Celebrity 100 was an annual list compiled and published by Forbes magazine from 1999 to 2020, preceded by the Forbes Top 40 entertainers list. Until 2014, the rankings were made based on a complex combination of factors, including earnings, social media following, magazine covers and a range of qualitative metrics, with the aim of "measuring power". Since 2015, Forbes had solely factored pretax earnings (from June of the previous year through June of the publishing year), before deducting fees for managers, lawyers and agents.
Celebrity 100 lists
Below is the top 10 for each year since the list's inception. Top 10 most powerful celebrities + 1999 No. Recipient Career 1 Michael Jordan Sportsperson (basketball) 2 Oprah Winfrey Television personality 3 Leonardo DiCaprio Actor 4 Jerry Seinfeld Comedian 5 Steven Spielberg Filmmaker 6 Spice Girls Musicians 7 Harrison Ford Actor 8 Robin Williams Comedian 9 Celine Dion Musician 10 The Rolling Stones Musicians Note: Jerry Seinfeld was the highest-paid celebrity of 1999, with $267 million.
+ 2000 No. Recipient Career 1 Julia Roberts Actress 2 George Lucas Filmmaker 3 Oprah Winfrey Television personality 4 Tom Hanks Actor 5 Michael Jordan Sportsperson (basketball) 6 The Rolling Stones Musicians 7 Tiger Woods Sportsperson (golf) 8 Backstreet Boys Musicians 9 Cher Musician 10 Steven Spielberg Filmmaker Note: George Lucas was the highest-paid celebrity of 2000, with $400 million.
+ 2001 No. Recipient Career 1 Tom Cruise Actor 2 Tiger Woods Sportsperson (golf) 3 The Beatles Musicians 4 Britney Spears Musician 5 Bruce Willis Actor 6 Michael Jordan Sportsperson (basketball) 7 Backstreet Boys Musicians 8 NSYNC Musicians 9 Oprah Winfrey Television personality 10 Mel Gibson Actor Note: George Lucas was the highest-paid celebrity of 2001, with $250 million.
+ 2002 No. Recipient Career 1 Britney Spears Musician 2 Tiger Woods Sportsperson (golf) 3 Steven Spielberg Filmmaker 4 Madonna Musician 5 U2 Musicians 6 NSYNC Musicians 7 Mariah Carey Musicians 8 Oprah Winfrey Television personality 9 Michael Jordan Sportsperson (basketball) 10 Tom Hanks Actor Note: George Lucas was the highest-paid celebrity of 2002, with $200 million.
+ 2003 No. Recipient Career 1 Jennifer Aniston Actress 2 Eminem/ Dr. Dre Musicians 3 Tiger Woods Sportsperson (golf) 4 Steven Spielberg Filmmaker 5 Jennifer Lopez Musician and actress 6 Paul McCartney Musician 7 Ben Affleck Actor 8 Oprah Winfrey Television personality 9 Tom Hanks Actor 10 The Rolling Stones Musicians Note: Steven Spielberg was the highest-paid celebrity of 2003, with $200 million.
+ 2004 No. Recipient Career 1 Mel Gibson Actor 2 Tiger Woods Sportsperson (golf) 3 Oprah Winfrey Television personality 4 Tom Cruise Actor 5 The Rolling Stones Musicians 6 J.K. Rowling Writer 7 Michael Jordan Sportsperson (basketball) 8 Bruce Springsteen Musician 9 Steven Spielberg Filmmaker 10 Johnny Depp Actor Note: Mel Gibson was the highest-paid celebrity of 2004, with $210 million.
+ 2005 No. Recipient Career 1 Oprah Winfrey Television personality 2 Tiger Woods Sportsperson (golf) 3 Mel Gibson Actor 4 George Lucas Filmmaker 5 Shaquille O'Neal Sportsperson (basketball) 6 Steven Spielberg Filmmaker 7 Johnny Depp Actor 8 Madonna Musician 9 Elton John Musician 10 Tom Cruise Actor Note: George Lucas was the highest-paid celebrity of 2005, with $290 million.
+ 2006 No. Recipient Career 1 Tom Cruise Actor 2 The Rolling Stones Musicians 3 Oprah Winfrey Television personality 4 U2 Musicians 5 Tiger Woods Sportsperson (golf) 6 Steven Spielberg Filmmaker 7 Howard Stern Radio personality 8 50 Cent Musician 9 James Gandolfini, Lorraine Bracco, Edie Falco, Michael Imperioli, Jamie-Lynn Sigler Actors 10 Dan Brown Writer Note: Steven Spielberg was the highest-paid celebrity of 2006, with $332 million.
+ 2007 No. Recipient Career 1 Oprah Winfrey Television personality 2 Tiger Woods Sportsperson (golf) 3 Madonna Musician 4 The Rolling Stones Musicians 5 Brad Pitt Actor 6 Johnny Depp Actor 7 Elton John Musician 8 Tom Cruise Actor 9 Jay-Z Musician 10 Steven Spielberg Filmmaker Note: Oprah Winfrey was the highest-paid celebrity of 2007, with $260 million.
+ 2008 No. Recipient Career 1 Oprah Winfrey Television personality 2 Tiger Woods Sportsperson (golf) 3 Angelina Jolie Actress 4 Beyoncé Musician 5 David Beckham Sportsperson (association football) 6 Johnny Depp Actor 7 Jay-Z Musician 8 The Police Musicians 9 J.K. Rowling Writer 10 Brad Pitt/ Paula Deen Actor / Television personality Note: J. K. Rowling was the highest-paid celebrity of 2008, with $300 million.
