(Newswire.net — December 16, 2016) —The Russian president is still the most powerful person in the world. Vladimir Putin, 64-years-old, has been the first on the list for four consecutive years.
The newly-elected US president, Donald Trump, is the second place, followed by the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel.
Forbes reports that Russia’s leader continues to accomplish his objectives regarding his own country and relations with Syria and the US.
Trump will officially take over as president from Barack Obama at the end of January 2017. Forbes implies that Trump might be scandal resistant and adds that along with his personal fortune of several billion dollars, he now has control over both Houses of Congress.
Angela Merkel, whose ranking dropped from second to third place, is a candidate in the upcoming parliamentary elections in Germany. She has been in power for 11 years now and is the first woman on the Forbes list which contains only three women in the first 20 rankings.
In addition to Angela Merkel, US Central Bank Governor, Janet Yellen, is ranked 6th on the list, while the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, occupies the 13th place.
Right behind Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and Angela Merkel, the fourth most powerful person in the world, as considered by Forbes magazine, is the President of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping.
Fifth place is occupied by Pope Francis, the 266th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church.
The Forbes list contains 74 personalities. Among them are Bill Gates (Microsoft), Lary Page (Google) and Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook).
The newly elected Secretary of State and president of the oil and gas company Exxonmobil, Rex Tillerson, is 24th on the list, just behind the French president, Francois Hollande.
The US magazine is well known for its lists and rankings, including the list of richest Americans (Forbes 400) and the list of world’s leading companies (Forbes Global 2000).
Other well-known Forbes lists include the world’s billionaires, as well the above mentioned list of most powerful people in the world.