Forbes most influential people. The most powerful people in the world: who are they? Bill Gates, Microsoft founder and philanthropist

The world's population is almost 7.1 billion people. In this article, we will highlight only 10 of them who have the most influence in the world (at the time of publication). One way or another, they all got into the Forbes lists as one of the most influential people in the world.

Let's discard the theory of secret societies, unknown "puppeteers", let's see which of the officials - government leaders, corporate leaders, financiers and philanthropists really control the world?

* The age and position of all persons are indicated at the time of publication of the material.

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David Cameron. British Prime Minister.
Age: 48 years old.

David Cameron has been the head of the UK Parliament since 2010. In fact, it is the first person of the state.

Recently, 2 poles of power have emerged in united Europe, the first is, of course, Germany with its new iron lady Angela Merkel, the second is Great Britain, which does not want to dance to the tune of Germany at all.

Cameron has already managed to reject Germany's call for an increase in the EU budget and has threatened to veto if such a law is passed. And it's entirely possible that Cameron would have been a more prominent and influential player on the world stage if he hadn't had to deal with a lot of problems at home, such as a steady economic downturn, electoral discontent, as well as problems in his own party.

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Janet Yellen. US Federal Reserve Chairman.
Age: 68 years old.

The Federal Reserve System is an independent US agency that acts as the nation's central bank. It can only obey the US Congress, but most of its actions still remain under its own control. The Fed is a rather subtle and influential organization that can directly affect the entire US financial system, and indirectly the entire global economy as a whole.

Chairman of the Fed - has broad powers in the controlled organization, which means it has a great influence on the US economy and the rest of the world. Janet Yellen has been head of the US Federal Reserve since February 2014 and has already managed to solve several important problems while sitting in the chair.

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Pope Francis. Head of the Catholic Church.
Age: 78 years old.

Under the doctrine of papal dominion, the pope has "supreme, complete, unquestioning and universal power" over the souls of the 1.2 billion Catholics worldwide.

People are turning to the pope to help solve many of the pressing problems of Catholics, such as birth control, attitudes towards abortion, same-sex marriage, euthanasia and others.

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Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. King of Saudi Arabia.
Age: 90 years old.

In 2008, Parade magazine (USA) included him in the top list of the most brutal dictators of our time. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al Saud, the absolute monarch of Saudi Arabia, controls an area with 20 percent of the world's proven oil reserves.

It is at the will of this person that the world oil market can collapse, which may have happened in late 2014 - early 2015.

*** Tragically, just on the day the article was published, January 23, 2015, the King of Saudi Arabia passed away.

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Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Founders of Google.
Age: 41 each.

These two friends, who met back in the mid-90s, are among the most powerful people in the world. They created Google from scratch in 1998. Today, Google Ink is not just a search engine, it is the world's largest transnational corporation that invests a lot of money in the development of the Internet and other technologies.

Google Ink websites are the most popular websites in the world, with about 1 billion people visiting them in one month. Many simply cannot live without Google, because this giant occupies many areas of our everyday and social life. Various applications and sites from Google, such as YouTube, Blogger, Google Maps are indispensable for many millions of people.

“The Russian president influences almost every corner of the planet. At home, in Syria and in the presidential elections, the United States continues to achieve what it wants, ”the newspaper writes.

The Russian factor has become central to American pre-election discussions after the Democratic Party, which nominated its presidential candidate, admitted that its servers were hacked by anonymous hackers. A short time later, a number of American intelligence agencies linked the cyberattack to Russia and, in particular, the Kremlin.

Leaks from confidential Democratic correspondence damaged the image and were one of the factors that brought down Clinton's ratings and led to the victory of Republican Donald Trump. Trump himself, the already elected president of the United States, meanwhile does not hide the fact that he is going to establish contact with Vladimir Putin and reconsider the issue of annexing Crimea to Russia.

Trump-linked financier Carter Page, who also spoke publicly about the Crimea issue in a conciliatory vein, recently visited Moscow.

