2012 Forbes China Celebrity 100 List: Jay Chou in #1 Spot!
The 9th Annual Forbes China Celebrity 100 list–ranking the most influential entertainment and sports celebrities from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan–was released yesterday. Factoring in income and exposure rate, Forbes China’s annual ranking has become the de facto list in benchmarking the most influential celebrities in the region. For 2012, Jay Chou (周杰伦) was in the number one spot, followed by Andy Lau (刘德华) in second place, and Fan Bingbing (范冰冰 ) in third place!
Jay Chou Defeats Andy Lau, Climbing to #1 Spot
Jay Chou was in the top three spots in the Forbes China Celebrity 100 list since 2009. Over the last year, the 32-year-old released a new music album, held a concert series, endorsed over a dozen brands, and appeared in The Viral Factor <逆戰>. Jay earned $161.3 million Yuan last year, becoming the richest Chinese celebrity of the year!
Andy Lau’s Income Remains Staggering
In past years, Forbes China had only ranked celebrities in mainland China for the Celebrity 100 list. Last year was the first time that Hong Kong and Taiwanese celebrities were included. This resulted in Andy Lau sliding into the number one slot in 2011. Andy’s income remained staggering last year due to his concert series. Andy’s investment in award-winning movie, A Simple Life < 桃姐 > resulted in box office sales of more than $100 million Yuan.
Fan Bingbing at the Forefront
Fan Bingbing’s exposure rate was incredible, often gracing fashion magazines in mainland China. Her excellent style sense and celebrated appearances at numerous red carpet awards have made her a darling among advertisers. Fan Bingbing endorsed more than 6 global brands and over 50 mainland China brands. She established her own production studio last year and was intent on pursuing a career in Hollywood.
Faye Wong, Jolin Tsai, and Chiling Lin
Due to her sold-out concert series, Faye Wong (王菲) climbed to the 4th spot on the 2012 Forbes China Celebrity 100 list, earning $130 million Yuan last year. Jolin Tsai (蔡依林) was in 7th place, while Chiling Lin (林志玲) was in 10th place.
Yang Mi’s Explosive Growth
In 2011, Yang Mi (杨幂) was ranked in the 92nd spot on the Forbes China Celebrity 100 list. In the 2012 ranking, she climbed to the 13th place! Yang Mi’s popularity had indeed skyrocketed last year, gracing news headlines on a daily basis. Her recognition levels were increasing in Hong Kong as well, where she has become a favorite casting choice among local directors.
Newcomers on the List
Actors who entered the 2012 Forbes China Celebrity 100 list for the first time included Nicky Wu (#43), William Feng 冯绍峰 (#41) , Haibo Huang 黄海波 (#46) and Yao Chen 姚晨 (#56).
In the Forbes China Celebrity 100 list, 43 celebrities came from Hong Kong and Taiwan. Five celebrities from these regions entered the list for the first time. This year was the first year that Myolie Wu (胡杏儿) was placed on the list, due to the sizable boost in her income after filming more mainland dramas and product endorsements last year.
Angelababy in Last Place
Climbing into the influential Forbes China list last year, Angelababy’s ranking was in the 100th spot this year.
Chinese Athletes
Among the Chinese athletes, tennis player Li Na 李娜 (#5) was the wealthiest, with an estimated income of $115.5 million Yuan last year. The second wealthiest athlete was Yao Ming 姚明 (#8), followed by Liu Xiang 刘翔 (#40) and NBA basketball player, Yi Jianlian 易建联 (#42).
