Taylor Swift is the only musician — and the only entertainer — in the top 30 of Forbes' list of the World's Most Powerful Women for 2023.
The list is determined by money, media, impact and spheres of influence, including media mentions and social reach, and for corporate bigwigs, employee counts, revenues and valuations. For politicians, gross domestic products were also considered.
Taylor comes in at number five on the publication's list, between Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni and Karen Lynch, the CEO of CVS. It's her highest ranking ever on the chart, and she's the only musician to make the list solely based on her songs and performances, as opposed to side hustles like a fashion or cosmetics line.
Forbes cites Taylor's recently becoming a billionaire as a factor in her high ranking, as well as her $500 million overall fortune, her $125 million in real estate holdings and her music catalog, worth $500 million. Plus, the Eras Tour ticket fiasco led Congress to investigate Ticketmaster's control of concert ticket sales.
After Taylor, the next highest-ranked entertainment figure is Oprah Winfrey at #31, followed by Beyoncé at #36, Rihanna at #74 and, believe it or not, Barbie at #100.