Posted by Sabrina B.
@gametimegirl
Tiger Woods has not finished a tournament atop the leaderboard in 18
months. Nonetheless, Forbes says the world’s former No. 1 golfer
remains the biggest celebrity in the sports world.
Woods is No. 6 on Forbes’ annual “Celebrity 100″ compilation of the
most powerful people or groups in the entertainment business, the
highest rank of any of the 19 athletes who made the list.
Miami Heat star LeBron James is 10th, up 18 spots from a year ago,
and the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant was at No. 14 for the second
straight year.
Lady Gaga tops Forbes’ overall rankings, followed by Oprah Winfrey, Justin Bieber, U2 and Elton John.
Woods will fall out of the top 10 in golf’s world ranking next week,
the first time he’ll be 11th or lower since 1997. His last tournament
win was at the 2009 Australian Masters.
His star power apparently remains nearly as bright as ever.
Woods was No. 5 on Forbes’ list in 2010, when the magazine estimated
his annual earnings at $105 million — $30 million less than what it
figured him to make over the most recent 12-month period. Even after
taking major endorsement hits following the scandal that ended his
marriage, Woods still made $22 million more than Bryant in the past
year, Forbes said.
Forbes listed James’ earnings at $48 million, up $5 million from the
previous year, and ranked him No. 2 behind only Winfrey in terms of
media visibility. Forbes said its formula includes pretax income for
the year ending May 1, media visibility and social media power through
Facebook and Twitter.
Tennis star Roger Federer was 25th on the list, placing him fourth among athletes.
The Heat had two of the top 100, with Dwyane Wade (No. 57) joining
James. And the New York Yankees also had two mentions, with Alex
Rodriguez at No. 49 and Derek Jeter at No. 69, tying him with actress
Julia Roberts.
Other sports figures on the list: David Beckham and Phil Mickelson
(tied at No. 35), Cristiano Ronaldo (No. 43), Rafael Nadal (No. 46),
Tom Brady (No. 55), Dwight Howard (No. 59), Lionel Messi (No. 62),
Peyton Manning (No. 72), Maria Sharapova (No. 80), Serena Williams (No.
84), Venus Williams (No. 86) and Danica Patrick (No. 96).
Combined, Forbes said the 19 athletes on the list this year earned a combined $647 million.
Among those from the sports world who were ranked in 2010 but fell
off the most recent Forbes celebrity list were Michael Jordan (20th in
2010), Floyd Mayweather (31st), Shaquille O’Neal (52nd), Manny Pacquiao
(55th) and Lance Armstrong (65th).