The World's Most Powerful People is a list of the most powerful people in the world, compiled annually by Forbes magazine since 2009 . The number of people on the list is directly correlated to the world population . The rule is: one place per 100 million people. There were 67 list places in 2009, 68 in 2010, then 70 in 2011, 74 in 2016 and currently 75.
Allocation of places
The places are awarded according to the following criteria, among others:
the extent of power over human capital as well as financial capital
the level of influence on world political events
Focus: German-speaking area
Angela Merkel has been the most powerful woman in the world without interruption since the list was introduced. For the German-speaking countries she is (2nd place in 2012 and 2015, currently 4th place) the most powerful person since the list was introduced, followed by Pope Benedict XVI. (5th place 2012). On the 2015 list, the German Martin Winterkorn as Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen was 58th and the then Swiss FIFA boss Joseph Blatter was 70th. The German Klaus Schwab , permanent President of the World Economic Forum in Geneva , was listed for the first time and last time in 2009 .
2018
The current list names the 75 most powerful people out of the world's population of 7.5 billion, including five women (~ 6.7%).
rank
Change compared to previous year
State ality
person
Office or position
Age
1
▲
China People's Republic
Xi Jinping
General Secretary of the Communist Party of China , President of the People's Republic of China , Chairman of the Central Military Commission of China
65
2
▼
Russia
Wladimir Putin
President of Russia
65
3
▼
United States
Donald Trump
President of the United States
72
4th
▼
Germany ( )European Union
Angela Merkel
German Chancellor
63
5
▲
United States
Jeff Bezos
CEO of Amazon , richest person in the world
54
6th
▼
Vatican city / Argentina
Francis
266. Pope of the Roman Catholic Church
81
7th
▬
United States
Bill Gates
Co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation , founder of Microsoft
62
8th
listed for the first time
Saudi Arabia
Mohammed bin Salman
Crown Prince , Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia
32
9
▬
India
Narendra Modi
Indian Prime Minister
67
10
▼
United States
Larry Page
Co-Founder of Google , CEO of Alphabet Inc.
43
11
listed for the first time
United States
Jerome Powell
President of the US Federal Reserve (FED)
65
12
listed for the first time
France ( )European Union
Emmanuel Macron
French President and Co-Prince of Andorra
40
13
▼
United States
Mark Zuckerberg
CEO and Co-Founder of Facebook
34
14th
▼
United Kingdom ( )European Union
Theresa May
British Prime Minister
61
15th
▼
China People's Republic
Li Keqiang
Chinese Prime Minister
62
16
▼
United States
Warren Buffett
CEO of Berkshire Hathaway
87
17th
▲
Iran
Ali Khamene'i
Grand Ayatollah , political and spiritual leader of Iran
78
18th
▼
Italy ( )European Union
Mario Draghi
President of the European Central Bank (ECB)
70
19th
▬
United States
Jamie Dimon
CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co.
62
20th
▼
Mexico
Carlos Slim Helu
Multi-billionaire, chairman of Telmex , (honorary) chairman of América Móvil
78
21st
▲
China People's Republic
Jack Ma
CEO of the Alibaba Group
53
22nd
▲
France ( )European Union
Christine Lagarde
Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
62
23
▲
United States
Doug McMillon
CEO of Walmart
51
24
▲
United States
Tim Cook
CEO of Apple
57
25th
▼
United States
Elon Musk
Founder and CEO of SpaceX , Co-Founder and CEO of Tesla Motors
47
26th
▼
Israel
Benjamin Netanyahu
Israel's incumbent Prime Minister
68
27
▲
China People's Republic
Ma Huateng
Chairman and CEO of Tencent Holdings
46
28
▲
United States
Larry Fink
Co-Founder and CEO of BlackRock
65
29
▬
Japan
Akio Toyoda
CEO of Toyota
60
30th
listed for the first time
United States
John L. Flannery
CEO of General Electric
56
31
▲
Portugal ( )European Union
Antonio Guterres
Secretary-General of the United Nations since January 1, 2017
69
32
▲
India
Mukesh Ambani
Founder and Chairman of Reliance Industries
61
33
listed for the first time
Luxembourg ( )
European Union
Jean-Claude Juncker
President of the European Commission
63
34
listed for the first time
United States
Darren Woods
CEO of ExxonMobil
53
35
▼
United States
Sergey Brin
Co-Founder of Google , President of Alphabet Inc.
44
36
▲
Korea North
Kim Jong Un
"Supreme Leader" of North Korea
35
37
▼
United States
Charles Koch
CEO of Koch Industries
82
38
▼
Japan
Shinzo Abe
Prime Minister of Japan since December 26, 2012
63
39
▼
United States
Rupert Murdoch & family
Chairman of News Corp.
