Beyoncé Is The Most Powerful Celebrity In The World Says Forbes, So Why Does Jay Z Cheating Matter?

Forbes recently published its 15th annual Celebrity top 100 rankings listing the world’s most powerful celebrities.

Beyoncé Knowles came top of the list with earnings of $115 million over the past 12 months. Jay Z was ranked at number six with $60 million, so if the couple really are headed for splitsville he will be able to struggle along quite nicely – depending on the terms of any pre-nup.

When determining what makes a celebrity the “most powerful,” Forbes uses a formula which includes criteria other than just money and fame. For example, it takes into account how many times each celebrity was mentioned in print, on TV, and radio. It also uses a score from StarCount, which measures social media power over 11 platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

This year, for the first time, in addition to ranking media and social networking power, Forbes added an impact score which measures how each celebrity influences the entertainment industry and the overall culture.

The second most powerful celebrity, according to Forbes, is LeBron James, top player in the NBA. James, who just left the Miami Heat to explore “other options,” shot up from being number 16 on last year’s list.

In position number three is Dr. Dre, jumping from being in the 63rd spot last year. He earned a massive $620 million, which is more than any other celebrity in the history of the Forbes Celebrity 100 list. Presumably, he did not satisfy the other criteria to justify the title of “most powerful,” but the money should be sufficient consolation.

Oprah Winfrey dropped to fourth place from the top spot last year, because the three people ranked above her on this year’s list currently have more influence and power. However, she does have the compensation of $82 million for the year.

Finishing off the top five is Ellen DeGeneres with $70 million. As The Inquistitr has been reporting recently, Ellen is not without her own marital problems, so perhaps now is the time for her also to take a look at her pre-nup.

Other interesting information to be gleaned from the list is that 13 out of the top 25 were musicians, and in the top 10 were five women and seven African-Americans. For a complete list of the top 100 Celebrities you can click HERE.

And spare a thought for poor (not literally) Beyoncé and Jay Z as they struggle so publicly to cope with what so much money, fame, and power, has brought them.

Image: nypost.com