Vladimir Putin Tops Forbes' Most Powerful People Ranking

World » RUSSIA | November 5, 2014, Wednesday // 19:27
Bulgaria: Vladimir Putin Tops Forbes' Most Powerful People Ranking Photo: EPA/BGNES

For the second year running, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been named the world’s most powerful person by a panel of Forbes editors, reports RT.com.

Forbes says its list isn’t based on political influence, but an evaluation of “hard power” – the use of military and economic means to influence the behavior or interests of other political actors.

“We insist the people on our list wield the kind of power that shapes and bends the world, and moves people, markets, armies and minds,” the magazine wrote, explaining its choice.

Putin came out top among 17 other heads of state, presiding over a combined GDP of USD 48 trillion.

Second in the rankings comes US President Barack Obama (also for the second consecutive year), followed by Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Pope Francis. The first woman on the list, Angela Merkel, takes the fifth place in the ranking.

The top 10 list is completed by Janet Yellen, Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank, and the Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page.

As reasons for the decision to put Putin on top of the list, the editors cite Russia’s acquisition of the Crimean peninsula, management of the international standoff over Ukraine and a USD 400 B gas pipeline deal signed with China in May.

The business bi-weekly painted Russia under Putin’s rule in less than flattering terms, saying the country “looks more and more like an energy-rich, nuclear-tipped rogue state with an undisputed, unpredictable and unaccountable head unconstrained by world opinion in pursuit of its goals.”

Putin also won the award last year, after successfully managing to broker a deal to rid Syria of its chemical weapons.

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Tags: Forbes, Vladimir Putin, Russia, most powerful, Barack Obama, Angela Merkel

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