1. Oprah Winfrey

She still reigns as the most powerful African-American woman in America with her ever-popular syndicated chat show, from which she has earned billions sharing her views on cultural trends, the books she thinks we should read and the politicians we should support. (Last month, she endorsed Barack Obama for president.) The producer of The Color Purple on Broadway, she is expanding her philanthropic role, opening a school for girls in South Africa this year.

2. Tiger Woods

Tiger has been in the top five for the last five years. Here he is again after making $90m over the past year. Of course most of the money comes from endorsements but according to Forbes a quarter of his earnings were actually from winnings on the golf circuit, where he is still at the top of his game. Sports Illustrated last month also ranked Woods number one in its list of America’s highest paid athletes.

3. Madonna

The Material Girl continues to generate the usual headlines, most recently with the adoption of David, a 19-month-old boy from Malawi. Africa is her new passion with plans afoot for her to make a documentary about children on the continent suffering from Aids. Also due for release soon is Filth and Wisdom, a low-budget feature comedy that will mark her debut as a film director. Her Confessions tour last year set a record for the top-grossing female singer of all time.

4. Rolling Stones

Mick Jagger is 64 and Keith Richards claimed earlier this year that he snorted the ashes of his dead father as if it were cocaine. The good news is that Richards later insisted he was joking. So the Stones still haven’t quite lost the plot – as 60,000 fans who saw them perform at the Isle of Wight festival last weekend can attest. “I’ll do it in my wheelchair,” Richards said last month after the band kicked off their current European tour in Belgium.

5. Brad Pitt

Despite being as famous for the women he married as his acting, Pitt is still focused on the screen, with Oceans 13 just out in the US and Babel dividing critics last year. Now a father to Shiloh, and adoptive father to children from around the world, he seems to be developing his wife Angelina Jolie’s appetite for worthy causes, and has been campaigning to raise money for Darfur refugees.

6. Johnny Depp

First drawn to off-beat artsy films such as What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Depp is now firmly in the major studios’ fold with his runaway success as Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. Its latest instalment, released last month in the UK, At World’s End, grossed $135m (£70m) in the US in just three days. Next up is the title role in Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd. He has twice been Oscar nominated.

7. Elton John

The Rocket Man still has plenty of fuel in his tanks, performing around the globe in spite of reaching 60 earlier this year – a milestone marked with a special concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Meanwhile, Sir Elton continues to campaign for Aids and gay rights. He was one of the first to take advantage of the new civil partnerships in Britain, “tying the knot” with long-time partner David Furnish in matching morning suits.

8. Tom Cruise

Last year he lost his deal to make films with Paramount, but toothy Tom is forging on regardless as he takes control of United Artists and prepares to start shooting Valkyrie – about a 1944 plot to kill Adolf Hitler – later this summer.

9. Jay-Z

The rap artist’s prominence was brought home this month with Vanity Fair choosing him for one of 20 covers for its current Africa issue. Jay-Z, real name Shawn Corey Carter, is not just a singer but also a mogul as CEO of recording label, Def Jam Records, and co-owner of the New Jersey Jets. His music made him one of the best-selling hip-hop artists of all time. His 2006 album, Kingdom Come, sold 680,000 copies in a week.

10. Steven Spielberg

The wunderkind of Hollywood who brought us such cinematic joy-rides as ET is still working full-tilt with the almost-upon-us release of this summer’s expected monster box-office hit, the live-action movie Transformers. Spielberg, whose more serious fare has included the recent Munich as well as Schindler’s List, is also preparing to begin shooting another sequel to one of the industry’s most powerful franchises, Indiana Jones, in which Harrison Ford will reprise one of the roles which propelled him to Hollywood stardom. Last week Spielberg endorsed Hillary Clinton’s candidancy for president.

11. Tom Hanks

With two Oscars under his belt, Tom Hanks could have afforded to shrug off the savaging from critics over The Da Vinci Code. But the film was a runaway smash at the box office, pulling in $750m (£380m).

