Most Powerful Black Celebrities 2009

Forbes magazine has released it's annual ranking of  the world's ultra famous and most powerful celebrities.

The Celebrity 100, is a measure of entertainment-related earnings and media visibility (exposure in print, television, radio and online). The earnings estimates consist of pre-tax income between June 2008 and June 2009. Management, agent and attorney fees are not deducted. Earnings estimates, which include income from films, television shows, endorsements, books and other entertainment ventures. Figures were rounded off where appropriate.

The cumulative earnings of the 2009 list totaled $4.1 billion, up slightly from last year's $4 billion.

This year billionaire and talk show queen Oprah Winfrey was dethroned from the top of the list by Angelina Jolie. Winfrey was still the highest earner on the list with earnings of $275 million.

Barack Obama joins the list as the first sitting head of state to land on the Celebrity 100. The President's historic election last year helped him sell millions of books. He debuts on this year's list at No. 49, with book earnings of $2.5 million for the 12-month period.

This year's most powerful black celebrities:

1. Oprah Winfrey, Celebrity 100 Rank #2, Earnings $275 million
2. Beyonce Knowles, Celebrity 100 Rank #4, Earnings $87 million
3. Tiger Woods, Celebrity 100 Rank #5, Earnings $110 million
4. Kobe Bryant, Celebrity 100 Rank #10, Earnings $45 million
5. Will Smith, Celebrity 100 Rank #11, Earnings $45 million
6. Michael Jordan, Celebrity 100 Rank #18, Earnings $45 million
7. LeBron James, Celebrity 100 Rank #19, Earnings $40 million
8. Tyler Perry, Celebrity 100 Rank #30, Earnings $75 million
9. Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Celebrity 100 Rank #32, Earnings $35 million
10. Sean "Diddy" Combs, Celebrity 100 Rank #35, Earnings $30 million
11. Eddie Murphy, Celebrity 100 Rank #41, Earnings $40 million
12. Kanye West, Celebrity 100 Rank #46, Earnings $25 million
13. Barack Obama, Celebrity 100 Rank #49, Earnings $2.5 million
14. Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Celebrity 100 Rank #50, Earnings $20 million
15. Chris Rock, Celebrity 100 Rank #54, Earnings $42 million
16. Ronaldinho, Celebrity 100 Rank #55, Earnings $30 million
17. Kevin Garnett, Celebrity 100 Rank #62, Earnings $30 million
18. Serena Williams, Celebrity 100 Rank #67, Earnings $17 million
19. Venus Williams, Celebrity 100 Rank #77, Earnings $15 million

 SOURCE: Forbes.com