Taylor Swift Makes Forbes’ List of World’s Most Powerful Women

Taylor Swift is in some pretty impressive company these days. The 25-year-old country-turned-pop superstar has made Forbes' list of the world's 100 most powerful women for the first time this year.

The annual list counts down the most influential female leaders in politics, business, the arts, philanthropy, entertainment and more, ranked by money, media momentum, spheres of influence and impact. Swift makes her debut this year at No. 64, and is also the youngest woman on the prestigious list.

Forbes cites the success of Swift's first venture into pop, 1989, as one of the reasons for her rise to the list. It was the top-selling album of 2014, selling more than 3.5 million units to become one of only three total platinum albums of the year across all genres. Forbes also lauds Swift's philanthropy; the singer-songwriter donated the proceeds from her song "Welcome to New York" to the New York City school system. Swift also ranks No. 29 in terms of money, No. 23 in press and No. 5 in social influence. She earned an estimated $64 million last year and has 58 million Twitter followers.

London's Telegraph newspaper says Swift's power has only increased as she has come into her own as an adult, emerging as a strong feminist who's not afraid to make controversial, bold moves like pulling her entire catalog from Spotify. Though Swift is still well-known for her likability, she has moved away from the pristine image that she projected in her teenage years and has avoided a single publicity fiasco as she continues to roll out one of the biggest careers in contemporary entertainment. "This year, Taylor Swift became unafraid of being disliked, and became all the more appealing for it," the paper says.

Other women from the entertainment field to make the list this year include Oprah Winfrey, Beyonce, Ellen DeGeneres, Angelina Jolie, Sofia Vergara and Shakira. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton come in first and second.

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