Top Ten List Revealed
Below is the top ten list of the 2012 Forbes China Celebrity 100 ($ figures quoted in Yuan)
1) Jay Chou ($161.3 million)
2) Andy Lau ($96.5 million)
3) Fan Bingbing ($100.9 million)
4) Faye Wong ($136.1 million)
5) Li Na ($115.5 million)
6) Zhao Bensan ($114.7 million)
7) Jolin Tsai ($83.2 million)
8 ) Yao Ming ($96.9 million)
9) Jackie Chan ($96 million)
10) Chiling Lin ($58.3 million)
Sources: Forbeschina.com, QQ.com, Oriental Daily, People.com.cn
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Jayne: Jay Chou’s wealth is staggering! No wonder rumor has it that he does not care about making money in his karaoke chain; he was in business for the fun of it. Andy Lau has proved himself to be quite a businessman, earning so much money! Fan Bingbing’s wealth is also incredible! Mainland China is where all the money is made.
I wonder what spot Kevin Cheng is in? If Nicky Wu and Myolie Wu made the list, surely Kevin should be on it too?
I don’t understand how Yang Mi got so popular. Is it because of Gong? That’s it? I’ve seen like 5 episodes of Gong, and watching that show is an insult to my intelligence, if I even had some the first place.
Addy,
I think China is ready to make big stars out of its young actors and actresses right now. Many Hong Kong and Taiwanese actors are huge there, but as in many things, mainland China prefers their own, born and raised there.
There is huge commercial rewards for these young stars in the making. A successful TV drama is seen by several hundred million people in China, making these stars incredibly powerful in ad endorsements. TV stars are crossing into major films.
Yang Mi rose to prominence due to Gong. But she had the advantage of being a child star (familiar with audience for long time) and very voluptuous figure. Yang Mi is a sex symbol in China and fast becoming one in Hong Kong as well. She has the qualities to become even bigger in movies than TV.
Nicky Wu’s career had a miracle year last year.
Jay Chou topped the list with $161 million annual income. I suspect Angelababy in the 100 spot would have earned at least $10 million Yuan.
She was already popular before Gong. She was popular from Chinese Paladin 3 and Beauty Scheme and Return of the Condor Heroes.
I know she has a pretty face and good figure i guess but acting wise i dont see anything special oh wow i only watched a couple of episodes of that one w/the BF now Hawick Lau. Boring as well storyline and overall she doesnt strike me as interesting to watch even w/her beauty ahhah…. but i guess shes INDEED A CHINA star so they promote her to the TOP?
I share the same sentiment as you. When I was watching Gong, I was too busy paying attention to Tong LiYa. I skipped episodes only to see Tong LiYa.
omg. I am loving that Feng Shao Feng made more money than Nicky Wu. ;] I’ve loved him since he paired up with Myolie in Drive of Life.
Happy to see Myolie debut at 69 this year. Hope she can stay on the list next year.
Lol,
Do you know how much money Myolie made last year? It was not cited in the sources I had looked at. Her position is very high!
http://ww2.sinaimg.cn/large/6dc78727gw1dsl9odgxsgj.jpg
http://ww1.sinaimg.cn/large/7d0dd1e1jw1dsl1aoeo0bj.jpg
breakdown of Myolie’s statistics.
Hope this helps. I don’t understand Chinese so I can’t translate.
there’s an english translation of the statistics on asianfanatics.
http://asianfanatics.net/forum/topic/770377-2012-forbes-chinese-celebrity-100-list/
How much Myolie made? ROFL she made more than LSS!
I read the list in Chinese already and don’t remember the list being like that. I remember that Kevin was not even on the list which shocked many people. I also don’t remember Fan Bing Bing being that high on the list…
Now we know why they ALL want to go China. Making it in China is like striking gold.
You are not only a millionaire but 100 times a millionaire!
China China what if you did not have the isolationist policy during hundred over years of Ming dynasty / communism but continued to progress at the same rate as western countries…? Perhaps today would be a different economy, Asians (Chinese) will not be looked down upon by the western world. You would be a “dragon” but not a sleeping dragon…
“Factoring in income and exposure rate…”
That is how they rank them Hollywood “Celebrity 100 list” too..isn’t it?