+ 2009 No. Recipient Career 1 Angelina Jolie Actress 2 Oprah Winfrey Television personality 3 Madonna Musician 4 Beyoncé Musician 5 Tiger Woods Sportsperson (golf) 6 Bruce Springsteen Musician 7 Steven Spielberg Filmmaker 8 Jennifer Aniston Actress 9 Brad Pitt Actor 10 Kobe Bryant Sportsperson (basketball) Note: Oprah Winfrey was the highest-paid celebrity of 2009, with $275 million.
+ 2010 No. Recipient Career 1 Oprah Winfrey Television personality 2 Beyoncé Musician 3 James Cameron Filmmaker 4 Lady Gaga Musician 5 Tiger Woods Sportsperson (golf) 6 Britney Spears Musician 7 U2 Musicians 8 Sandra Bullock Actress 9 Johnny Depp Actor 10 Madonna Musician Note: Oprah Winfrey was the highest-paid celebrity of 2010, with $315 million.
+ 2011 No. Recipient Career 1 Lady Gaga Musician 2 Oprah Winfrey Television personality 3 Justin Bieber Musician 4 U2 Musicians 5 Elton John Musician 6 Tiger Woods Sportsperson (golf) 7 Taylor Swift Musician 8 Bon Jovi Musician 9 Simon Cowell Television personality 10 LeBron James Sportsperson (basketball) Note: Oprah Winfrey was the highest-paid celebrity of 2011, with $290 million.
+ 2012 No. Recipient Career 1 Jennifer Lopez Musician and actress 2 Oprah Winfrey Television personality 3 Justin Bieber Musician 4 Rihanna Musician 5 Lady Gaga Musician 6 Britney Spears Musician 7 Kim Kardashian Television personality 8 Katy Perry Musician 9 Tom Cruise Actor 10 Steven Spielberg Filmmaker Note: Oprah Winfrey was the highest-paid celebrity of 2012, with $165 million.
+ 2013 No. Recipient Career 1 Oprah Winfrey Television personality 2 Lady Gaga Musician 3 Steven Spielberg Filmmaker 4 Beyoncé Musician 5 Madonna Musician 6 Taylor Swift Musician 7 Bon Jovi Musicians 8 Roger Federer Sportsperson (tennis) 9 Justin Bieber Musician 10 Ellen DeGeneres Television personality Note: Madonna was the highest-paid celebrity of 2013, with $125 million.
+ 2014 No. Recipient Career 1 Beyoncé Musician 2 LeBron James Sportsperson (basketball) 3 Dr. Dre Musician 4 Oprah Winfrey Television personality 5 Ellen DeGeneres Television personality 6 Jay-Z Musician 7 Floyd Mayweather Jr. Sportsperson (boxing) 8 Rihanna Musician 9 Katy Perry Musician 10 Robert Downey Jr. Actor Note: Dr. Dre was the highest-paid celebrity of 2014, with $620 million.
Top 10 highest-paid celebrities + 2015 No. Recipient Career 1 Floyd Mayweather Jr. Sportsperson (boxing) 2 Manny Pacquiao Sportsperson (boxing) 3 Katy Perry Musician 4 / One Direction Musicians 5 Howard Stern Television personality 6 Garth Brooks Musician 7 James Patterson Author 8 Robert Downey Jr. Actor 8 Taylor Swift Musician 10 Cristiano Ronaldo Sportsperson (association football)
+ 2016 No. Recipient Career 1 Taylor Swift Musician 2 / One Direction Musicians 3 James Patterson Author 4 Cristiano Ronaldo Sportsman (association football) 4 Dr. Phil McGraw Television personality 6 Kevin Hart Comedian 7 Howard Stern Radio personality 8 Lionel Messi Sportsman (association football) 9 Adele Musician 10 Rush Limbaugh Radio personality
+ 2017 No. Recipient Career 1 Sean "Diddy" Combs Musician 2 Beyoncé Musician 3 J. K. Rowling Author 4 Drake Musician 5 Cristiano Ronaldo Athlete (association football) 6 The Weeknd Musician 7 Howard Stern Radio personality 8 Coldplay Musicians 9 James Patterson Author 10 LeBron James Athlete (basketball)
+ 2018 No. Recipient Career 1 Floyd Mayweather Jr. Athlete (boxing) 2 George Clooney Actor 3 Kylie Jenner Personality 4 Judge Judy Sheindlin Television personality 5 Dwayne Johnson Actor 6 U2 Musicians 7 Coldplay Musicians 8 Lionel Messi Athlete (association football) 9 Ed Sheeran Musician 10 Cristiano Ronaldo Athlete (association football)
+ 2019 No. Recipient Career 1 Taylor Swift Musician 2 Kylie Jenner Personality 3 Kanye West Rapper 4 Lionel Messi Athlete (association football) 5 Ed Sheeran Musician 6 Cristiano Ronaldo Athlete (association football) 7 Neymar Athlete (association football) 8 The Eagles Music group 9 Phil McGraw Television personality 10 Saul "Canelo" Alvarez Athlete (boxer)
+ 2020 No. Recipient Career 1 Kylie Jenner Media personality 2 Kanye West Rapper 3 Roger Federer Athlete (tennis) 4 Cristiano Ronaldo Athlete (association football) 5 Lionel Messi Athlete (association football) 6 Tyler Perry Actor 7 Neymar Athlete (association football) 8 Howard Stern Radio personality 9 LeBron James Athlete (basketball) 10 Dwayne Johnson Actor
See also Forbes Top 40 (1987–1998) Forbes list of the world's highest-paid musicians Forbes list of the world's highest-paid dead celebrities Forbes China Celebrity 100 Forbes Korea Power Celebrity 40 List of music artists by net worth List of celebrities by net worth
References
External links of The Celebrity 100 (latest)