In the Forbes list of World’s most powerful people,UPA(Indian ruling party) chairperson Sonia Gandhi has overtaken leaders like Bill Gates, Nicolas Sarkozy, Steve Jobs to become the ninth most powerfulperson in the world. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is at 18th place. Reflecting China’s growing influence, President Hu Jintao dethroned Obama from the top spot. Even Zhou Xiaochuan, who is the governor of People’s Bank of China, also features in the Top 20.
1) Hu Jintao
President, People’s Republic of China
Age: 68
Salary: $400,000
Chinese President Hu Jintao, who rules over one-fifth of world’s population, has topped the list of world’s most powerful person. Jintao has been described by the magazine as a person who “unlike Western counterparts, can divert rivers, build cities, jail dissidents and censor internet without meddling from pesky bureaucrats, courts.”
2) Barack Obama
President, United States of America
Age: 49
Net Worth: $10.1 million
Salary: $400,000
Obama’s Democrats suffered a mighty blow in U.S. midterm elections, with the president decisively losing support of the House of Representatives, and barely holding onto the Senate. It’s quite a come-down for last year’s most powerful person, who after enacting widespread reforms in his first two years in office will be hard-pressed to implement his agenda in the next two.
3) Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud
King, Saudi Arabia
Age: 86
Net Worth: Literally owns the whole Saudi Arabia. The GDP of Saudi Arabia $443.691 billion.
Absolute ruler of desert kingdom that contains the world’s largest crude oil reserves, two holiest sites in Islam. State-owned oil producer Saudi Aramco has reserves of 266 billion barrels, or one-fifth of planet’s known supply (worth $22 trillion at today’s oil prices). Pushing for gradual social and legal reforms, while maintaining good relations with deeply conservative religious establishment.
4) Vladimir Putin
Prime Minister, Russia
Age: 58
Net Worth: $40 billion
Salary: $126,000
Prime Minister still more powerful than his handpicked head-of-state, President Dmitry Medvedev. Former KGB officer will likely replace protégé in 2012. In the meantime, has final say over one-ninth of Earth’s land area, vast energy and mineral resources. Declared nuclear power has veto on U.N.’s Security Council.
5) Pope Bendict XVI
Pope, Roman Catholic Church
Age: 84
Net Worth: The Pope is the head of the Roman Catholic Church, which has billions of dollars if not more . Vatican holds priceless treasures.
Highest earthly authority for 1.1 billion souls, or one-sixth of world’s population. Staunch traditionalist deplores secularism, consumerism and moral relativism, unbending on birth control, gay marriage and ordination of female priests. Despite major gaffes (including lifting the excommunication of a Holocaust-denying Bishop and quoting a 14th-century source that declared the only new things the prophet Mohammed brought were “evil and inhuman”), appears genuinely interested in healing old wounds.
6) Angela Merkel
Chancellor, Germany
Age: 57
Net Worth: $11.5 Million
Salary: $303,800
Most powerful woman on the planet. Chancellor of Germany oversees Europe’s largest economy. Renowned free-market champion and favorite of big business, boasts nine public companies with annual sales in excess of $70 billion. In all, there are 57 German companies on the Forbes Global 2000 ranking of the world’s largest public companies, with aggregate sales of $1.7 trillion.
7) David Cameron
Prime Minister, United Kingdom
Age: 44
Title: Prime Minister, United Kingdom
Net Worth: £30 million
Salary: £225,000
Youngest British prime minister in 198 years is product of privilege: Eton, Brasenose College, Oxford; is descended (illegitimately) from King William IV. Hailed by some as the second coming of Margaret Thatcher, Cameron shares the Iron Lady’s determination to slash government expenditures (defense, higher education), but as the leader of a coalition government he can ill-afford to repeat her brash divisiveness.
8) Ben Bernanke
Chairman, Federal Reserve
Age: 57
Title: Chairman, Federal Reserve
Salary: $199,700
Some argue Fed’s influence is at all-time high, given size of its burgeoning balance sheet ($2.3 trillion) relative to the underlying economy ($14.3 trillion). But Bernanke’s options have waned since peak of the financial crisis. He now has essentially only one arrow left in his financial quiver: quantitative easing–in layman’s terms, “printing money.” He last employed the technique in 2008 and is widely expected to repeat the move this month.
9) Sonia Gandhi
President, Indian National Congress
Age: 64
Title: President, Indian National Congress
Net Worth: $18.66 billion
Despite Italian birth, foreign religion (Roman Catholic) and political reluctance, Gandhi wields unequaled influence over 1.2 billion Indians. Recently elected to record fourth term as head of India’s ruling Congress Party, cementing status as true heiress to the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty. Handpicked brainy Sikh economist Manmohan Singh (also a listee) as prime minister. Inspired choice: Singh universally praised as India’s best prime minister since Nehru. But Gandhi remains the real power behind the nuclear-tipped throne.
10) Bill Gates
Co-Chairman, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Age: 55
Title: Co-Chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Net Worth: $56 billion
Microsoft mogul, futurist and America’s richest person has, with help from billionaire buddy Warren Buffett, convinced nearly 60 of the world’s wealthiest to sign his “Giving Pledge,” promising to donate the majority of their wealth to charity either during their lifetime or after death. He is no longer the planet’s richest person, but that’s because he’s given away $30 billion to his foundation. He is calling for “a higher sense of urgency” in AIDS vaccine development and also pushing for better tools to rate teacher performance.
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