Between penetrating interviews and marathon gaming sessions, the staff of Level Up has been known to click over to The Drudge Report for up-to-the-minute headlines in news, politics and gossip. A few minutes ago, we came across the following headline: "PUTIN TOPS VANITY FAIR NEW ESTABLISHMENT LIST; MURDOCH NO. 2..." We clicked on the story, where, lo and behold, we found the entire 100-slot list from the October issue of Vanity Fair. Here's how Vanity Fair describes the highly scientific methodology behind its rankings system:
The Vanity Fair 100 represents a global, movable band of thinkers, owners, creators, and buyers who are the tastemakers, trendsetters, opinion formers and agenda creators in the worlds of politics, entertainment, media, business, technology, and fashion. Entry into the ranks of the V.F. 100 is based on a number of factors: wealth and influence, as well as such intangibles as vision, philanthropy, and the x factor.
Being named to the list is considered to be an honor of some prestige, and, in the past, we've known publicists who've spent considerable time and effort to ensure that their clients would be so recognized. Previous videogame-related honorees include Electronic Arts chairman Lawrence (Larry) F. Probst III in 2004 (#32, between actor Tom Cruise at #31 and Fox News chief Roger Ailes at #33) and 2005 (#33, below Ailes at #32 but above Cruise at #34). PlayStation CEO Kaz Hirai hasn't yet made the list, but he was named a "mogul in waiting" while serving as the head of the game company's North American operation. So how did videogame luminaries fare this year?
The answer is mixed. This year of 2008 does see two boldfaced names on the list: Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick and Nintendo chief designer Shigeru Miyamoto. But their respective rankings--#72 and #73, sandwiched between architect William McDonough and the aforementioned cybergossip Matt Drudge--are a full 40 spots below where Probst and Electronic Arts placed just a few years ago. (For what it's worth, EA CEO John Riccitiello did not make the list, which may provide more incentive to close that deal with Take-Two.) And this despite the videogame industry tracking to record revenues for the year. We're not sure what the solution is--it's difficult to picture Vanity Fair's silver-haired editor Graydon Carter raiding in WoW, rocking out with Guitar Hero or working out to Wii Fit--but videogame's top talents can't outrank on-their-last-legs performers like Robert De Niro (#59) and Mick Jagger (#61), something's rotten at Michael's.
To read Vanity Fair's 2008 New Establishment List in its entirety, see below:
THE VANITY FAIR 100
2007 ranking in parentheses
1. Vladimir Putin, Russian Prime Minister (new entry)
2. Rupert Murdoch, News Corp. (1)
3. Sergey Brin (3), Larry Page (3), and Eric Schmidt (new entry), Google
4. Steve Jobs, Apple, Disney, and Pixar (2)
5. Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway (5)
6. Jeff Bezos, Amazon (23)
7. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai (new entry)
8. Roman Abramovich, Millhouse Capital (30)
9. Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt, actors, activists (new entry)
10. Al Gore, eco-warrior (19)
11. Bill Clinton, Clinton Foundation (6)
12. Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York, Bloomberg L.P. (9)
13. Bernard Arnault, LVMH (8)
14. Steven Spielberg, DreamWorks SKG (7)
15. Ralph Lauren, Polo Ralph Lauren (13)
16. Steve Ballmer, Microsoft (returning)
17. François-Henri Pinault, PPR (new entry)
18. Barry Diller & Diane von Furstenberg (15), IAC; Diane von Furstenberg (15)
19. H. Lee Scott, Wal-Mart (12)
20. Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sachs (new entry)
21. Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase (new entry)
