Gibson is world's 'most powerful celeb'

Mel Gibson has eclipsed Jennifer Aniston as the world’s most powerful celebrity, according to a poll.

The 48-year-old Passion Of The Christ director had a top pay packet of $210m last year (€174.8m).

The Forbes Celebrity 100 sees Harry Potter creator JK Rowling – ranked the sixth most powerful celebrity – rocketing up from 15 last year.

The once-penniless single mother has sold more than 250 million copies of her five Potter books.

Meanwhile, Michael Jackson, despite his legal troubles, is named number seven on the list.

The Forbes' methodology in compliing the list is explained on the company website as: "Start with money. Add fame. Mix. We rank the relative star power of actors, athletes, singers and talking heads--how much they earn and how many people are paying attention."

The top 10 most powerful celebs were:

1. Mel Gibson

2. Tiger Woods

3. Oprah Winfrey

4. Tom Cruise

5. Rolling Stones

6. J.K. Rowling

7. Michael Jordan

8. Bruce Springsteen

9. Steven Spielberg

10. Johnny Depp