Thu Jun 16, 6:20 PM ET


Last month, Oprah Winfrey and Tom Cruise teamed up for a revealing expose on Cruise's extremely real passion for new girlfriend Katie Holmes.

This month, Winfrey and Cruise are linked again with both A-listers achieving top 10 status on Forbes magazine's Celebrity 100 list.

Holmes, on the other hand, didn't make the cut.

The Forbes list ranks famous folk according to their power, which in turn is determined by the size of their paychecks combined with their media presence. Hence the big names of yesteryear (hello, women of Friends) can easily be replaced by a more timely act (hello, women of Desperate Housewives).

Winfrey, whose number one ranking on the list secures her the title of world's most powerful celeb (at least until next year), raked in $225 million in the last 12 months through her reign as Queen of Daytime Television. The talk-show host climbed two rungs from her already lofty number three status of last year.

Cruise dropped a few notches from last year's number four ranking but still managed to pull off a more than respectable standing at number 10 with yearly earnings of $31 million

Coming at second was Tiger Woods, whose impressive skills on the links were good enough for an $87 million paycheck. Also ranking high in the athletics department was number five, Shaquille O'Neal, whose hoop dreams pulled down $33 million.

Mel Gibson, whose religious epic The Passion of the Christ secured him the top spot on the list last year, fell to number three, but pulled in a hefty $185 million thanks to DVD sales.

After being absent from the list last year, George Lucas was back with a vengeance at number four, thanks to the huge box office gross of Star Wars: Episode III--The Revenge of the Sith and a hefty payday of $290 million. Fellow sci-fi aficionado Steven Spielberg, whose War of the Worlds opens next month, came in at number six with yearly earnings of $80 million.

On a musical note, sparring singers Madonna and Elton John are close again, at least when it comes to the list. The Material Girl came in at number eight, while the Rocket Man landed the number nine slot.

Funnymen Will Ferrell and Dave Chappelle cracked up the list for the first time this year, coming in at numbers 18 and 78, respectively. Also appearing on the list for the first time is Denzel Washington, whose $30 million earnings put him at number 31.

Elsewhere on the list, sibling rivalry was the theme as Jessica Simpson (64th) outranked little sis, Ashlee (76th). Both sisters made the list as "personalities" as opposed to "musicians."

Reversing the trend, tennis ace Serena Williams (62nd) outpaced big sister Venus (81st). However, both Williams sisters got served by Maria Sharapova (57th) whose earnings of $18 million made her the highest-paid female athlete on the list.

Jennifer Aniston, who just two years ago topped the list, fell from last year's ranking of number 17 to 37, while her former Friends costars Courteney Cox Arquette and Lisa Kudrow dropped off the list entirely.

Meanwhile, Desperate Housewives stars Teri Hatcher, Eva Longoria, Marcia Cross, Felicity Huffman and Nicollette Sheridan made the list as a group in the personalities category, coming in at number 25.

In the teen queen race, Lindsay Lohan (52nd) ultimately edged out reputed rival Hilary Duff (54th), but both were outmatched by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen whose combined earnings of $21 million landed them at number 35.

Then there were the famous folk who made the list while their significant others were excluded. Cameron Diaz (66th) made the list, but her boy toy Justin Timberlake didn't. Jennifer Garner (70), yes; daddy-to-be Ben Affleck, no. Will Smith (13th) made the cut; wife Jada Pinkett Smith, not so much. Brad Pitt (11th) on the list; Angelina Jolie--oh wait. Our mistake. They just play a couple in Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Right?

Notably absent from the Celebrity 100 this year were perennial list-makers Tom Hanks and Jim Carrey, as well as Today host Katie Couric.

The full Celebrity 100 power list can be found in the latest issue of Forbes magazine, which hits newsstands Friday.

Here's a recap of the top 10 celebs and their earnings:

1. Oprah Winfrey, $225 million
2. Tiger Woods, $87 million
3. Mel Gibson, $185 million
4. George Lucas, $290
5. Shaquille O'Neal, $33 million
6. Steven Spielberg, $80 million
7. Johnny Depp, $37 million
8. Madonna, $50 million
9. Elton John, $44 million
10. Tom Cruise $31 million

so Madonna and Elton are the only musical artists that made the Top 10? Where is Beyonce,Usher and all the other so-called "hot" artists?

Where the hell is Prince?? Didnt he make more money and noise that most of these people last year?

Why is Shaquille ONeal and Johnny Depp ahead of Madonna when she clearly made more money?

dreamfactory313 said:

actually, he's at #40 on the list this year....

i love the fact that madonna is number 8 regardless of her last record being bashed.

nevermind edit
[Edited 6/17/05 8:32am]

Prince would have much more money if he didn't have so many paychecks to write. MJ should be on the list despite all the reports about him being broke.

DavidEye said:

Madonna is an musical artist ??

krayzie said:

Must you start? We already get your point. we've seen it before a million times.

SassyBritches said:

Critics have been bashing her for years,but she always gets the last laugh

How much did they say PRince earned? I thought he got something like $56-100 million last year.

missklhk said:

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WTF is wrong with you. He has paychecks to write because he is running a business Duh !!!

DavidEye said:

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She gets the last laugh and we keep feeling the pain.

laurarichardson said:

You keep feeling the pain. Speak for yourself

jayaredee said:

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No, I am speaking for a lot of people. Eveybody's not in love with Maddy.