They run the beauty world online

Between them, they have 250 million social media followers. Some can make as much as $3,00,000 per YouTube video. Others have Instagram audiences greater than the population of New York City.

Meet the inaugural members of Forbes’ Top Influencers list, featuring power players from around the world who've turned platforms on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook into fortunes and empires.

Standouts on this first list include British beauty vlogger Zoe Sugg, the queen of the YouTube makeup tutorial; the Internet’s foremost fitness mogul Kayla Itsines; and Design*Sponge’s Grace Bonney, who turned an interiors blog into a lucrative business.

Forbes partnered with influencer analytics firm Traackr, using their proprietary data to measure reach, or audience size; resonance, or propensity for virality; and relevance, or engagement related to their area of expertise.

The list includes influencers who made it big by building their fame from the internet up, rather than established celebrities who also happen to have large audiences online. Forbes limited its scope to influencers who mostly post in English.

This first group is a diverse bunch, based in eight countries and ranging in age from early twenties through late forties. The list skews young and female: of these 30 digital stars, 24 are women, and most are millennials.

Shannon Harris, 24

The Kiwi digital star known online as 'Shaaanxo' started vlogging in 2009 to fill what she saw as a void. "I was obsessed with watching YouTubers from the USA, and could never find anyone from New Zealand or Australia," she said. Eight years later, she has a beauty brand, xoBeauty, selling lashes and brushes. Harris has partnered with companies like Clinique and Smashbox Cosmetics.

Instagram – 1.5 million followers
YouTube – 2 million subscribers
Residence – Auckland

Nikkie de Jager, 23

The Dutch makeup artist first joined YouTube in 2008 after being inspired by other tutorials. She has an enviable following since she uploaded her first video in 2008. In March 2017, she debuted a collaboration with professional line Ofra, including liquid lipsticks she designed and a highlighter palette. "I'm all about the glow. Glowing is my existence." she said on YouTube. "There are no rules to makeup. It is there for days when you want to look hella good," she added.

Instagram – 7.2 million
YouTube – 6.6 million subscribers
Residence – Netherlands

Manny Gutierrez, 26

One of a rising crop of top male makeup aficonados, the digital star who goes by MannyMUA online was considering medical school when he started focusing his attention to social media. He began his YouTube career in July of 2014 and skyrocketed to more than 2,35,000 subscribers in the first eight months since launching his channel. He's an ambassador for Maybelline, among his many partnerships. Gutierrez has worked with luxury cosmetics brands including YSL Beauty and Dior Makeup.

Instagram – 3.6 million followers
YouTube – 2.8 million subscribers
Residence – Los Angeles

Michelle Phan, 30

The American make-up demonstrator and entrepreneur was one of the first notable YouTube personalities. A decade after posting her first YouTube video, Phan's name is a byword for influencer-turned-entrepreneur. She's the cofounder of subscription cosmetics box Ipsy, which was valued at upwards of $500 million in 2015. As her business has grown, she's stopped posting sponsored content she quickly learned that it wouldn't be sustainable for long since viewers prefer authenticity over ads. Later, Phan launched her make-up line Em Cosmetics.

YouTube – 8 million subscribers
Residence – Los Angeles

Huda Kattan, 33

Perhaps the only one in the list who still refers to herself as a ‘blogger’, Huda Kattan’s blog ‘Huda Beauty’ became the number one blog in the Middle East. She posts her video content to her self-titled YouTube channel. She is a Hollywood trained makeup artist and beauty consultant. The Dubai-based entrepreneur started blogging in 2010 while working in a finance job that made her miserable. Seven years later, she and her two sisters oversee a beauty empire that includes false lashes favored by Kim Kardashian. Her makeup line is sold in Sephora, a sure sign an influencer has made it.

Instagram – 19.8 million followers
YouTube – 1.7 million subscribers
Residence – Dubai

Kandee Johnson, 38
She graduated from beauty school but realised she hated doing hair. She solely wanted to focus on make-up and soon enough landed her first make-up artist job on VH1's I Love the 80's. Johnson started blogging in 2008 and then uploaded her first vlog the following year using her grandparents' ancient video camera. Soon, she was hosting 'glaminars': beauty and business seminars from her YouTube channel. Now, her sinful Colors nail polish collection is on sale everywhere from Walmart to Walgreen's.

Instagram – 1.6 million followers
YouTube – 3 million subscribers
Residence – Los Angeles

Jeffree Star, 31

From the mind of Jeffree Star comes a makeup line full of over-the-top hues and covetable textures. As fearlessly glamorous as the creator, Jeffree Star Cosmetics are designed to inspire all beauty lovers to take risks, have fun, and be proud of who they are. Star has been building his online following since the days of MySpace, when he noticed kids copying his makeup. A recent video announced collaboration with fellow Top Influencers list member Manny Gutierrez. Star's line of cosmetics, including his popular liquid lipsticks, is cruelty free.

Instagram – 4.6 million followers
YouTube – 4 million subscribers
Residence – Calabasas

Wayne Goss, 38

The British makeup artist has been growing his YouTube following since 2009; a 2012 tutorial on how to highlight and contour like Kim Kardashian has accrued over 11 million views to date and helped propel him to the big-time among beauty influencers. In 2013, he launched a line of makeup brushes with US brand Beautylish.

Instagram – 550.2k followers
YouTube – 2 million subscribers
Residence – Newport

Christen Dominique, 30

She signed up for YouTube in February of 2009 and kicked off her career as a beauty expert in September of 2009 with a video titled "How to create fuller lips." The makeup vlogger was a busy mom and a full-time student with a full-time job when she started posting to YouTube. Now, with an audience upwards of 4 million across all platforms, she's partnered with the likes of L'Oreal, Sephora and Urban Decay.

Instagram – 1.1 million followers
YouTube – 2 million subscribers
Residence – Los Angeles

Zoe Sugg, 27

Zoe Elizabeth Sugg is an English fashion and beauty vlogger, YouTuber and author best known by her YouTube username Zoella. She started broadcasting her ‘hauls’ web parlance for showing off cosmetics purchases from her childhood bedroom. Now 27, she has a bestselling line of beauty products at UK high street chain Superdrug. Her first novel, 'Girl Online', broke first-week sales records according to Nielsen Bookscan.

YouTube – 11.6 million subscribers
Instagram – 11 million followers
Residence – Brighton, United Kingdom