FORBES Names the World’s Most Powerful People

There are seven billion people on the planet. FORBES listed the 70 that matter most. What do the president of the United States, the Dalai Lama, a billionaire drug dealer and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg all have in common? They are all featured on FORBES' annual ranking of the World's Most Powerful People.

The FORBES ranking takes into account four factors. First, they measured how many people a person has power over. Then they looked at the financial resources controlled by each candidate. Next they asked: Is a candidate influential in more than one arena, or sphere? Finally, FORBES gave consideration to how actively the candidates wield their power. This measure eliminated inactive heirs to great fortunes, semi-retired industrialists and former heads of state. In all, 70 people made the final list, one for every 100 million people on the planet.

The title of the World’s Most Powerful Man on this year’s list is President Barack Obama, who gave up the top spot last year to China’s president Hu Jintao (#3). Despite his current political weakness, Obama remains the head-of-state of the world’s largest, most dynamic economy, commander-in-chief of the planet’s deadliest military and, unofficially, the leader of the free world.



China’s president Hu Jintao (#3) slipped from the number one spot he held last year. Hu’s relative power is decreasing as he starts giving up important political offices, including general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, to his successor Xi Jinping (#69).

In second place is Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin, who is poised to regain the Russian presidency this year from his loyal underling president Dmitry Medvedev (#59). German chancellor Angela Merkel ranks fourth and rounding out the top five is Bill Gates, co-chair of the world’s largest charity, chairman of Microsoft and America’s richest man.

Filling the ranks of the top ten are: Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Saud, King of Saudi Arabia (#6); Pope Benedict XVI, Roman Catholic Church (#7); Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Feeral Reserve (#8); Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook (#9); David Cameron, Prime Minister, United Kingdom (#10).

Life is not easy at the top. Ten people fell off the list this year due to declining influence, including Oprah Winfrey, disgraced French politician Dominique Strauss-Kahn and former Japanese prime minister Naoto Kan. Others departed in a more definitive way, including Apple cofounder Steve Jobs (Feb. 24, 1955 – Oct. 5, 2011) and Osama bin Laden (Mar. 10, 1947 – May 2, 2011).

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