86
40
▲
United States
Satya Nadella
CEO of Microsoft
51
41
▲
United States
Jim Yong Kim
President of the World Bank
58
42
▲
United States
Stephen Schwarzman
Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of the Blackstone Group
71
43
▼
United Arab Emirates
Chalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
President of the United Arab Emirates
70
44
▲
Japan
Haruhiko Kuroda
President of the Japanese Central Bank
73
45
▼
Egypt
Abdel el-Sisi
President of Egypt
63
46
▼
Hong Kong
Li Ka-shing
Chairman of CK Hutchison Holding and CK Assets Holding
90
47
▼
United States
Lloyd C. Blankfein
CEO of Goldman Sachs Group
62
48
▲
Turkey
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
President of the Republic of Turkey
63
49
▲
United States
Bob Iger
Chairman and CEO of Disney
67
50
listed for the first time
Brazil
Michel Temer
President of Brazil
77
51
▲
United States
Michael Bloomberg
CEO of Bloomberg
76
52
▲
China People's Republic
Wang Jianlin
Chairman of the Dalian Wanda Group
63
53
▲
United States
Mary Barra
Chairman and CEO of General Motors
56
54
listed for the first time
Korea South
Moon Jae-in
President of South Korea
65
55
▼
Japan
Masayoshi Son
CEO of Softbank Group Corp.
60
56
listed for the first time
France ( )European Union
Bernard Arnault
Multi-billionaire, President of Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton
64
57
▲
Canada
Justin Trudeau
Canadian Prime Minister
46
58
▲
China People's Republic
Robin Li
Founder and CEO of Baidu
49
59
▼
United States
Michael Dell
Founder, Chairman and CEO of Dell Technologies
53
60
listed for the first time
China People's Republic
Hui Ka Yan
CEO of Evergrande Real Estate
59
61
listed for the first time
Singapore
Lee Hsien Loong
Prime Minister of Singapore
66
62
▲
Syria
Bashar al-Assad
President of Syria
52
63
▼
United States
John Roberts
United States Chief Justice
63
64
▼
Mexico
Enrique Peña Nieto
President of Mexico
51
65
listed for the first time
United States
Kenneth C. Griffin
CEO of Citadel Investment Group
60
66
▲
Nigeria
Aliko Dangote
President and CEO of the Dangote Group
61
67
▲
United States
Mike Pence
Vice President of the United States
58
68
listed for the first time
Pakistan
Qamar Javed Bajwa
de facto commander in chief of the armed forces of Pakistan
57
69
▲
Philippines
Rodrigo Duterte
President of the Philippines
73
70
listed for the first time
United States
Abigail Johnson
CEO of Fidelity Investments
56
71
listed for the first time
United States
Reed Hastings
Founder and CEO of Netflix
57
72
listed for the first time
United States
Robert Mueller
Government Official and Special Counsel
73
73
▼
Iraq
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
Self- proclaimed Caliph of the Islamic State
46
74
listed for the first time
Indonesia
Joko Widodo
President of Indonesia
57
75
listed for the first time
Switzerland
Gianni Infantino
FIFA President
48
Historical lists
2016
The 2016 list names the 74 most powerful people at the time from the world's population of 7.4 billion, including nine women (~ 8.1%).
rank
Change compared to previous year
State ality
person
Office or position
Age
1
▬
Russia
Wladimir Putin
President of Russia
64
2
▲
United States
Donald Trump
President of the United States
70
3
▼
Germany ( )European Union
Angela Merkel
German Chancellor
62
4th
▲
China People's Republic
Xi Jinping
General Secretary of the Communist Party of China , President of the People's Republic of China , Chairman of the Central Military Commission of China
63
5
▼
Vatican city / Argentina
Francis
266. Pope of the Roman Catholic Church
79
6th
▲
United States
Janet Yellen
President of the US Federal Reserve (FED)
70
7th
▼
United States
Bill Gates
Co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation ; Microsoft founder
61
8th
▲
United States
Larry Page
Co-Founder of Google , CEO of Alphabet Inc.
43
9
▬
India
Narendra Modi
Indian Prime Minister
66
10
▲
United States
Mark Zuckerberg
CEO and Co-Founder of Facebook
32
11
▬
Italy ( )European Union
Mario Draghi
President of the European Central Bank (ECB)
69
12
▬
China People's Republic
Li Keqiang
Chinese Prime Minister
61
13
listed for the first time
United Kingdom ( )European Union
Theresa May
British Prime Minister
51
14th
▲
United States
Jeff Bezos
CEO of Amazon
52
15th
▼
United States
Warren Buffett
CEO of Berkshire Hathaway
86
16
▼
Saudi Arabia
Salman ibn Abd al-Aziz
7. King and President of the Government of Saudi Arabia
80
17th
▼
Mexico
Carlos Slim Helu
Multi-billionaire, chairman of Telmex , (honorary) chairman of América Móvil
76
18th
▬
Iran
Ali Khamene'i
Grand Ayatollah , political and spiritual leader of Iran
77
19th
▲
United States
Jamie Dimon
CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co.
60
20th
▲
Israel
Benjamin Netanyahu
Israel's incumbent Prime Minister
67
21st
▲
United States
Elon Musk
Founder and CEO of SpaceX , Co-Founder and CEO of Tesla Motors
45
22nd
▲
United States
Jeffrey Immelt
CEO of General Electric
60
23
▼
France ( )European Union
François Hollande
French President and Co-Prince of Andorra
62
24
▲
United States
Rex Tillerson
CEO of ExxonMobil and designated US Secretary of State
64
25th
▼
France ( )European Union
Christine Lagarde
Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
60
26th
▬
United States
Lloyd C. Blankfein
CEO of Goldman Sachs Group
62
27
▲
United States
Doug McMillon
CEO of Walmart
50
28
▼
China People's Republic
Jack Ma
CEO of the Alibaba Group
52
29
▼
Japan
Akio Toyoda
CEO of Toyota
60
30th
▬
United States
Sergey Brin
Co-Founder of Google , President of Alphabet Inc.
