Out Magazine has just released their list of 50 most powerful gays and lesbians in the United States.

We are fascinated by power, how people get it, wield it, and lose it. To create our second list, we restricted our candidates to those who are gay and living and working primarily in North America—sorry again, Elton. The rankings were determined by scoring each candidate on these criteria: (1) political clout; (2) pop-cultural resonance; (3) individual wealth; and (4) current personal profile. - Out Magazine

While we don’t know many of those in the list, it is quite interesting to see some familiar names. (Full list after the jump)

Here are our favorites, the ones we know, and the most controversial from the list:

31. Rosie O’Donnell
Rosie fell from 6th place last year to 31st this year! Whoa, that’s 25 points down!

28. Tim Gunn
He who has inspired many to “Make it Work!”

25. Tom Ford
Loved his buck-naked ad!

22. Nick Denton
Tagged as “one of the architects of the blogosphere,” Nick is the owner and managing editor of Gawker Media

21. Nate Berkus
Need I say more?

19. Greg Berlanti
Executive producer of Dirty Sexy Money, Brothers & Sisters, and Eli Stone (and previously Everwood, Jack & Bobby, and Dawson’s Creek). Berlanti is the director and writer of the hit gay movie Broken Hearts Club. He will be directing and co-writing the film adaptation of The DC comic superhero, The Green Lantern.

16. Perez Hilton
The self-proclaimed “Queen of All Media”

14. Rich Ross
President of Disney Channel Worldwide

13. Jodie Foster
She came out indirectly while accepting an award by thanking her partner. (shot up by 30 spots from 43rd last year!)

11. Scott Rudin
Executive producer of award-winning movies No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood and The Other Boleyn Girl

10. Peter Thiel
Co-founder and former CEO of PayPal

9. Marc Jacobs
One of the most influential designers in the world today. LV is LOVE!

7. Jann Wenner
Founder, editor, and publisher of Rolling Stone Magazine

3. Anderson Cooper
He hasn’t come out and has not said anything about his sexuality, but OUT still names him one of the Top (pun not intended) 3!

1. Ellen DeGeneres
Well, I love Ellen too! This out lesbian talk show host has climbed up 2 spots from last year and is now the most powerful among gays and lesbians in America.

If we create a Top 50 Most Powerful Gays and Lesbians in the Philippines, who do you think would make it?

Out’s The 2nd Annual Power 50 List

50. Kelly Bush
49. Benny Medina
48. Brian Swardstrom
47. Susan Arnold
46. Martina Navratilova
45. Jonathan Burnham
44. Bob Greenblatt
43. Adam Rose
42. Bryan Lourd
41. Carolyn Strauss
40. Christine Vachon
39. Jon Stryker
38. Lorri L. Jean
37. Simon Halls & Stephen Huvane
36. Annie Leibovitz
35. Randy Lovely
34. Craig Zadan & Neil Meron
33. Jim Nelson
32. Jeremy Bernard & Rufus Gifford
31. Rosie O’Donnell
30. Sheila Kueh
29. Adam Moss
28. Tim Gunn
27. Jasper Johns
26. Fred Hochberg
25. Tom Ford
24. Suze Orman
23. Anthony Romero
22. Nick Denton
21. Nate Berkus
20. Andrew Sullivan
19. Greg Berlanti
18. Christine Quinn
17. Martha Nelson
16. Perez Hilton
15. Brian Graden
14. Rich Ross
13. Jodie Foster
12. The New York Times Gay Mafia
11. Scott Rudin
10. Peter Thiel
9. Marc Jacobs
8. Joe Solmonese
7. Jann Wenner
6. Andrew Tobias
5. Tim Gill
4. David Geffen
3. Anderson Cooper
2. Barney Frank
1. Ellen DeGeneres

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