Power Women: August 2012 Lady Gaga may have been ousted by JLo on the top spot of FORBES 2012’s list of the Most Powerful Celebrities, but she still holds court over some 26 million Little Monsters. She raked in $52 million over the past year, a massive haul for the artist, whose “Born This Way Ball” tour kicked off in April. In addition to the platinum success of her latest album, and the launch of her very own social network, Gaga focused on philanthropic work in 2012. She continues to work with the MAC AIDS Foundation and announced the launch of her own non-profit, the Born This Way Foundation, which is underwritten by the MacArthur Foundation and Harvard University. Always one to flex her muscle, Gaga enlisted friend and mentor Oprah Winfrey for the kick-off event in February. In July, Office Depot officials say they hope to create a “braver, kinder school year” for students by partnering with the Born This Way Foundation for back-to-school. The retail outlet pledged $1 million to Gaga’s campaign. Celebrity 100: May 2012 Last year’s top celeb slides from No.1 on our list due to a lack of touring, but stays near the top because of her tremendous social media influence. With over 24 million followers, she’s the world’s most popular Twitter user; her 50 million Facebook fans are more than any other celebrity aside from Eminem and Rihanna. Thanks to multiple older hits as well as her latest album, Born This Way, the singer-songwriter still makes plenty of money off of music sales. Power Women: August 2011 Lady Gaga wears the crown of FORBES 2011 Most Powerful Celebrity, and it’s a title she’s made good on both in dollar signs and massive constituency. She raked in $90 over the past year. In July, Gaga (born Stefanie Germanotta) became the first Twitter user to reach 12 million followers, trumping teen dream Justin Bieber and President Obama. Her Facebook page has 36 million fans. Beyonce has called her “the most talented pop star.” In the past three months she has begun promotional deals with Google, Zynga and Gilt and is a not-so-silent financial backer in Backplane, a Silicon Valley start-up founded by her longtime manager Troy Carter. The sales of Gaga-endorsed MAC’s VIVA GLAM Lipstick and Lipgloss have raised more than $202 million to fight HIV and AIDS. Celebrity 100: May 2011 Sometimes it pays to be weird. The Queen Monster grossed $170 million on 137 shows in 22 countries over the past 12 months and has sold an estimated 15 million albums worldwide. No surprise that advertisers want a piece: endorsement deals include Polaroid, Virgin Mobile, Monster Cable, Viva Glam and PlentyOfFish.com. A Russian billionaire reportedly paid $1 million to appear in her “Alejandro” video. Her new album, Born This Way, hit stores in May; the title track clocked one million downloads in five days, making it the fastest-selling song in iTunes history. Power Women: October 2010 All hail the new queen of pop. Part singer and part performance artist, Lady Gaga (née Stefani Germanotta) has single-handedly reinvigorated pop music and pop culture. Her songs are like brain candy (sticky and addictive), her performances and fashion style are a spectacle. Her first album, The Fame, debuted in 2008, scoring four No. 1 hits with Just Dance, Love Game, Paparazzi and Poker Face. Her latest, The Fame Monster, has now put her on par with Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Mariah Carey for the most No. 1 Billboard hits (six) by a female artist. Her The Monster Ball world tour is poised to gross $200 million by the time it ends in May 2011. But it’s not all pop and glamour for Gaga. She is vocal supporter of gay rights and the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell.” Celebrity 100: June 2010 A newcomer to the Celebrity 100, Lady Gaga broke down the door to fame with outlandish outfits and quirky videos, including one that featured her and Beyonce poisoning an unappreciative boyfriend. Bringing in an estimated $31 million from her 106 tour dates, Lady Gaga is also a marketer’s dream, teaming up with Polaroid, Virgin Mobile, Monster Cable and Viva Glam.