43
31
United States
Charles Koch
CEO of Koch Industries
82
32
United States
Tim Cook
CEO of Apple
57
33
Hong Kong
Li Ka-shing
Chairman of CK Hutchison Holding and CK Assets Holding
89
34
United States
Larry Fink
Co-Founder and CEO of BlackRock
65
35
United States
Rupert Murdoch & family
Chairman of News Corp.
86
36
Portugal ( )European Union
Antonio Guterres
Secretary-General of the United Nations since January 1, 2017
68
37
Japan
Shinzo Abe
Prime Minister of Japan since December 26, 2012
63
38
India
Mukesh Ambani
Founder and Chairman of Reliance Industries
60
39
United Arab Emirates
Chalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
President of the United Arab Emirates
70
40
Korea South
Jay Y. Lee
Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Samsung Electronics
49
41
China People's Republic
Ding Xuedong
Chairman and CEO of China Investment Corporation
58
42
United States
Jim Yong Kim
President of the World Bank
58
43
Korea North
Kim Jong Un
"Supreme Leader" of North Korea
35
44
Egypt
Abdel el-Sisi
President of Egypt
63
45
China People's Republic
Ma Huateng
Chairman and CEO of Tencent Holdings
46
46
United States
Michael Dell
Founder, Chairman and CEO of Dell Technologies
52
47
Japan
Haruhiko Kuroda
President of the Japanese Central Bank
73
48
United States
Barack Obama
President of the United States until January 20, 2017
56
49
Saudi Arabia
Khalid Al-Falih
Saudi Arabian Minister for Petroleum
58
50
United States
John Roberts
United States Chief Justice
63
51
United States
Satya Nadella
CEO of Microsoft
51
52
United States
Stephen Schwarzman
Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of the Blackstone Group
71
53
Japan
Masayoshi Son
CEO of Softbank Group Corp.
60
54
Mexico
Enrique Peña Nieto
President of Mexico
51
55
United States
Michael Bloomberg
CEO of Bloomberg
76
56
Turkey
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
President of the Republic of Turkey
63
57
Iraq
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
Self- proclaimed Caliph of the Islamic State
47
58
Russia
Alisher Usmanov
Founder and co-owner of Metalloinwest
64
59
China People's Republic
Wang Jianlin
Chairman of the Dalian Wanda Group
63
60
China People's Republic
Robin Li
Founder and CEO of Baidu
49
61
United States
Ginni Rometty
CEO of IBM
60
62
United States
Mary Barra
Chairman and CEO of General Motors
56
63
Syria
Bashar al-Assad
President of Syria
52
64
United States
Travis Kalanick
Co-founder and former CEO of Uber Technologies
41
65
United States
Carl Icahn
Founder of Icahn Capital Management
81
66
Canada
Justin Trudeau
Canadian Prime Minister
46
67
United States
Bob Iger
Chairman and CEO of Disney
67
68
Nigeria
Aliko Dangote
President and CEO of the Dangote Group
60
69
United States
Mike Pence
Vice President of the United States
58
70
Philippines
Rodrigo Duterte
President of the Philippines
72
71
Egypt
Aiman az-Zawahiri
Leader of al-Qaeda
66
72
United States
Sheldon Adelson
Chairman , CEO and Owner of Las Vegas Sands
84
73
United States
Peter Thiel
Founders Fund partner
50
74
United States
Chuck Schumer
Senate Minority Leader
67
2015
The 2015 list names the 74 most powerful people at the time from the world's population of 7.4 billion, including nine women (~ 12.2%).
2014
In 2014, as in 2013, the list consisted of a total of 72 people (derived from the then world population of 7.2 billion people), including nine women (~ 12.5%).
rank
Change compared to previous year
State ality
person
Office or position
Age
1
▬
Russia
Wladimir Putin
Russian President
62
2
▬
United States
Barack Obama
US President
53
3
▬
China People's Republic
Xi Jinping
General Secretary of the Communist Party of China , President of the People's Republic of China , Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of China
61
4th
▬
Vatican city / Argentina
Francis
266. Pope of the Roman Catholic Church
78
5
▬
Germany ( )European Union
Angela Merkel
German Chancellor
60
6th
▲
United States
Janet Yellen
President of the US Federal Reserve (FED)
68
7th
▼
United States
Bill Gates
Co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation ; Founder and Chairman of the Board of Microsoft
59
8th
▲
Italy ( )European Union
Mario Draghi
President of the European Central Bank (ECB)
67
9
▲
United States
Sergey Brin
Co-founder of Google , Board Member for Special Projects
41
9
▲
United States
Larry Page
Co-founder of Google
41
10
▲
United Kingdom ( )European Union
David Cameron
British Prime Minister
48
11
▼
Saudi Arabia
Abdullah ibn Abd al-Aziz
6. King and President of the Government of Saudi Arabia
90
12
▲
United States
Warren Buffett
CEO of Berkshire Hathaway
84
13
▲
China People's Republic
Li Keqiang
Chinese Prime Minister
59
14th
▼
Mexico
Carlos Slim Helu
Multi-billionaire, chairman of Telmex , (honorary) chairman of América Móvil
74
15th
listed for the first time
India
Narendra Modi
Indian Prime Minister
64
16
▼
United States
Jeff Bezos
CEO of Amazon
50
17th
▲
France ( )European Union
François Hollande
French President and Co-Prince of Andorra
60
18th
▲
United States
Jamie Dimon
CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co.