12. Grey’s Anatomy

The hit show about a Seattle hospital has netted two Golden Globes. In the past 12 months it has had to weather a storm over an anti-gay slur, which ultimately cost the actor Isaiah Washington his job.

13. Howard Stern

Stern continues to rule the US radio waves, despite fleeing terrestrial radio where he was constricted by federal obscenity regulations. He now stars on the satellite radio channel Sirius.

14. Angelina Jolie

She burst into the top ranks as Lara Croft, but her role as the widow of murdered US journalist Daniel Pearl, shows a more serious path. She started a wave of star adoptions, and is a UN goodwill ambassador.

15. David Beckham

He’s won his spot back in the England team but his rise in the US is more likely thanks to his impending move to LA Galaxy. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are breaking him and Posh into the Hollywood A-list.

16. Phil Mickelson

That other US golfer, Mickelson teed off at the US Open yesterday, and fans are hoping for a final face-off with Tiger Woods. Already a winner of three majors, he is struggling with an wrist injury.

17. David Letterman

With his CBS talk show, Letterman is still battling his NBC rival , Jay Leno. A Parkinson with more glitz, he is under contract until at least 2010.

18. Bon Jovi

The rock icon can still fill a stadium, as he will prove yet again on 24 June at the O2 Arena, formerly the Millennium Dome, in London. His new album Lost Highway was released last weekend.

19. Donald Trump

It’s easy to forget Trump is a property developer because of his reality TV show (The Apprentice), casinos and beauty pageants. The Apprentice has been dropped by NBC but he is irrepressible.

20. Celine Dion

The warbler from Quebec churns out one sugary ballad after another, but she’s still best known in the UK for her signature tune from the Oscar-winning 1997 movie, Titanic, “My Heart Will Go On”.

and the others ...

21. Simon Cowell

22. U2

23. Kobe Bryant

24. Michael Schumacher

25. Shaquille O’Neal

26. Jay Leno

27. Nicole Kidman

28. Ben Stiller

29. Alex Rodriguez

30. Dr Phil McGraw

31. Ronaldinho

32. 50 Cent

33. Brian Grazer/Ron Howard

34. Justin Timberlake

35. Michael Jordan

36. Rush Limbaugh

37. Tim McGraw

38. Roger Federer

39. Jerry Bruckheimer

40. George Clooney

41. Kimi Raikkonen

42. Jerry Seinfeld

43. Sean (Diddy) Combs

44. Jennifer Aniston

45. Adam Sandler

46. Oscar De La Hoya

47. Desperate Housewives (cast)

48. LeBron James

49. J K Rowling

50. Derek Jeter

51. Maria Sharapova

52. Matt Damon

53. Gisele Bundchen

54. Vince Vaughn

55. Bill Clinton

56. Gore Verbinski

57. Will Smith

58. Valentino Rossi

59. Judge Judy Sheindlin

60. Jessica Simpson

61. Tyra Banks

62. Anthony Robbins

63. Cate Blanchett

64. Regis Philbin

65. Sandra Bullock

66. Rachael Ray

67. Alan Greenspan

68. Julia Roberts

69. Serena Williams

70. Michelle Wie

71. Keira Knightley

72. Hilary Duff

73. George Lopez

74. Kate Moss

75. Barbara Walters

76. Ryan Seacrest

77. Scarlett Johansson

78. Jessica Alba

79. Daniel Radcliffe

80. Reese Witherspoon

81. Larry the Cable Guy

82. Deepak Chopra

83. Annika Sorenstam

84. Heidi Klum

85. J J Abrams

86. Dan Brown

87. Emeril Lagasse

88. Wolfgang Puck

89. Dane Cook

90. Jack Welch

91. John Grisham

92. Jeff Foxworthy

93. Rhonda Byrne

94. Dakota Fanning

95. Danica Patrick

96. Mitch Albom

97. Emma Watson

98. Hayden Panettiere

99. Paula Deen

100. Bobby Flay