And this was Korea’s top 40 Forbes Power Celebrities just for some sightseeing and fun read..hehe http://www.allkpop.com/2012/02/forbes-korea-ranks-the-top-40-celebrities-of-korea
wow. korea’s list is full of idol stars.
I guess if you want to make money as a celebrity in korea, your best bet is to become and idol star under sm, yg or jyp.
That is due to Forbes list is always based on “Income” + “Exposure Rate”..K-idols exposure are extremely prominent not just in Korea, but worldwide(East Asia)..and “exposure rate” is linked to more income opportunities.. 😉
That is true. I just wish the Korea list had more variety with more actors and athletes than just a small handful compared to the idols.
Korea is very hard sell when it comes to anything korea which is a compliment.
Damn how much is Yang Mi making???? No Charmaine Sheh but Myolie also in?
How did Faye Wong get in the list since she hardly does anything these days?
I believe the names are in there because of endorsements, rather than filming fees alone.
Fan Bing Bing sure making big money.. that woman got some brains
Fan Bing Bing is one intelligent lady.
Last year the only Txb names appeared in this list are LF and Charmaine. This year Myolie replaced Charmaine. Maybe the reason is more endorsements and series for Myolie while Charmaine only has 1-2 series.
I actually dun feel surprised at KC’s non appearance, like some others. His fee increased only in the end of the year and still equal or lower than other HK artists (for example Nic Tse). And he only has series + few endorsement as backup.
I wonder what $$$ or ranking for Nic Tse and Charmaine. Since leaving tvb, Chairmaine appears to have gone off the radar. She must have finished filming that mainland series about the Yuan Dynasty by now.
Nicky Wu will be in the top 30 or higher by next year. I love Nicky.
She is going to film another China series. Charmaine isn’t ranked in the list this year but Myolie replaced her.
Because Charmaine cool down under the radar after left TVB while TVB promoting Myolie up to replace Charmaine’s empty pedestal LOL
Pity that Charmaine fell from the list when she left TVB. TVB popularity must be making her getting lots of endorsement LOL
too bad i cant see charmanie in the list!!
How come Kevin Cheng isn’t in? Since Nicky wu and Liu Shi Shi is in the list it’s impossible they left out KC. As his appearance in TV, newspaper and magazine isnt less than Nicky wu and Liu shi shi. How come he is not in the list?
agree, should add Kevin in list. Kevin is too hot in mainlaind now. The list is not accurate. Support Kevin
Maybe the payment isn’t enough for him to join the list. There are 2 conditions to be in the list: How much this person earned and How exposed he was.
Maybe this list was compiled too early. Kevin has definitely gotten a lot of exposure lately. Too bad it’s been mostly bad news. Poor guy, it’s like “attack from 10 sides”.
The list is counted mostly in the year 2011
In 2011 he has been working so hard in Mainland China. If this Forbes counting is early 2011 i hope to see KC’s name on the list in 2012. he should be in the list. 🙂
I think Kevin Cheng and Charmaine Sheh must have made the equivalent of Angelababy, if not more. Earnings through end of February 2012 were tabulated into the income estimate, so Kevin should have made enough money to put him in top 100.
Also, the exposure rate is based on a pool of 20 to 30 magazines selected by Forbes, which may be biased. I wonder if Forbes also included internet entertainment sites such as Sohu.com in determining their exposure rate. If their pool of magazines were just mainstream magazines, including fashion and style magazines, that would truly boost Fan Bingbing’s ranking quite a lot.
The earnings are estimated by Forbes and likely not confirmed by the artists, so there will be instances where we have to take things with a grain of salt.
But overall, this is the power list for last year. I believe they got the majority of the celebrities on the list right, especially the variance between the top earners and artists in the lower spots are quite extreme.
ROFL they obvously did not take outside ent industry income such as investments and company into account don’t they? It seems they only take income from ent work? If they did Nic Tse might be topping up from his company income LOL
Angelababy is a current hot name, Jayne, especially the romance link with Huang Xiao Ming who is said to be China’s next top prince.