58
19th
▲
Iran
Ali Khamene'i
Grand Ayatollah , political and spiritual leader of Iran
75
20th
▼
United States
Rex Tillerson
CEO of ExxonMobil
62
21st
▲
United States
Jeffrey Immelt
CEO of General Electric
58
22nd
▲
United States
Mark Zuckerberg
CEO and Co-Founder of Facebook
30th
23
▲
United States
Michael Bloomberg
Multi-billionaire, Mayor of New York City
72
24
▲
United States
Charles G. Koch
CEO of Koch Industries
79
24
▲
United States
David H. Koch
Vice President of Koch Industries
74
25th
▼
United States
Tim Cook
CEO of Apple
54
26th
▬
Israel
Benjamin Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister
65
27
▬
United States
Lloyd C. Blankfein
CEO of Goldman Sachs Group
60
28
▲
Hong Kong ( )China People's Republic
Li Ka-shing
Chairman of Hutchison Whampoa and Chueng Kong Holdings
86
29
listed for the first time
United States
Doug McMillon
CEO of Walmart
49
30th
listed for the first time
China People's Republic
Jack Ma
CEO of the Alibaba Group
50
31
▼
Brazil
Dilma Rousseff
Brazilian President
67
32
▲
United States / Australia
Rupert Murdoch
CEO of News Corporation
83
33
▲
France ( )European Union
Christine Lagarde
Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
58
34
▲
Japan
Akio Toyoda
CEO of Toyota
58
35
listed for the first time
Korea South
Jay Y. Lee
Vice President of Samsung
46
35
▲
Korea South
Lee Kun-hee
Multi-billionaire, leader in the Samsung group, member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC)
72
36
▲
Yemen
Mukesh Ambani
Multi-billionaire, chairman of Reliance Industries
57
37
▼
United Arab Emirates
Chalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
President of the United Arab Emirates
67
38
▲
Japan
Masayoshi Son
Founder and CEO of Softbank
57
39
▲
United States
Laurence Douglas Fink
Co-Founder and CEO of BlackRock
62
40
▼
Korea South
Ban Ki-moon
UN Secretary General
70
41
▲
China People's Republic
Robin Li
Co-founder and CEO of Baidu
46
42
▲
Russia
Igor Sechin
Deputy Prime Minister of Russia and Chairman of Rosneft
54
43
▼
China People's Republic
Ding Xuedong
Chinese Vice Minister of Finance
55
44
▼
United States
Bill Clinton
Former US President , Chairman of the Clinton Global Initiative
68
45
▲
United States
Jim Yong Kim
World Bank President
55
46
▲
Korea South
Park Geun-hye
South Korean President
62
47
most recently 2012 (70)
Russia
Alexey Miller
Chairman of Gazprom
52
48
▼
Japan
Haruhiko Kuroda
Governor (President) of the Bank of Japan
70
49
▼
Korea North
Kim Jong Un
North Korean President
31
50
▼
Saudi Arabia
Ali Al-Naimi
Saudi Oil Minister
80
51
listed for the first time
Egypt
Abd al-Fattah as-Sisi
Egyptian President
60
52
▼
United States
Elon Musk
Founder and CEO of SpaceX , Co-Founder and CEO of Tesla Motors
43
53
listed for the first time
China People's Republic
Ma Huateng
chinese businessman
43
54
listed for the first time
Iraq
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
as " Caliph Ibrahim " head of the self-proclaimed Islamic State Caliphate
44
55
▲
United States
Virginia Rometty
CEO of IBM
57
56
listed for the first time
United States
Leonard Blavatnik
American entrepreneur
57
57
▼
India
Lakshmi Mittal
Chairman of ArcelorMittal
64
58
▼
Germany ( )European Union
Martin Winterkorn
former CEO of Volkswagen and Porsche SE
67
59
▼
France ( )European Union
Bernard Arnault
Chairman of Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH)
65
60
▼
Mexico
Enrique Peña Nieto
President of Mexico
48
61
▲
Russia
Alisher Usmanov
Russian oligarch
61
62
listed for the first time
United States
Mary Barra
CEO of General Motors
53
63
▼
Japan
Shinzo Abe
Japanese Prime Minister
60
64
listed for the first time
United States
Satya Nadella
CEO of Microsoft
48
65
▼
United States
John Roberts
Presiding judge of the US Supreme Court
59
66
listed for the first time
Australia
Gina Rinehart
Australian mining entrepreneur
60
67
▼
Hong Kong ( )China People's Republic
Margaret Chan
Director of the World Health Organization (WHO)
67
68
▼
Nigeria
Aliko Dangote
Founder and CEO of the Dangote Group
58
69
listed for the first time
United States
Jeffrey Gundlach
Multi- billionaire, founder of DoubleLine Capital
55
70
▼
Switzerland
Joseph Blatter
FIFA President
78
71
▼
Taiwan
Terry Gou
CEO of Hon Hai Precision
64
72
▼
Norway
Yngve Slyngstad
CEO of the National Pension Fund of Norway (NBIM)
51
2013
For 2013 a total of 72 people are listed. Including nine women (12.5%; peak value since the list was introduced).
