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Bey tops the list, earning an estimated $115 million in the past year – while Lady Gaga tumbles to 19th place

The annual Forbes Celebrity 100 list ranks the world’s most powerful celebrities “from the worlds of movies, TV, music, sports, books and modelling based on money and fame”. Miami Heat basket player LeBron James has nabbed the second spot, with hip-hop tycoon and Beats founder Dr. Dre rounds out the top three.

Forbes estimates celeb earnings by speaking with “lawyers, producers, agents and other in-the-know folks”. Fame is measured based on the number of times a celebrity’s name was mentioned in print, on TV and radio; their social media reach; and an “impact ranking”, which tallies the “degree of impact each celebrity has had on the entertainment industry and our culture overall”. The data is then crunched with an algorithm that determines the celebrity power ranking.

Based on the numbers, it’s no surprise that Beyoncé comes out on top. Thanks to a huge globetrotting tour and Beyoncé, her surprise visual album, her yearly earnings leapt to $115 million. The lead single off Beyoncé, “Drunk in Love”, has already sold over a million copies. But as Forbes notes, Bey’s keen eye for cross-promotion helped escalate her ascent to the top: endorsement deals with H&M and Pepsi, original fragrance lines and a clothing company called House of Dereon all played a part in generating revenue.

The ranking also marks a dramatic fall from grace for Lady Gaga, as far as Forbes is concerned. In last year’s Celebrity 100, she outranked Beyoncé to be named the most powerful musician with the Born This Way Ball, which earned $80 million. This year, Gaga tumbled to 19th place.

Who run the world? Beyoncé, it appears.