Agreed, how come Kevin is not in the list, he did well both BBJX plus Ghetto – Myolie, Nicky Wu and Liu Shi Shi his co-star all made it???
hopefully KC will be in the list next year! or i don’t think this Forbes is real count! 🙂
Holy cow! Mainland is where the money is. No wonder all the TVB artists want to work in Mainland.
Angelababy made it? even at 100th, don’t think she compares to some other people in hk.
That’s what I thought. I don’t think that list is credible.
I also wonder how credible this list is??
Asking how credible Forbes is, then you will know how credible the list is.
Wow china is where every celeb go n dig gold. Glad Myolie made it in top 100.
The ranking depends on earning and appearance. From the 2011 list, you can see that some at the higher ranking list earn less than those below them. They are at the top because of many news.
Oh so it is not only how much you make, but how often you make the news? No wonder Big S was on there since she hasn’t done much ever since she got married to the dude that she hardly even knew…
The Chinese economy is growin especially in big cities like Hong Kong and ShenHai they are blooming! Instead of being stuck in the village, more ppl are moving to the cities to better their life style. So I could see why some of the Hong Kong super stars are going to mainland China to make more money.
Is this list accurate?
Grace,
Forbes estimated the income level of the actors and factored in the artist’s exposure rate for the list. Since the income levels are estimated, there may be room for error. But overall, the majority of power earners are likely correct.
Forbes is considered to be authority in measuring such lists of the wealthiest, since they are also responsible for the World’s Richest Billionaire list.
Wow! Andy Lau the Hong Kong “Dinosaur” still keeping Up well in second place.
why is Kevin Cheng not on this list? I mean if Myolie is up there, then surely Kevin is. Kevin’s had a lot more endorsements than her and his income alone exceeds her per episode salary. His popularity rose during BBJX which was way before Myolie won Best Actress. And Myolie’s fees only just increased after she won. Therefore I don’t understand why Kevin isn’t up there. UNLESS the reported figures that his getting isn’t actually the true? did tvb make up his figures or something? just doesn’t sound right.
oh wait.. this is not the wealthiest list. its the Top 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL list. INFLUENTIAL doesn’t depend solely on wealth. I guess Kevin isn’t ‘influential’ or ‘popular’ enough. maybe that’s why. *shrugs*
Liu shi shi was only ranked 99.
Only Nicky Wu out of all the leads in BBJX ranked high.
And myolie is?! What a joke! She is only most influential to Bosco.
@josie
LOL because after the award speech we keep seeing hundreds of Myolie interviews: BOSCO HEALED ME, BOSCO AND I TOLERATE EACH OTHER, MYOLIE TALK ABOUT BOSCO’s NET WORTH and on and on uh
@josie
that doesn’t count her exposures about her depression after lost the award in 2006 and how much she want the award ROFL
Or charmaine keep quiet about her incomes and Forbes only take estimates from news so that’s why her income not listed? Compare Charmaine and Myolie last year ROFL obviously Myolie has like thousands of press hype and press hype can get her many event with TVB management help while Charmaine become more silent since she moved ROFL
Lol, rumour that Yu Bo (Chinese actor, acting in a series with Myolie now) is chasing Myolie. Bosco has a love rival :P. Seem that not only Bosco has the influence of Myolie.
I highly doubt that Yu Bo is chasing Myolie.He just complimented that she would be a good wife and that whoever marries her is lucky, so he does have good feelings towards her. However, I don’t think that means that he is chasing her.
Hehe, it still means that Bosco is having a rival (at least) by now and he should feel worried.
But before winning, Myolie’s fee is higher than KC. KC’s fee only increased after BBJX. Note that in the list of most earners of TVB each year, Myolie is a frequent face in top 5 while KC has never be listed. Then I think it’s reasonable of Myolie’s appearance this year, if consider the money.
while KC has never be listed until this year*.