rank
Change compared to previous year
State ality
person
Office or position
Age
1
▲
Russia
Wladimir Putin
Russian President
61
2
▼
United States
Barack Obama
US President
52
3
▲
China People's Republic
Xi Jinping
General Secretary of the Communist Party of China , President of the People's Republic of China , Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of China
61
4th
listed for the first time
Vatican city / Argentina
Francis
266. Pope of the Roman Catholic Church
76
5
▼
Germany ( )European Union
Angela Merkel
German Chancellor
59
6th
▼
United States
Bill Gates
Board of Directors of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation ; Founder and Chairman of the Board of Microsoft
58
7th
▼
United States
Ben Bernanke
President of the US Federal Reserve
60
8th
▼
Saudi Arabia
Abdullah ibn Abd al-Aziz
6. King , President of the Government of Saudi Arabia
89
9
▼
Italy ( )European Union
Mario Draghi
President of the European Central Bank (ECB)
65
10
▲
United States
Mike Duke
CEO of Walmart
63
11
▼
United Kingdom ( )European Union
David Cameron
British Prime Minister
47
12
▼
Mexico
Carlos Slim Helu
Multi-billionaire, chairman of Telmex , (honorary) chairman of América Móvil
74
13
▲
United States
Warren Buffett
CEO of Berkshire Hathaway
83
14th
▼
China People's Republic
Li Keqiang
Chinese Prime Minister
58
15th
▲
United States
Jeff Bezos
CEO of Amazon
50
16
▲
United States
Rex Tillerson
CEO of ExxonMobil
62
17th
▲
United States
Sergey Brin
Co-founder of Google , Board Member for Special Projects
39
17th
▲
United States
Larry Page
Co-founder of Google
40
18th
▼
France ( )European Union
François Hollande
French President and Co-Prince of Andorra
58
19th
▲
United States
Tim Cook
CEO of Apple
53
20th
▼
Brazil
Dilma Rousseff
Brazilian President
66
21st
▼
India
Sonia Gandhi
President of the Indian Congress Party
67
22nd
▲
United States
Jamie Dimon
CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co.
59
23
▼
Iran
Ali Khamene'i
Grand Ayatollah , political and spiritual leader of Iran
74
24
▲
United States
Mark Zuckerberg
CEO and Co-Founder of Facebook
30th
25th
▼
United States
Jeffrey Immelt
CEO of General Electric
58
26th
▼
Israel
Benjamin Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister
65
27
▲
United States
Lloyd C. Blankfein
CEO of Goldman Sachs Group
59
28
▼
India
Manmohan Singh
Indian Prime Minister
80
29
▼
United States
Michael Bloomberg
Multibillionaire and Mayor of New York City
73
30th
▲
Hong Kong ( )China People's Republic
Li Ka-shing
Chairman of Hutchison Whampoa and Chueng Kong Holdings
86
31
▲
United States
Charles G. Koch
CEO of Koch Industries
78
31
▲
United States
David H. Koch
Vice President of Koch Industries
74
32
▼
Korea South
Ban Ki-moon
UN Secretary General
70
33
▼
United States / Australia
Rupert Murdoch
CEO of News Corporation
83
34
▼
United Arab Emirates
Chalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
President of the United Arab Emirates
66
35
▲
France ( )European Union
Christine Lagarde
Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
58
36
listed for the first time
China People's Republic
Ding Xuedong
Chinese Vice Minister of Finance
54
37
▲
Mexico
Enrique Peña Nieto
Mexican President
48
38
▼
Yemen
Mukesh Ambani
Multi-billionaire and chairman of Reliance Industries
57
39
listed for the first time
Japan
Haruhiko Kuroda
Governor (President) Bank of Japan ( BoJ )
69
40
▼
Saudi Arabia
Ali Al-Naimi
Saudi Oil Minister
79
41
listed for the first time
Korea South
Lee Kun-hee
Multi-billionaire and executive in the Samsung group, member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC)
71
42
▬
United States
Laurence Douglas Fink
Co-Founder and CEO of BlackRock
61
43
▲
United States
Bill Clinton
Former US President , Chairman of the Clinton Global Initiative and husband of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
67
44
▼
Japan
Akio Toyoda
CEO of Toyota Motor
58
45
▲
Japan
Masayoshi Son
Founder and CEO of Softbank
56
46
▼
Korea North
Kim Jong Un
North Korean President
30th
47
▲
United States
Elon Musk
Founder and CEO of SpaceX , Co-Founder and CEO of Tesla Motors
42
48
▲
Taiwan
Terry Gou
CEO of Hon Hai Precision
63
49
listed for the first time
Germany ( )European Union
Martin Winterkorn
Chairman of Volkswagen and Porsche SE
66
50
▼
United States
Jim Yong Kim
World Bank President
53
51
▼
India
Lakshmi Mittal
Chairman of ArcelorMittal
64
52
listed for the first time
Korea South
Park Geun-hye
South Korean President
61
53
listed for the first time
Russia
Dmitry Medvedev
Russian Prime Minister
48
54
▲
France ( )European Union
Bernard Arnault
Chairman of Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH)
65
55
