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It must be good to be a Las Vegas celebrity; it certainly pays a lot, with headliners such as Terry Fator reportedly making $100 million for five years worth of performances. However, who knew that Vegas figures were powerful as well? Some notable Sin City names made Forbes magazine’s most recent list of the 100 most powerful celebrities in the world, joining Oscar winners, multi-millionaires, and musical legends.
Forbes measured power based on a combination of money and fame to come up with the 100 names, which include a combination of actors and actresses, athletes, musicians (including bands), chefs, authors, and politicians. Ironically, President Barack Obama came in only at #49, getting trumped for power by figures like Sean “Diddy” Combs, author Stephanie Meyer, and Angelina Jolie, who came in at #1, dethroning Oprah. Still, Obama didn’t do too badly, as he’s the first U.S. President to rank on the list.
Among the Las Vegas figures who made the list are Rio magicians Penn & Teller, Vegas celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck, who precedes the magical duo at #95; and MGM Grand magician David Copperfield, who came in the highest at #80.
As magicians, Penn & Teller are certainly at the top of their industry, making roughly $20 million a year. However, the tall and short twosome are also two of the most nationally famous figures on the Strip with their popular TV show on Showtime and their outspoken political and religious views.
Meanwhile, Puck is undoubtedly one of the most recognizable names in Vegas with no less than six Las Vegas restaurants, which contribute to his salary of $18 million a year. And Copperfield, aside from being one of the most successful magicians on the Strip, garnered more press than most magicians last year due to his fan accident and accusation of sexual assault.
The list also featured regularly Vegas-visiting celebrities, such as fighter Manny Pacquaio, earning the 57th spot; Trump International Hotel and Tower owner Donald Trump, who ranked 22nd; and golfer Tiger Woods, who recently had his Tiger Jam benefit at Mandalay Bay and was ranked the 5th most powerful celebrity in the world.
“The Celebrity 100…is a measure of entertainment-related earnings and media visibility (exposure in print, television, radio and online),” said Forbes of the list. “Fame is calculated using Web hits on Google Blog Search, TV/radio mentions on LexisNexis, overall press mentions on Factiva and the number of times a celebrity’s image appeared on the cover of 25 consumer magazines.”
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