Lady Gaga trumps Oprah Winfrey and Justin Bieber as most powerful celebrity

Lady Gaga has acceded to the throne of most powerful celebrity today replacing Oprah Winfrey.

As if people want more evidence that the entertainment world is ruled by Lady Gaga, Forbes just named the 25-year-old singer as number one in its Celebrity 100 rankings.

The change at the top of the list signifies that a new generation of entertainers has come to replace the old and familiar faces. Winfrey in particular has ruled the list four times in the last seven years but her clout may be on the downswing as her popular, long-running television show comes to an end.

Joining Lady Gaga is another youngster, the teen pop sensation Justin Bieber whose meteoric rise to fame has not shown any letup.

Both stars have capitalized on new forms of media such as social networking sites Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Winfrey, a long-time stalwart on television, has not fared as well as her younger celebrity counterparts.

For comparison, Lady Gaga has 9.5 million Twitter "followers" and 32 million Facebook "fans", Justin Bieber has 9.7 million Twitter "followers" and 500 million views of his song "Baby" on YouTube, while Winfrey just has 5.8 million Twitter "followers."

The "Oprah Winfrey Show" ended with a special on Tuesday with "Surprise Oprah! A Farewell Spectacular", the farewell show where celebrities and former guests like Tom Cruise, Madonna and Beyonce were present.

Winfrey's celebrity status coincides with the demise of television in the face of the online media onslaught. Joining Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber on the list, for maybe years to come, are young musicians Taylor Swift and Katy Pery.