▼
United States
Bill Gross
Co-Founder and Vice Chairman of Pimco
70
56
listed for the first time
United States
Virginia Rometty
CEO of IBM
56
57
listed for the first time
Japan
Shinzo Abe
Japanese Prime Minister
59
58
listed for the first time
United States
Larry Ellison
CEO of Oracle
69
59
▼
Hong Kong ( )China People's Republic
Margaret Chan
Director of the World Health Organization (WHO)
66
60
last 2010 (52)
Russia
Igor Sechin
Deputy Prime Minister of Russia
53
61
▲
China People's Republic
Robin Li
Co-founder and CEO of Baidu
45
62
▼
United States
John Roberts
Presiding Judge of the Supreme Court American ( US Supreme Court )
59
63
▲
Russia
Alisher Usmanov
Russian oligarch
60
64
listed for the first time
Nigeria
Aliko Dangote
Founder and CEO of the Dangote Group
57
65
▲
United States
Reid Hoffman
Silicon Valley investor, multiple company founder
47
66
▼
United States
John Boehner
Chairman of the United States House of Representatives
64
67
▼
Mexico
El Chapo
Head of the Mexican Sinaloa cartel
57
68
last 2011 (64)
United States
Jill Abramson
Editor-in-Chief of the New York Times
59
69
▬
Switzerland
Joseph Blatter
FIFA President
78
70
listed for the first time
Norway
Yngve Slyngstad
CEO of the National Pension Fund of Norway (NBIM)
51
71
listed for the first time
Sudan
Mo Ibrahim
Sudanese businessman
67
72
listed for the first time
United States
Janet Yellen
US Federal Reserve presidential candidate
67
2012
The 2012 list names the 71 most powerful people, including six women (~ 8.5%), out of a world population of 7.1 billion. According to their proportion, the following groups of people are listed: politicians (including the ruling nobility), business people, bankers, religious leaders, media heads as well as two soldiers and one criminal.
rank
Change compared to previous year
State ality
person
Office or position
Age
1
▬
United States
Barack Obama
US President
51
2
▲
Germany ( )European Union
Angela Merkel
German Chancellor
58
3
▼
Russia
Wladimir Putin
Russian President
60
4th
▲
United States
Bill Gates
Board of Directors of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation ; Founder and Chairman of the Board of Microsoft
57
5
▲
Vatican city / ( )Germany European Union
Benedict XVI.
265. Pope of the Roman Catholic Church
86
6th
▲
United States
Ben Bernanke
President of the US Federal Reserve
59
7th
▼
Saudi Arabia
Abdullah ibn Abd al-Aziz
6. King , President of the Government of Saudi Arabia
88
8th
▲
Italy ( )European Union
Mario Draghi
President of the European Central Bank (ECB)
65
9
▲
China People's Republic
Xi Jinping
General Secretary of the Communist Party of China , Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of China
60
10
▬
United Kingdom ( )European Union
David Cameron
British Prime Minister
46
11
▲
Mexico
Carlos Slim Helu
Multi-billionaire, chairman of Telmex , honorary chairman of América Móvil
73
12
▼
India
Sonia Gandhi
President of the Indian National Congress
66
13
▬
China People's Republic
Li Keqiang
Chinese Vice President
57
14th
listed for the first time
France ( )European Union
François Hollande
French President and Co-Prince of Andorra
58
15th
▲
United States
Warren Buffett
CEO of Berkshire Hathaway
82
16
▲
United States
Michael Bloomberg
Multi-billionaire, Mayor of New York City
71
17th
▲
United States
Mike Duke
CEO of Walmart
62
18th
▲
Brazil
Dilma Rousseff
President of Brazil
65
19th
▬
India
Manmohan Singh
Prime Minister of India
80
20th
▲
Russia
Sergey Brin
Co-founder of Google , Board Member for Special Projects
39
20th
▲
United States
Larry Page
Co-founder of Google
40
21st
▲
Iran
Ali Khamene'i
Grand Ayatollah , political and spiritual leader of Iran
73
22nd
▲
United States
Rex Tillerson
CEO of ExxonMobil
61
23
▲
Israel
Benjamin Netanyahu
Prime Minister of Israel
63
24
▲
United States
Jeffrey Immelt
CEO of General Electric
57
25th
▼
United States
Mark Zuckerberg
CEO and Co-Founder of Facebook
29
26th
▲
United States / Australia
Rupert Murdoch
CEO of News Corporation
82
27
▲
United States
Jeff Bezos
CEO of Amazon
49
28
▲
Pakistan
Ashfaq Kayani
de facto commander in chief of the armed forces of Pakistan
61
29
listed for the first time
Italy ( )European Union
Mario Monti
Prime Minister of Italy
70
30th
▲
Korea South
Ban Ki-moon
UN Secretary General
69
31
▲
Hong Kong ( )China People's Republic
Li Ka-shing
Chairman of Hutchison Whampoa and Chueng Kong Holdings
85
32
▼
Saudi Arabia
Ali Al-Naimi
Oil Minister of Saudi Arabia
78
33
▲
United Arab Emirates
Chalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
President of the United Arab Emirates
65
34
▲
United States
Jamie Dimon
CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co.
