Fresh off his election victory, US President Barack Obama maintains the top spot on Forbes’ fourth annual ranking of “The World’s Most Powerful People”, the annual look at the heads of state, financiers, philanthropists and entrepreneurs who truly run the world, jakartapost.com informs. Angela Merkel (No. 2) moves up from fourth place last year, followed by Russian President Vladimir Putin (No. 3), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation co-chair Bill Gates (No. 4) and Pope Benedict XVI (No. 5). Rounding out the Top 10 are US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke (No. 6), Saudi Arabian King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al Saud (No. 7), European Central Bank President Mario Draghi (No. 8), General Secretary, Communist Party of China Xi Jinping (No. 9 ) and UK Prime Minister David Cameron (No. 10). Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (No. 25) dropped out of the Top 10 to 25, from No. 9 in 2011.US President Barack Obama emerged, unanimously, as the world’s most powerful person, for the second year running. Obama was the decisive winner of the 2012 US presidential election, and now he gets four more years to push his agenda.The President faces major challenges, including an unresolved budget crisis, stubbornly high unemployment and renewed unrest in the Middle East. But Obama remains the unquestioned commander in chief of the world’s greatest military, and head of its sole economic and cultural superpower.
previous post
