Forbes Announces World’s 100 Most Powerful Celebrities – 2011 Edition

Forbes is known for having its own unique type of clout and power.

They rank not only celebrities, but also powerful business and political figures on their respective top lists.

But this week their focus was on celebrities.

The Celebrity 100, which includes actors, Television personalities, models, athletes, authors, musicians and comedians, is a measure of showbiz related income and media visibility over the last twelve months.

Forbes also measures social media power by looking at each celebrity's presence on Facebook and Twitter. The criteria for being included on the list do NOT fall solely on money.

Today they released their “World’s 100 Most Powerful Celebrity” list and the results… well, aren’t as surprising as you might think - at least for the top 10.

But how powerful are the top 100? The combined earning power of celebs on this elite list tops $4.5 billion in earnings from record sales, concert tours, movies, endorsements, advertising, product sales, playing sports, and modeling.

Lady Gaga came in at #1 with $90 million in earnings and bumped Oprah Winfrey into the #2 spot. But don’t feel bad for Winfrey – she made over $250 million the last 12 months.

Teen pop sensation Justin Bieber came in #3 earning well over $50 million over the last twelve months and an estimated $150 million over the last three years. Bieber’s command of social media like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pushed him onto the list for the first time in the 17-year-old’s career.

U2 came in as #4. The Bono centric band is well known for their worldwide social awareness and charity work. Singer and AIDS activist Sir Elton John came in #5.

A summary of the top 10 spots is below and you can see the entire list on the Forbes web site.

1 – Lady Gaga - $90 M
2 – Oprah Winfrey - $250 M
3 – Justin Bieber - $53 M
4 – U2 - $195 M
5 – Sir Elton John - $100 M
6 – Tiger Woods - $75 M
7 – Taylor Swift - $45 M
8 – Bon Jovi - $135 M
9 – Simon Cowell - $90
10 – LeBron James - $48 m

A complete list can be seen on the Forbes site here.

There were a few surprises this year including Glenn Beck, Adam Sandler, and Jay Leno. I guess we don’t see exactly how they are among the most powerful, but who are we to argue with Forbes?

And Donald Trump made the list but Charlie Sheen didn’t. Go figure.

It seems the farther down the list you go things become a bit more of a popularity contest, but we congratulate all of them for their efforts and input into the industry.

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Randolph Cook Claims Oprah Smoked Crack

Chicago businessman Randolph Cook is letting the world know that Oprah Winfrey used to do crack cocaine with him while the two were having a secret love affair in the '80s. Why now? Well, he's dying of esophageal cancer and figured why not bring Oprah down with him.

Apparently, Randolph Cook, 51, claims that Oprah Winfrey taught him how to freebase crack cocaine and even used to do her show while she was high. The book is called The Wizard of O, na dit kind of makes sense considering Oprah was at her absolute thinnest in the '80s.

So Oprah Winfrey was a crackhead in 1984 and Randolph Cook is willing to put his life on the line trying to make a buck off the story. I don't think Randolph Cook has any idea what kind of mess he's going to get in because they don't call Oprah Winfrey the most powerful woman in the world for nothing.

Expect to see Cook's body washing up ashore any day now.

Brad Pitt on Oprah

Brad Pitt was on Oprah on November 19, 2008, and I have to admit, it was one of the most interesting interviews I've seen since, well, since Jennifer Aniston was on last week.

Brad Pitt tells Oprah all about his 6 kids and how funny they are without even trying and Brad Pitt reveals to Oprah why Angelina Jolie is such a wonderful human being.

Brad Pitt has seen better days; it'd be awesome if he had removed that mustache and perhaps exfoliated, but Brad Pitt is still adored and considered crazy sexy, even if he is a dad of 6. Even Oprah has to admit it.

Jennifer Aniston Does Another Oprah Interview

Jennifer Aniston paid a visit to her BFF Oprah Winfrey recently and the interview is set to come to a TV set near you today. Although Jennifer Aniston was there to promote her upcoming movie Marley and Me with costar Owen Wilson, she ended up discussing Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and, of course, John Mayer.

While Jennifer Aniston had only good things to say about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, she gushed to Oprah that she is indeed dating John Mayer and the two are pretty damn serious.

I'm not certain if she jumped on the couch or not, but I do know that Oprah and Jennifer Aniston are very good friends and that, when Oprah taped an interview with Brad Pitt the week before, there were awkward silences. Perhaps it's because Oprah is biased.

Anyway, Brad Pitt's movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Jennifer Aniston's movie are going head to head this Christmas and it's quite a coincidence that Oprah is promoting both of them.

Celebrity Flaw of the Day - Oprah Winfrey Toes

Now seriously, either Oprah Winfrey is rocking 6 toes on one foot, or she actually has foot fat - something I, for one, have never heard of before. Oprah is always beautiful when she's made up right, but it seems her people let her sixth toe run free and now the world knows Oprah's secret: she's the 6-toe bandit. Not to mention her massive bunyons. Gross.