Number 3 ??? !!!

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Out's Power 50: Who knocked Ellen DeGeneres from No. 1 and topped Anderson Cooper?

By Jethro Nededog
April 12, 2011 4:23 PM ET

It's the accounting of the most powerful and influential gay figures in America and this year Out magazine unveils a shocker with the person who snagged the top spot on its 5th Annual Power 50 list.

"[It's] the first year that the list has been topped by someone from the tech world," explains Out Editor in Chief Aaron Hicklin. "In the shape of Apple's COO, Tim Cook, who has helped turn his company into one of the world's most influential."

Cook has never been on the list before, yet being Steve Jobs' right-hand man has its privileges.

Out explains its choice:

Each time Steve Jobs takes medical leave it's Cook--"soft-spoken [and] intensely private," to quote The New York Times -- who steps up to lead the world's most valuable tech firm. While it is Jobs's prescience that has kept the Cupertino, Calif., company at the cutting edge of technology, it's Cook who made sure Apple could deliver as demand rocketed. Leader-in-waiting? Most definitely.

Talk show maven Ellen DeGeneres falls from her top spot last year to second and silver fox journalist Anderson Cooper (though to our knowledge, he has never publicly identified himself as gay) takes this year's third place spot. To see the rest of the list, visit Out.com.

Do you think Out got it right?

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NO, OUT didn't get it right! They missed Again! This time by two places!

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In times of upheaval, power changes hands fast. It's no surprise, then, that two of our 10 10 names this year are new entries. Or that one -- Apple's Tim Cook -- rockets to the top of the list. TV and the internet remain fertile ground for LGBT talent and power to flourish, with five more of our group coming from talk shows, news programs, or tablet launches (Ellen DeGeneres, Anderson Cooper, Rachel Maddow, new entry Shepard Smith and Barry Diller). As always, the positions were determined by a range of factors, including power to influence cultural and social attitudes, political clout, individual wealth, and a person's media profile.

TIM COOK ELLEN DEGENERES ANDERSON COOPER RACHEL MADDOW BARNEY FRANK SHEPARD SMITH PETER THEIL BARRY DILLER JOE SOLMONESE RICH ROSS TAMMY BALDWIN DAVID CICCILLINE JARED POLIS MARC JACOBS SCOTT RUDIN RYAN MURPHY TOM FORD

NEIL PATRICK HARRIS JANN WENNER ANTHONY ROMERO DAVID GEFFEN PEREZ HILTON ANDREW SULLIVAN TIM GILL CHRISTINE QUINN ANDY COHEN SUZE ORMAN ANNISE PARKER BRYAN LOURD & KEVIN HUVANE CHAD GRIFFIN MARTHA NELSON GREG BERLANTI RICHARD BERKE JEREMY BERNARD

CHUCK WOLFE NICK DENTON ROBERT HANSON MARY KAY HENRY KEN MEHLMAN NATE BERKUS MATT DRUDGE DAN SAVAGE ADAM MOSS CHRISTINE VACHON ADAM LAMBERT JOHN COOPER DUSTIN LANCE BLACK JODIE FOSTER JIM NELSON EVAN WOLFSON LISA CHOLODENKO ARIEL FOXMAN

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NUMBER ONE!

¡NUMERO UNO!