LADY GAGA
Forbes Rich List: Power vs money list
Three years ago she was a virtual unknown struggling to break into the music business.
Now Lady Gaga has been named the most powerful entertainer in the world.
The 25-year-old singer, who earned more than £60m over the past year, topped the annual list by Forbes, which awarded her the accolade in part due to her large online following.
She has more than 32m fans on Facebook and nine million followers on Twitter – who she calls her Little Monsters.
Gaga, who came fourth in last year's list, knocked Oprah Winfrey into second place for the first time in four years, despite the chat show host earning three times as much at £193m.
months and their social media reach. As a result, teen sensation Justin Bieber made his debut on the list at number three.
The 17-year-old Canadian-born singer earned £35m from his concerts and a 3D documentary.
Like Lady Gaga he has a huge online following, with more than nine million Twitter followers, while his first song Baby has been viewed 500m times on YouTube.
Most of Gaga's earnings in the past year came from a world tour which made her £50m.
The only Britons in the top ten are Elton John and Simon Cowell, who will launch a U.S. version of The X Factor this year.
Tiger Woods also makes the top ten despite seeing his marriage end and reputation plummet due to multiple affairs.
OPRAH WINFREY
From humble beginnings to America's most generous woman
Oprah Winfrey is one of America's best-known celebrities; she's also one of the most generous. The Mississippi-born television host has made the Slate 60top charitable donations list in each of the last four years with donations totaling $210 million. Forbes valued her wealth in 2006 at $1.5 billion. While she's not donating 100 percent of her wealth as Richard Branson is, she's easily among the most generous celebrities.
As a black woman growing up in the South, Oprah faced a number of challenges as she climbed the ranks in the world of broadcasting. She began by reading the news on Nashville radio and then moved to television,eventually landing a job hosting AM Chicagoin 1984. One year later, after much success, it was renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show, and the rest is history.
Winfrey, in addition to being a great interviewer, is also an accomplished businessperson. Early on in her show, she created her own company, Harpo Productions, to buy the syndication rights. It was this bold feat that allowed her to make substantial charitable donations in Africa, the United States and other parts of the world.
Oprah has three foundations that help people, especially children, on a global basis. Her most ambitious project to date is the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy in South Africa. Opened on January 2, 2007, this private boarding school is the crown jewel of Oprah's philanthropic career. This state-of-the-art boarding school affords 250 underprivileged young girls the opportunity to learn in a supportive, caring environment. Winfrey spent five years and $40 million to make the school a reality. Some parents of the children attending the school have objected to the overly strict rules applied to their kids - most notably, the parents can only visit for two hours per month - but Oprah defends the school and its practices by saying the administrators are building a safe place for the children to obtain a first-rate education.
JONATHAN IVE
Thanks to the enormous popularity and sheer design genius of a number of products that Jonathan Ive has developed for Apple, the modest and highly innovative Englishman is generally regarded as one of the most brilliant industrial designers of his generation. In addition to staggering sales figures for inventions such as the iPod and iPhone, he has won all sorts of accolades for his revolutionary designs. He was named the Design Museum's first-ever Designer of the Year in 2002, and earned that title again in 2003. 2003 also saw his induction as a member of the Royal Designers for Industry, while the following year he was awarded the RSA Benjamin Franklin Medal. In 2005, Jonathan Ive earned three of his four Silver Pencils from the British Design & Art Direction (D&AD) association, while in 2006, he was named a Commander of the British Empire. He has also won the Industrial Designers Society of America's Industrial Design Excellence Award, the Cooper-Hewit National Design Award and an MDA Personal Achievement Award. In January 2008, London's Daily Telegraph named him the most influential Briton in America, as his creations continue to sell in the millions.
MASH UP -
Thanks to the enormous popularity and sheer design genius of a number of products that they one of America's best-known celebrities; they also one of the most generous. Three years ago they was a virtual unknown struggling to break into the music business. The Mississippi-born television host has made the Slate 60top charitable donations list in each of the last four years with donations totaling $210 million. Forbes valued they wealth in 2006 at $1.5 billion because of the modest and highly innovative Englishman is generally regarded as one of the most brilliant industrial designers of his generation.
The 25-year-old singer, who earned more than £60m over the past year, topped the annual list by Forbes, which awarded them the accolade in part due to their large online following and for their revolutionary designs. They were named the Design Museum's first-ever Designer of the Year in 2002, and earned that title again in 2003 because as a black woman growing up in the South, who has more than 32m fans on Facebook and nine million followers on Twitter – who they calls her Little Monsters.
London's Daily Telegraph named him the most influential Briton in America, as their creations continue to sell in the millions and that It was this bold feat that allowed her to make substantial charitable donations in Africa, the United States and other parts of the world which had earnings in the past year came from a world tour which made their £50m.
Lady Gaga: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/celebrity/article.html?in_article_id=534106&in_page_id=181
Oprah Winfrey:
http://www.moneypowercenter.com/philanthropy/philanthropists/oprah-winfrey.aspx
Jonathan Ive:
http://au.askmen.com/celebs/men/business/jonathan-ive/
