THE POWER ERA

You're making me feel phenomenal," Taylor Swift likes to tell the sold-out stadium of fans at each stop on her Eras Tour, right before she performs her feminist anthem "The Man." Basking in the applause, the 34-year-old pop star then flexes her biceps and kisses the muscle, all of which whips the audience into a bigger frenzy. "You're making me feel," she says, as a smile spreads across her face, "powerful? It's brilliant theatrics, but Swiftie Nation knows that she is, and has always been, the true source of her own power--and 17 years into her remarkable career, Swift has never had more economic, cultural and political clout. All this has caused her to soar up the ranks of Forbes' World's 100 Most Powerful Women, from No. 79 in 2022 to No. 5 this year. Thanks to the record-breaking success of the Eras Tour, Swift became a billionaire in October--retrospective of her career, the tour has grossed nearly $850 million over 63 US shows.