arete Estates
After
attempting to rent out his Malibu beach house for $75,000 a month, the
actor listed it for $23 million in November. Nestled in celeb-centric
Malibu Colony, the postage-sized property is one of two beach houses the
'Great Gatsby' star owns in Malibu. He has additional homes on both
coasts, including a compound in the Hollywood Hills that's comprised of
two adjoining land parcels (one purchased from Madonna ) and a penthouse
in New York City's Battery Park City neighborhood in eco-chic
Riverhouse, a building that pumps twice-filtered air into the condo
units and is home to other celebrities like Tyra Banks, as well.
Mark Wahlberg
Celebrity 100 Rank: No. 28
Home: Oak Pass, Beverly Hills, Calif.
List Price: $13 million
Listed With: Hilton & Hyland
The
Actor has been trying to offload his 11,500-square foot manse for
several years now as he reportedly builds a 33,000-square foot mansion
in nearby Beverly Park. Occupying 1.7 acres, this property has a
two-bedroom guest house, a 2,500-square foot gym with boxing ring, a
Boston Celtics-themed basketball court, a pool with a grotto and a
putting green.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Celebrity 100 Rank: No. 31
Home: La Finca Villa, Madrid, Spain
List Price:5.4 million euro (about $7.1 million)
Listed With: Promora
The
pro soccer player listed his Madrid home in June after rumors have
swirled about whether he will stay on with Real Madrid or transfer to
another team. The home sits on slightly more than an acre, touting seven
bedrooms, two swimming pools and a large garden.
Ashton Kutcher
Celebrity 100 Rank: No. 53
Home: Arrowhead Drive, Los Angeles, Calif.
Sales Price: $8.45 million in 2012
The 'Three and a Half Men' star bought this 9,400-square foot Hollywood
Hills home after fellow Celebrity 100 list maker Justin Bieber reportedly tried
to buy it. The house, with its floor-to-ceiling windows and cantilevered rooms
and balconies overlooking Lake Hollywood, was rented by Kutcher after breaking up with Demi Moore, prior to his
purchase.
Kanye West
Celebrity 100 Rank: No. 59
Pictured Home: Fareholm Drive, Los Angeles, Calif.
List Price: $3.15 million
Listed With: Hilton & Hyland
The rapper put this 4,124-square foot Hollywood Hills Modern on the
market in May. At the start of the year, he and girlfriend Kim
Kardashian (No. 66) snagged a Bel Air Mediterranean manse listed for $11
million, reportedly flipping it for nearly a $1 million profit less
than two months later. West also owns an East Coast apartment, comprised
of two combined side-by-side units, in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood.
Jennifer Aniston
Celebrity 100 Rank: No. 64
Pictured Home: Bel Air Estate, Los Angeles, Calif.
Purchase Price: $20.97 million
After
selling her custom Beverly Hills "Ohana" estate for $35 million in
2011, the A-list actress picked up two side-by-side condos in Manhattan,
paying roughly $7 million. In 2012 she offloaded those as well. Last
year she also scooped up an A. Quincy Jones-designed Bel Air estate in
Los Angeles. The 8,500-square foot Midcentury Modern sits behind high
gates on three acres that include vineyards. While the movie star
renovates that property she has rented out a Trousdale Estates spread
down the road from Ohana.
Kristin Stewart
Celebrity 100 Rank: No. 70
Home: Laughlin Park Home, Los Angeles, Calif.
Sales Price: $2.2 million in 2012
The
actress scooped up this Los Feliz Contemporary in November. The
3,361-square foot home is located inside gated Laughlin Park and boasts
four bedrooms, four-and-a-half baths, a veranda, an office, a pool and a
fire pit -- all on a quarter-acre of land.
Source : Forbes
