Lady Gaga, Beyonce Make Forbes’ 100 Most Influential Women List

Christina Lee | August 23, 2012 2:42 pm

Beyonce and Lady Gaga are now two of Forbes’ 100 Most Powerful Women, among the dozens of billionaires, politicians and moguls also listed.

The pop powerhouses join Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira in the magazine’s list of Celebrity Power Women — thanks to, among other outstanding accomplishments, platinum-selling albums and philanthropic support. (Beyonce worked with the National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation, and Lady Gaga served as the spokeswoman for the MAC AIDS Foundation.) Makes sense, since with more than 200 candidates in the running, Forbes boiled down its criteria to just three metrics: “money, media and impact.”

Is the news surprising? Okay, not exactly. Here’s why.

Earlier this month Jay-Z and Beyonce topped the magazine’s list of Highest Paid Celebrity Couples. Plus, according to Forbes itself, Lady Gaga raked in $52 million over the past year, falling only second to Lopez in earnings. What is interesting, though, is these Influential Women have teamed with other Influential Women. As Forbes notes, Beyonce whipped up a “Get Me Bodied” remix — “Move Your Body” — and accompanying video for Michelle Obama‘s “Get Fit” campaign. And Lady Gaga invited 2005 Power Women inductee Oprah Winfrey to the kick-off event for her Born This Way Foundation.

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