Forbes released their Celebrity 100 list measuring the most powerful top earning superstars during the past year. And pop superstar Beyoncé is in the number one spot…ahead of Oprah and Dr. Dre.
Beyoncé’s collective earnings run like a non-stop list amounting to millions. Dollars from her platinum selling self-titled surprise fifth album, Mrs. Carter World Tour, endorsements with Pepsi, H&M, her clothing line House of Dereon, and various fragrance lines like Heat, Rise and Pulse, profited an estimated $115 million between June 1st 2013 and June 1st 2014.
In order to compile their list, Forbes looks at sales from music records, film contracts, concert revenue, endorsements, celebrity appearances in media, and how popular the celebrity is on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. This year Forbes also measured the impact celebrities on the list have on the entertainment industry and culture at large by tabulating an impact score.
Lebron James came in second with earnings of $72 million. While Dr. Dre was actually third on the list despite earning $620 million thanks to his recent lucrative deal between Beats By Dre and Apple. But according to Forbes, his influential power pales in comparison to Queen Bey.
But one of the biggest surprises was billionaire Oprah Winfrey who came in fourth earning only $82 million from her television network and co-starring role in Lee Daniels’ The Butler. Rounding out the top ten were Ellen Degeneres ($70 million), Jay Z ($60 million), Floyd Mayweather ($105 million), Rihanna ($48 million), Katy Perry ($40 million) and Robert Downey Jr. ($75 million).
Other celebrities that made the list included Kanye West, Kobe Bryant, Pharrell Williams, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Kerry Washington and Will Smith.
