Russian president Vladimir Putin in the most powerful man in the world, according to Forbes magazine. In news that will come as a blow to Barack Obama, the US president was beaten into second place by the Russian leader, with editors describing Putin as the “undisputed, unpredictable and unaccountable head of an energy-rich, nuclear-tipped state.”
China’s Xi Jinping was placed in third place, with Pope Francis and Angela Merkel coming fourth and fifth respectively, making the top five exactly the same as in 2013.
Britain’s David Cameron finishes in tenth place, making him the second most powerful European leader after Merkel, and putting him seven places ahead of France’s embattled president François Hollande.
Forbes’s editors cap the list at 72 people so there is one person for every 100 million people in the world. They then rank individuals according to numerous factors, including the number of followers they have, their financial resources and how they use their power.
The Russian president’s ranking comes after a year in which he inflamed tensions in Ukraine, successfully annexing the Crimean peninsula and aiding an ongoing rebellion in the east of the country.
I certainly am not privy to all of the information available to Forbes,, and I assume they have an extremely intelligent, articulate staff to make such a decision. I would think that China, perhaps, would be Number 1, not sure about Korea and I would think the good old USA might come in 4th or 5th. Not sure, of course, the criteria they use. I am sure "we" think we are number ONE, we once were, and are arrogant enough to think we still hold that ranking, but I have seen video from China and Japan and other countries of their "might" and it is impressive, to sa the least.