So many more ppl should be above Myolie on this list. Kevin alone. What abt Sheren, Charmaine and the singers Joey Yung, Miriam, Sammi, Charlene, Twins.
Twins I would think is hugely influential. Weibo followers shooting over the roof. Sell out concerts, ah sa in movies commanding high fees, got several investment properties under her belt.
Where’s the whole list we can look at?
Joey Yung is on the list, like 2 or 3 slots above Myolie
Pretty sure that Joey and Charlene are on the list. Sammi and Miriam I’m not sure but I think I saw them.
okies found it: http://www.forbeschina.com/review/list/001893.shtml
For those who can’t read chinese, here’s the rest (just the ones I know):
11. Eason Chan
12. Nic Tse
13. Yang Mi
14. Zhang Ziyi
15. Jacky Cheung
16. Lee Hom Wang
17. Show Luo
18. Donnie Yen
19. Shu Qi
20. Li Bing Bing
21. Aaron Kwok
22. Jet Li
23. Huang XiaoMing
24. Louis Koo
25. Cecilia Cheung
27. Tony Leung
34. Ruby Lin
36. Amei
38. Zhao Wei
41. Feng Shao Feng
43. Nicky Wu
44. Chow Yun Fat
45. Barbie
55. Karen Mok
60. Raymond Lam
65. Joey Yung
69. Myolie Wu
73. Miriam Yeung
79. Sammi Cheng
82. Charlene
86. Carina Lau
99. Liu Shi Shi
100. Angelababy
Surprised to see Karen Mok so high on the list…
Definitely not based on wealth alone, because when you arrange via wealth, Myolie Wu ($1.98 mil) earnt more than Miriam ($1.89mil), Raymond Lam ($1.81mil) and Sammi ($1.8). I’m really surprised. Raymond ranked pretty low in terms of wealth. He lacked sleep doing movies, series, concerts concurrently yet Myolie earns more than him? Weird.
Top 10 wealthiest:
1. Jacky Cheung ($170.5 million)
2. Jay Chou
3. Faye Wong
4. Donnie Yen ($124.1 million)
5. Li Na ($115.5 million)
6. 赵本山
7. Li Bing Bing ($100.9 million)
8. Jet Li ($100.4 million)
9. Yao Ming ($9.69 million)
10. Andy Lau ($9.65 million)
Myolie really got more $$ than LF?
Reasonable. Last year LF only films 1 series (and it’s a TVB one) + 1 movie while Myolie has more series (4-5 TVB + 1 China). LF’s China series paid in 2010 and can’t be counted for 2011. Moreover, Myolie has more endorsements (8 on hand) while LF only did 3 last year. The number of functions he had is also less than Myolie. Therefore his money is slightly less than Myolie is something predicted.
The list includes 2 factors: 1. money, 2. Exposed rate on internet, news and newspaper/TV. Compare then LF earned 1.81 mil, ranked 25 on Internet, 67 on news and 17 on newspaper/TV; Myolie earned 1.98 mil, ranked 67 on Internet, 72 on news but 8 on newspaper/TV. It showed that last year Myolie appeared on TV quite a lot.
but how come LF income so low? He still film 2-3 movies and held lots of concert. That should a lot more than TVB series
ROFL Myolie so overexposed on TV!
This one is for the year 2011 and he only filmed 1 series (3k) and 1 movie (yang movie) for this year as I stated. Where get 2-3 movies? His fee for movie only increased for the year 2012 as Snake had good box office, before that he is green in movie field and a movie only equal to 2 or 3 eps of a series for fee (but fame rises faster of course). Last year he had 1 concert in HK and few concert tour, could give him a lot of money but only did 3 endorsements. Endorsements and functions are the main income of artist. I think it’s reasonable. Next year we will see if their income has change or not.
hi thanks for share this information.