SOCIETY / PEOPLE

List: Top Ten Richest and Most Powerful Celebrities in the World

Date: 2007

Source: Forbes

Base: To generate the list, Forbes analysed celebrity earnings, plus media metrics like Google hits, press mentions as compiled by Lexis/Nexis, TV/radio mentions from Factiva and the number of times an A-lister appears on the cover of 32 major consumer magazines. Earnings estimates are for June 2006 to June 2007 and consist of dollars earned solely from entertainment-related income. Management, agent and attorney fees have not been deducted.

Notes: To see the top 100 ranking got to Forbes' annual list of the world's best-paid and most powerful celebrities.

Thanks to his share in the box office gross of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, actor Johnny Depp made £50.1m in the priod covered, more than most any other actor has ever earned for a film role. (Mel Gibson made £100.2m in 2004 from The Passion of the Christ, but as the producer and director.) With their Bigger Bang tour, the Rolling Stones created the highest-grossing tour in history, with over £217.8m in ticket sales. Rapper Jay-Z debuted on the list in the ninth spot, bolstered by the March sale of his Rocawear clothing label to Iconix for £111.1m in cash. There were 29 newcomers on the top 100 list whilst the year's biggest gainers included Angelina Jolie, who jumped to 14th spot compared to 35th the previous year, and football star David Beckham jumping to 15th this year, from 43rd.