Rihanna ranked fourth on Forbes most powerful celebrity list

Barbados’ superstar Rihanna beats 2011 winner Lady Gaga.

NEW YORK, USA, Wednesday May 23, 2012 – Barbados’ megastar Rihanna has money, fame, talent and killer looks.  Now she can add power to her attributes, according to Forbes magazine, which recently ranked her fourth in their annual list of the 100 most powerful celebrities in the world.

The Forbes list is not governed strictly by the bottom line (not THAT “bottom line” – had that been the case, Ri-Ri would have left all the competition far behind), but includes a “Social Rank” among the criteria.  This includes TV/radio presence and levels of press and social media attention, all used in formulating the listing, which aims to reflect the level of influence a celebrity has in the entertainment industry.

 With her millions of followers on Twitter and Facebook, Rihanna came in second in the Social Rank category.  Add earnings of US$52million in the last year, and it’s no surprise that Rihanna made such a stunning debut on the Forbes 100 list.

Further explaining the “You Da One” songstress’ position on the list, Forbes said: “The Barbados-born diva lands on our list for the first time thanks to hits including ‘We Found Love’ and ‘Talk That Talk,’ as well as endorsements with the likes of Vito Coco and Nivea.

“Her fragrance Reb’l Fleur adds millions more to her coffers, as does her heavy touring schedule that included over 85 shows in the past 12 months.

“With over 53 million Facebook fans, she is second only to Eminem,” the magazine added.

Jennifer Lopez took the number-one slot, unseating Lady Gaga who took top honours last year but fell to number-five in the 2012 rankings.  Gaga’s visibility and earnings were lower in the last 12 months because she wasn't touring, having wrapped her Monster Ball in May of last year and only recently launching her latest road show.

Explaining Lopez's position on the list, Forbes wrote, "'American Idol” gave her a platform to promote her music and turn her image around. It didn't hurt that she also split from her husband, Marc Anthony. Suddenly a single mother, Lopez lapped up the media attention and scored lucrative endorsement deals with companies like L'Oreal and Gillette. She now has a line of clothing at Kohl's, a top-selling fragrance and she was able to secure a nice bump — to $20 million — on her' Idol' salary for a second season. With 6.6 million followers on Twitter and 12 million fans on Facebook, she's also proved a master of social media."

Oprah Winfrey held on to the #2 spot on the list and was its top earner ($165 million) despite a tough year that saw her syndicated talk show come to a planned end after 25 years and her OWN cable network struggle in the ratings.

Justin Bieber also held onto the #3 position he debuted in last year. The "Boyfriend" pop star earned an impressive $55 million in the last 12 months and garnered top 10 rankings elsewhere across the board, coming in at #3 in the Social Rank and #4 in the TV/Radio Rank.

Numbers six, seven, eight, nine and ten were bagged by Britney Spears, Kim Kardashian, Katy Perry, Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg, respectively.

The list and the various artists' rankings in the categories used to determine their placement has already become a source of debate. For example, Lopez is #1 despite not ranking in the top 10 in any of the categories, while both Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber earned top 10 placement in all of them except the Money Rank, the top tier of which is dominated by multimedia moguls like Winfrey, Spielberg, Simon Cowell (#18), Dr. Dre (#26), Howard Stern (#30) and Michael Bay (#35).

And then there's Adele, who despite having the top-selling album in six years, three #1 singles, six Grammy wins and mountains of positive press, ranks at only #24, behind Glenn Beck (#23) and Jennifer Aniston (#22).

Notable entries besides Rihanna include Taylor Swift at #11, Beyoncé at #16, Jay-Z at #38, Kristen Stewart at #43 and Kanye West at #45. Further down the power rankings are Lil Wayne (#69), Skrillex (#92) and Zooey Deschanel (#96). Click here to receive free news bulletins via email from Caribbean360. (View sample)