57
35
▲
United States
Tim Cook
CEO of Apple
52
36
▲
United States
Lloyd C. Blankfein
CEO of Goldman Sachs Group
58
37
▼
Yemen
Mukesh Ambani
Multi-billionaire, chairman of Reliance Industries
56
38
▲
France ( )European Union
Christine Lagarde
Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
57
39
▼
China People's Republic
Lou Jiwei
Chairman of China Investment Corporation
62
40
▼
Japan
Masaaki Shirakawa
Governor of the Central Bank of Japan
63
41
▲
United States
Charles G. Koch
CEO of Koch Industries
77
41
▲
United States
David H. Koch
Vice President of Koch Industries
73
42
▲
United States
Laurence Douglas Fink
Co-Founder and CEO of BlackRock
60
43
last 2009 (28)
Japan
Akio Toyoda
CEO of Toyota Motor
57
44
listed for the first time
Korea North
Kim Jong Un
North Korean President
30th
45
listed for the first time
United States
Jim Yong Kim
World Bank President
53
46
listed for the first time
United States
Steve Ballmer
CEO of Microsoft
57
47
▬
India
Lakshmi Mittal
Chairman of ArcelorMittal
63
48
last 2009 (67)
Venezuela
Hugo Chavez
President of Venezuela
58 (†)
49
last 2010 (51)
Chile
Sebastián Piñera
Chilean President
63
50
▬
United States
Bill Clinton
Former US President , Chairman of the Clinton Global Initiative, spouse of US Secretary of State
66
51
▲
United States
Bill Gross
Co-Founder and Vice Chairman of Pimco
69
52
listed for the first time
Pakistan
Zaheerul Islam
Head of the Pakistani secret service Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)
57
53
▲
Japan
Masayoshi Son
Founder and CEO of Softbank
55
54
listed for the first time
Mexico
Enrique Peña Nieto
President of Mexico
46
55
listed for the first time
Taiwan
Terry Gou
CEO of Hon Hai Precision
62
56
▲
France ( )European Union
Bernard Arnault
Chairman of Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH)
64
57
▼
Iran
Rostam Ghasemi
President of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
49
58
listed for the first time
Hong Kong ( )China People's Republic
Margaret Chan
Director of the World Health Organization (WHO)
65
59
last 2009 (49)
United States
John Roberts
Presiding judge of the US Supreme Court
58
60
▲
Japan
Yoshihiko Noda
Prime Minister of Japan
56
61
▼
Russia
Dmitry Medvedev
Prime Minister of Russia
47
62
listed for the first time
China People's Republic
Jiang Zemin
Former President and General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party
86
63
▼
Mexico
El Chapo
Head of the Mexican drug cartel Sinaloa
56
64
▼
China People's Republic
Robin Li
Co-founder and CEO of Baidu
44
65
▲
United States
John Boehner
Chairman of the United States House of Representatives
63
66
listed for the first time
United States
Elon Musk
Founder and CEO of SpaceX , Co-Founder and CEO of Tesla Motors
42
67
listed for the first time
Russia
Alisher Usmanov
Founder of Metalloinvest
59
68
listed for the first time
United States
Kathleen Sebelius
U.S. Secretary of Health
65
69
▼
Switzerland
Joseph Blatter
FIFA President
77
70
listed for the first time
Russia
Alexey Miller
Chairman of Gazprom
51
71
listed for the first time
United States
Reid Hoffman
Silicon Valley investor, company founder
46
2011
The 2011 list names the 70 most powerful people, including five women (~ 7.1%) out of a world population of seven billion. According to their proportion, the following groups of people are listed: politicians (including the ruling nobility), business people, bankers, religious leaders, media heads and criminals.
2010
The 2010 list lists 68 people, including five women (~ 7.4%) out of a world population of 6.8 billion. For the first time, with the Chinese president, no US president holds the "title" of the most powerful person. According to their proportion, the following groups of people are listed: politicians (including the ruling nobility), business people, bankers, religious leaders, media heads, two criminals and one terrorist.
2009
The list was first drawn up in 2009 and names the 67 most powerful people this year, including three women (~ 4.5%) out of a world population of 6.7 billion. The following groups of people are listed according to their proportions: politicians (including the ruling nobility), business people, religious leaders, media heads as well as a judge, a criminal and a terrorist. For the first time and so far for the last time, a total of three Germans are listed.
rank
State ality
person
Office or position
1
United States
Barack Obama
US President
2
China People's Republic
Hu Jintao
General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party ; President of the People's Republic of China
3
Russia
Wladimir Putin
Russian Prime Minister
4th
United States
Ben Bernanke
President of the US Federal Reserve
5
Russia
Sergey Brin
Founder of Google
5
United States
Larry Page
Founder of Google
6th
Mexico
Carlos Slim
CEO of Telmex
7th
Australia
Thomas B. Fischer
CEO of News Corporation
8th
United States
Mike Duke
CEO of Walmart
9
Saudi Arabia
Abdullah ibn Abd al-Aziz
6. King , President of the Government of Saudi Arabia
10
United States
Bill Gates
Board of Directors of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation ; Founder, Chairman of Microsoft
11
Vatican city / ( )Germany European Union
Benedict XVI.
