With 6.6 million followers on Twitter and 12 million fans on Facebook, she’s also proved a master of social media. Covers are an important part of our fame algorithm but their rankings do not show up on celebrity profiles. The star earned $55 million in the past year thanks to touring and record sales, but as he explains in our cover story, Bieber is more than just a pop star. This list--which includes film and television actors, TV personalities, models, athletes, authors, musicians and comedians--is based on money and fame. We define fame as media visibility in print, television, radio and online, plus social media power, which we measure by looking at each celebrity's presence on Facebook and Twitter. To compile our earnings numbers, we talk to industry insiders, including agents, lawyers, producers and other experts, to come up with an estimate for what each celebrity earned between May 1, 2011, and May 1, 2012. Management, agent and attorney fees are not deducted.
– Jennifer Lopez went from superstar to has-been … and has now apparently swung back to superstar. The American Idol judge tops the latest Celebrity 100, Forbes’ annual list of the stars with the most money and fame, with $52 million in earnings over the past year. In addition to her new Idol gig, she’s gotten quite a bit of publicity thanks to her divorce, big endorsement deals, a clothing line and fragrance, and tons of fans and followers on social media. Last year’s No. 1, Lady Gaga, is all the way down in fifth place, while Oprah Winfrey—who was No. 1 the year before Gaga—is No. 2 this year. (But Oprah didn’t make it on Time’s Most Influential People list for the first time ever this year.) Here’s the full top 10, which may make you a little bit sad if you're not 13 years old: Jennifer Lopez Oprah Winfrey Justin Bieber Rihanna Lady Gaga Britney Spears Kim Kardashian Katy Perry Tom Cruise Steven Spielberg See Forbes for all 100.