22. David Geffen, DreamWorks SKG (16)
23. George Lucas, Lucasfilm (40)
24. Jerry Bruckheimer, Jerry Bruckheimer Films (26)
25. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook (new entry)
26. Ronald Perelman, MacAndrews & Forbes (31)
27. Jeff Bewkes, Time Warner (22)
28. John Lasseter (66), Andrew Stanton (new entry), and Brad Bird (new entry), Pixar, Disney
29. Herb Allen, Allen & Co. (21)
30. Miuccia Prada, Prada S.p.A. (44)
31. Damien Hirst, conceptual artist (new entry)
32. Sumner Redstone, Viacom, CBS (70)
33. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California (50)
34. Tom Hanks, actor, director, producer (32)
35. Robert Iger, Disney (36)
36. Bono, singer, humanitarian (28)
37. Larry Ellison, Oracle (20)
38. Larry Gagosian, Gagosian Gallery (84)
39. Howard Stringer, Sony (17)
40. Peter Chernin, News Corp. (24)
41. Philippe Dauman, Viacom (68)
42. Vivi Nevo, NV Investments (59)
43. Oprah Winfrey, Harpo Productions (14)
44. Jon Stewart, The Daily Show (89)
45. Stephen Colbert, The Colbert Report (87)
46. Carlos Slim Helú, Teléfonos de México, América Móvil (11)
47. Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel (52)
48. Giorgio Armani, Armani Group (37)
49. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, Kingdom Holding Company (new entry)
50. Mike Nichols & Diane Sawyer, director; ABC News anchor (42)
51. Jacob Rothschild, financier (33)
52. Mickey Drexler, J. Crew (55)
53. Jeffrey Katzenberg, DreamWorks Animation (38)
54. Leslie Moonves, CBS (25)
55. George Clooney, actor, producer, director, activist (27)
56. Jay-Z, hip-hop (47)
57. Oscar & Annette de la Renta, Oscar de la Renta (53)
58. Judd Apatow, producer, director, actor, writer (new entry)
59. Robert De Niro, Tribeca Enetrprises, Tribeca Productions (34)
60. Bill Keller, The New York Times (new entry)
61. Mick Jagger, the Rolling Stones (60)
62. Bruce Wasserstein, Lazard; Wasserstein & Co. (43)
63. Ted Forstmann, IMG Worldwide (new entry)
64. Anna Wintour, Vogue (new entry)
65. Brian Roberts, Comcast (57)
66. Brian Grazer & Ron Howard, Imagine Entertainment (65)
67. Mukesh & Anil Ambani, Reliance Industries, Reliance ADA Group (new entry)
68. Jeff Zucker, NBC Universal (returning)
69. Jeff Skoll, Participant Media (61)
70. Jonathan Ive, Apple (83)
71. William McDonough, William McDonough & Partners (new entry)
72. Bobby Kotick, Activision Blizzard (new entry)
73. Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo (new entry)
74. Matt Drudge, the Drudge Report (new entry)
75. Donatella Versace, Gianni Versace S.p.A. (77)
76. Diego Della Valle, Tod’s (63)
77. Henry Kravis, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (51)
78. Marc Jacobs, Marc Jacobs, Marc by Marc Jacobs, LVMH (returning)
79. Jean Pigozzi, investor, art collector (86)
80. Paul Allen, Vulcan Inc. (71)
81. Charlie Rose, Charlie Rose (80)
82. Frank Rich, The New York Times, HBO (82)
83. John Galliano, Christian Dior, Galliano (new entry)
84. Jann Wenner, Wenner Media (74)
85. Joel & Ethan Coen, movies (new entry)
86. John Malone, Liberty Media (69)
87. Harvey & Bob Weinstein, the Weinstein Company (41)
88. Michael Moritz, Sequoia Capital (56)
89. Steven Rattner, Quadrangle Group (97)
90. Arianna Huffington, the Huffington Post (98)
91. John Paulson, Paulson & Co. (new entry)
92. Vinod Khosla, Khosla Ventures (62)
93. Jerry Weintraub, Jerry Weintraub Productions (76)
94. Tobias Meyer, Sotheby’s (new entry)
95. Tom Brokaw, NBC News (returning)
96. Doug Morris, Universal Music Group (99)
97. Jimmy Buffett, Margaritaville (96)
98. Jeffrey Sachs, the Earth Institute at Columbia University, Millennium Promise (new entry)
99. Steven Cohen, S.A.C. Capital Advisors (45)
100. Walter Mossberg, The Wall Street Journal (new entry)
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