265. Pope of the Roman Catholic Church
12
Italy ( )European Union
Silvio Berlusconi
Italian Prime Minister
13
United States
Jeffrey R. Immelt
CEO of General Electric
14th
United States
Warren Buffett
CEO of Berkshire Hathaway
15th
Germany ( )European Union
Angela Merkel
German Chancellor
16
United States
Laurence Douglas Fink
CEO of BlackRock
17th
United States
Hillary Clinton
US Secretary of State
18th
United States
Lloyd C. Blankfein
CEO of Goldman Sachs
19th
China People's Republic
Li Changchun
Member of the Standing Committee of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China
20th
United States
Michael Bloomberg
Multi-billionaire, Mayor of New York City
21st
United States
Timothy Geithner
US Treasury Secretary
22nd
United States
Rex Tillerson
CEO of ExxonMobil
23
Hong Kong ( )China People's Republic
Li Ka-shing
Chairman of Hutchison Whampoa and Chueng Kong Holdings
24
Korea North
Kim Jong-il
President of North Korea
25th
France ( )European Union
Jean-Claude Trichet
President of the European Central Bank (ECB)
26th
Japan
Masaaki Shirakawa
Governor of Japan's Central Bank, the Bank of Japan
27
United Arab Emirates
Ahmed bin Sayed al-Nahyan
Sheikh , Director of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority
28
Japan
Akio Toyoda
CEO of Toyota Motor
29
United Kingdom ( )European Union
Gordon Brown
British Prime Minister
30th
United States
Jamie Dimon
CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co.
31
United States
Bill Clinton
Former US President , Chairman of the Clinton Global Initiative, spouse of US Secretary of State
32
United States
Bill Gross
Co-Founder and Vice Chairman of Pimco
33
Brazil
Luiz Inacio da Silva
President of Brazil
34
China People's Republic
Lou Jiwei
Chairman of China Investment Corporation
35
Japan
Yukio Hatoyama
Prime Minister of Japan
36
India
Manmohan Singh
Indian Prime Minister
37
Saudi Arabia
Osama bin Laden
Founder and head of the Al-Qaeda terrorist network
38
Pakistan
Yousaf Raza Gilani
Pakistani Prime Minister
39
Tibet ( )China People's Republic
Tendzin Gyatsho (Dalai Lama)
spiritual leader, head of the Tibetan government in exile
40
Iran
Ali Khamene'i
Grand Ayatollah , political and spiritual leader of Iran
41
Mexico
El Chapo
Head of the Mexican drug cartel Sinaloa
42
Russia
Igor Sechin
Deputy Prime Minister of
Russia
43
Russia
Dmitry Medvedev
Russian President
44
India
Mukesh Ambani
Chairman of Reliance Industries
45
United States
Oprah Winfrey
Owner of HARPO Productions ( The Oprah Winfrey Show and others )
46
Israel
Benjamin Netanyahu
Prime Minister of Israel
47
France ( )European Union
Dominique Strauss-Kahn
Head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
48
China People's Republic
Zhou Xiaochuan
Governor of the Central Bank of China (People's Bank of China)
49
United States
John Roberts
Presiding judge of the US Supreme Court
50
India
Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar
Head of the Indian drug and contract killer syndicate D-Company
51
United States
William Keller
Editor-in-Chief of the New York Times
52
France ( )European Union
Bernard Arnault
Chairman of Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH)
53
Switzerland
Joseph Blatter
FIFA President
54
Palastina autonomous areas ( )Israel
Wadah Khanfar
General Manager of Al Jazeera
55
India
Lakshmi Mittal
Chairman of the ArcelorMittal Board of Directors
56
France ( )European Union
Nicolas Sarkozy
French President and Co-Prince of Andorra
57
United States
Steve Jobs
CEO of Apple
58
Japan
Fujio Mitarai
Canon Chairman
59
India
Ratan Tata
Chairman of the Tata Group
60
Belgium ( )European Union
Jacques Rogge
President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC)
61
China People's Republic
Li Rongrong
Chairman of the Control Board for State-Owned Enterprises
62
Brazil
Blairo Maggi
Governor of the Brazilian state Mato Grasso
63
United States
Robert Zoellick
World Bank President
64
Portugal ( )European Union
Antonio Guterres
UN refugee commissioner
65
United Kingdom ( )European Union
Mark John Thompson
Director General of the BBC
66
Germany ( )European Union
Klaus Schwab
Founder, permanent president of the World Economic Forum
67
Venezuela
Hugo Chavez
President of Venezuela
Overview by country
Web links
Individual evidence
↑ Michael Noer and Nicole Perlroth: General explanations. Forbes, November 11, 2009, accessed March 13, 2017 .
^ David M. Ewalt, Igor Bosilkovski: The World's Most Powerful People 2018 . In: Forbes . ( forbes.com [accessed June 30, 2018]).
↑ David M. Ewalt: The World's Most Powerful People 2016. Forbes, December 14, 2016, accessed March 13, 2017 .
↑ David M. Ewalt: The World's Most Powerful People 2015. Forbes, November 4, 2015, accessed March 13, 2017 .
↑ Caroline Howard: Ranking The World's Most Powerful People 2014. Forbes, November 5, 2014, accessed on March 13, 2017 .
↑ Caroline Howard: The World's Most Powerful People 2013. Forbes, October 30, 2013, accessed March 13, 2017 .
↑ David M. Ewalt: The World's Most Powerful People 2012. Forbes, December 5, 2012, accessed March 13, 2017 .
^ Michael Noer: The World's Most Powerful People. Forbes, November 2, 2011, accessed March 13, 2017 .
^ The World's Most Powerful People 2010. Forbes, accessed March 13, 2017 .
^ The World's Most Powerful People 2009. Forbes, accessed March 13, 2017 .
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