When considering candidates for the most influential celebrities in the world we have to decide first on what is the criteria for consideration. In this list, we looked at not only net worth but also the types of work and projects they have done.
1. Oprah Winfrey
Oprah is a billionaire and a self-made billionaire. She might not have the highest net worth of the people on our list, but she still is worth around 70 billion dollars. It isn’t just her income that makes her influential, it is the power she has and how many projects she works on. Oprah owns the OWN, her own network television channel, which in 2014 is making a profit. She also is the producer of many programs, not on her channels such as the Rachael Ray show, Dr. Phil and all of Dr. Oz’s programs. With all of this wealth, Oprah gives a sizable amount to charity. She supports many educational programs and has put more than one hundred million into an all-girls school in South Africa that she created.
2. Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg is the richest person on this list, but he doesn’t have as strong as a presence in the media like Oprah does, putting him in the number two spot, although they worked together in Oprah’s film debut in The Color Purple. Spielberg is worth more than one hundred billion dollars, mostly directing movies but he is also known to produce some movies and television. Spielberg isn’t afraid to tell the dark and haunting stories of the past, as he did with Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan. Steven Spielberg somehow reminds us, look-wise, of Steve Jobs, or like the Knight in Clash Royale.
3. Beyonce Knowles
We first met Beyonce when she was the lead singer in an all-girl group called Destiny’s Child. She has come a long way since then. Beyonce sells out every concert and grosses two million each night of her concert. Her paycheck for 2013 was over fifty-four million dollars. This came from concerts, endorsements with Pepsi and H&M, and her own fashion line called House of Dereon.
4. Taylor Swift
America’s sweetheart is number four on our list. She has an acquired a vast amount of wealth in her life, especially since she is the youngest on our list. Her music career including sold out concerts and huge record deals have given Swift many endorsement deals including Diet Coke, Covergirl cosmetics, and Sony. This earned the singer over fifty-five million last year alone. She also owns many pieces of property including homes in Nashville and in the Hamptons.
5. Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga is the social media princess. She has over fifty-eight million followers on Facebook and over thirty-eight million on Twitter. She calls her followers little monsters. Her wealth has come mostly from her touring with her Born This Way production.
6. Madonna
The queen of pop is still touring at the age of fifty-five and brought in a three hundred and five million dollars on her latest MDNA tour. Madonna says that the sales of her shows come from tour merchandise. She also has a fragrance line and has investments in companies, like Vita Coconut a coconut water.
7. Roger Federer
Roger Federer is the first sports celebrity on our list. The tennis star has the most endorsement deals in sports today. He is the spokesman for Rolex, Nike, Moet & Chandon, Credit Suisse and Wilson. Federer is thought of as the best tennis player ever breaking the record for the grandest slams ever. His South African tennis tour netted him over fourteen million dollars for six tennis matches.
8. Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen DeGeneres is a daytime queen. She stars in and produces her daily talk show called Ellen. She is also a Covergirl model and spokesperson. She is a social media darling with more than a billion views on her Youtube channel. Ellen gains her sizable worth when voicing the Disney favorite Dory in the Pixar movie Finding Nemo. Ellen might be the highest paid on the list her media presence puts her above many celebrities.
There are of course many more celebrities with sizable net worth and faces splashed all over magazines, but we think this list has is full of celebrities that are making money doing by earning it and working hard.