The Guardian have unveiled their annual list of the 100 most powerful people in the world of media right now. The top spots are, unsurprisingly, occupied by CEOs to the tech giants – Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg takes the power crown at #1, followed by Google’s Larry Page and Apple’s Tim Cook.
We’ve scanned the list and picked out some of the people behind the brands that most of us millennials consume, in some form, every day.
#8. Taylor Swift
Tay’s ability to single-handedly make Apple do a high profile U-turn on its decision not to pay artists during the music streaming trial is indicative of this queen’s power and guts.
Taylor Swift GIF – Find & Share on GIPHY
#13. Chris Evans
From his responsibilities at the Beeb to TFI Friday and the eagerly awaited return of Top Gear, Chris has barely been away from our eyes or ears. It makes sense, then, that he became the highest paid presenter in broadcasting this year.
#17. Evan Spiegel
The Snapchat CEO dropped out of college – just a matter of classes away from graduation – to move back in with his dad and work on the photo messaging app which is now worth an estimated $2.1 billion. Perhaps the real marker of achievement, though, is will.i.am’s :”The real rock star is Snapchat, isn’t it?”
#19. Kevin Systrom
The official home for food filters, holiday selfies and #relationshipgoals, Instagram has taken over from Facebook as the social media site of choice for young people, with about 400 million users each month sharing around 80 million images each day.
#22. Ted Sarandos
The Netflix chief content officer has $6 billion to spend on shows in 2016. We’ve got our duvet days scheduled in at the ready.
#31. PewDiePie
2015 has been the year of the YouTuber and Swedish gamer PewDiePie, real name Felix Kjellberg, is its biggest star. He made $12 million in the last year, and is set to make much more as plans evolve for a horror series with the producer of The Walking Dead.
#48. Adele
Ofc Adele is in the list. Her third album made history, breaking all first-week sales records in the UK. She is also proof that success is entirely possible without extensive use of social media, with her Instagram account hosting a mere 18 snaps.
#68. Claudia Winkleman & Tess Daly
This joyful duo have smashed the showbiz mould that ruled peak entertainment shows such as Strictly must be hosted by a man and a woman.
Feminism GIF – Find & Share on GIPHY
#70. Amy Schumer
The comedian, writer, actor, producer and all-round top gal really made a name for herself this year, from her Emmy award winning stand up show Inside Amy Schumer to the far-too-relatable film Trainwreck.
Amy Schumer: Live AT The Apollo
Check out the full list here.
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