Oprah dethroned for third time in seven years

Lady Gaga has dethroned talk show queen Oprah Winfrey as the most powerful celebrity in the world, according to the latest Forbes Celebrity 100 list, released yesterday.  
Lady Gaga ousts Oprah on Forbes celebrity power listNew Lady Gaga album leaks ahead of May 23 releaseLady Gaga to debut songs on FarmVille  Boosted by not only the R630-million she earned with her last monster tour, Gaga's 32-million Facebook and 10-million Twitter followers helped her move one million digital downloads of her recent single Born This Way in only five days.
Fans also streamed to the shops to buy her MAC make-up, Monster headphones and Virgin Mobile phones, which feature in her videos.
Gaga's victory means Winfrey has been pushed off the top spot for only the third time in seven years.
According to the Forbes website, the 100 people on the Forbes Celebrity list earned R31-billion by walking on catwalks and hitting small white balls into holes in the ground.
Oprah, who earned about R2.028-billion, moved down to the second spot on the list.
Forbes said Winfrey's earnings sank R175-million partially due to a reduced payday at SiriusXM.
She still earns big from her syndicated show and from the stars she's spawned, including Dr Phil [number 18 on the Forbes list], Rachael Ray and Dr Oz.
Forbes predicted that Winfrey's earning power would take a bigger hit next year, when her syndicated show ends and she concentrates all her efforts on the struggling Own network.
Teen singing star Justin Bieber came in at third on the list with his debut appearance.
At the tender young age of 17, "The Biebs" earned R370-million in the last 12 months thanks to concerts, music sales and a 3D documentary movie that grossed about R688-million at the global box office.
If this were 10 years ago, Bieber would still be paying his dues in small clubs and schools, but thanks to the internet, he's a sensation.
His first hit song, Baby has been viewed 500-million times, which is a YouTube record.
The Celebrity 100, which includes film and television actors, TV personalities, models, athletes, authors, musicians and comedians, is a measure of entertainment-related earnings and of media visibility.
Forbes also measures social media power by looking at each celebrity's presence on Facebook and Twitter.
The earnings consist of pre-tax income between May 1 last year and May 1 this year.
Forbes has been publishing the list annually since 1999.
Despite a rocky year on and off the golf course, golf icon Tiger Woods still made it into the top 10, ranking sixth with about R52-million in annual earnings.
Woods hasn't won a tournament since his marital infidelities in 2009, and he recently withdrew from The Players Championship.
But he still commands about R21-million a pop for overseas appearances, and collects money from his remaining sponsors.
Other stars who made it onto the list are Leonardo DiCaprio, who made the biggest leap on the list, rising from 71st place to 15th, and Will Smith, who returned to the list thanks to the upcoming Men in Black III. Notable drop-offs include Britney Spears and Daniel Radcliffe, who fell off the list because of the Harry Potter series of movies coming to an end.

By STAFF REPORTER Pop sensation (Timeslive)