World's most powerful people
World's most powerful people - Of the 7 billion people living on the planet, these are the 10 individuals who wield the greatest influence. 1 in 100 million What do the president of the United States, the Dalai Lama, a billionaire drug dealer and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg have in common? For one thing, each is included in this year's ranking by Forbes magazine of the 70 most powerful people in the world.
The annual ranking takes into account four factors. First, the number of people a person has power over. For a religious leader, like Pope Benedict XVI (No. 7 this year), that would be the number of adherents, or Catholics, in the world. For a chief executive, like Jeffery Immelt (No.28) of General Electric (GE), it's the number of employees in the company. Second is the amount of financial resources controlled by an individual, whether a nation's economic output, a company's revenue or an individual's net worth.
Third is the breadth of the individual's influence. Michael Bloomberg (mayor of New York, founder of a diversified media company and prominent philanthropist) ranks as the world's 17th most powerful person because of his prominence in more than one public sphere.
Finally, how actively does the individual wield his or her power? This standard eliminates semi-retired industrialists, inactive heirs to great fortunes and former heads of state.
In all, 70 people made the final list, one for every 100 million people on the planet.
Rank: 10
Age: 45
Title: Prime minister of the United Kingdom
Residence: London
Rank: 9
Age: 27
Title: Founder of Facebook
Residence: Palo Alto, Calif.
Rank: 8
Age: 57
Title: Chairman of the Federal Reserve
Residence: Washington, D.C.
Rank: 7
Age: 84
Title: Pope of the Roman Catholic Church
Residence: Vatican City
Rank: 6
Age: 87
Title: King of Saudi Arabia
Residence: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Rank: 5
Age: 56
Title: Co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Residence: Medina, Wash.
Rank: 4
Age: 57
Title: Chancellor of Germany
Residence: Berlin
Rank: 3
Age: 68
Title: President of the People's Republic of China
Residence: Beijing
Rank: 2
Age: 59
Title: Prime minister of Russia
Residence: Moscow
Rank: 1
Age: 50
Title: President of the United States
Residence: Washington, D.C.
via: msn