With an ally as likely as the White House, Putin's power could be unlimited for years to come.

The director general of the APEC Agency for Political and Economic Communications believes that coverage of Putin's influence on the American elections helped his credibility, no matter how real this influence was. “The fact that this was discussed strengthened his image positioning,” the source of Gazeta.Ru is sure.

Orlov also notes the role of Russia in politics in the Middle East, in particular, in the Syrian campaign. “Putin, having, in general, few resources and playing against several opponents, managed to win,” he said.

The Prime Minister of Great Britain is in 13th place, the President of France is in 23rd, and the Prime Minister of Japan is in 37th.

58th place went to the Russian businessman Alisher y, the owner.

Usmanov is also the richest businessman in Russia after and.

The current US President Barack Obama is only 48th on this list. “Obama is leaving office at a time of global upheaval; a wave of populism caused political instability in Europe, the beginning of the crisis was the June Brexit of 2016, ”Forbes writes in a commentary.

Political scientist Vyacheslav believes that Putin topped the rating at a good moment. “Everything is logical. Former US President Barack Obama is no longer the most influential, and his successor Donald Trump is not yet influential,” Gazeta.Ru’s interlocutor is sure.

However, the expert clarifies that this does not mean that the future American leader will definitely outstrip Putin in the future, it’s just that now the Russian president has no alternative for the one that made up the rating.

According to Smirnov, the influence of heads of state can be compared with the influence of heads of companies. It is clear that the larger and more influential the company, the heavier the leader. But another question is how much he is still personally influential and determines the entire policy of his company.

“In America, after all, the president is a product of the system. He expresses not his opinion, but the opinion of the opposing groups. And in Russia, on the contrary, everyone supports the opinion of a single ruler,” Smirnov comments.

Russian President 65-year-old Vladimir Putin for the first time in five years did not become the leader of the Forbes ranking of the most influential people in the world, losing the first line in the list to the chairman of the People's Republic of China, 64-year-old Xi Jinping.

US President Donald Trump, 71, has dropped from second to third place in a new rating published on Tuesday, May 8, on the American Forbes website.

The top five most influential people in the world in 2018 also included German Chancellor Angela Merkel, 63, and the richest person on the planet, Amazon.com founder 54-year-old billionaire Jeff Bezos. Forbes explained Xi Jinping's first place by the fact that in March of this year he managed to achieve the abolition of the constitutional ban on holding the post of head of the Communist Party of China for more than one term and being re-elected leader of the country.

Putin, on the other hand, managed to become president of the country for the fourth time, having won the elections with a record result for the post-Soviet period - 77% of the vote. The President of Russia became the first in the Forbes ranking of the most influential people in the world in 2013, then displacing his American colleague Barack Obama from the first line.

Trump, the magazine notes, during his tenure in the White House has not been able to get rid of a series of accusations and scandals and is not able to move his agenda through Congress, despite the Republican majority.

Merkel is credited with the fact that she managed to become the chancellor of Germany for the fourth time. The top 10 rankings also included Pope Francis (81), Microsoft founder billionaire Bill Gates (62), Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (32), Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (67 years) and billionaire Google co-founder Larry Page (45).

Another co-founder of Google, a native of Russia, 44-year-old Sergey Brin was on the 35th line of the rating. The ranking of the most influential people in the world is based on the subjective choice of the American editors of the magazine. The criteria for influence are indicators such as the number of people affected by the decisions of the rating participant, the financial flows that the rating participant manages as an administrator, manager or owner, and the activity with which the rating participant uses his power.

Most of all, the list turned out to be US citizens - 40 people. Among them are five politicians, including President Donald Trump, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell (No. 11 in the ranking), Chief Justice John Roberts (No. 63), Vice President Mike Pence (No. 67), Attorney General Robert Mueller (No. 72). One - 62-year-old Christine Lagarde - heads the International Monetary Fund. The remaining 34 people on the list are billionaires and heads of transnational corporations. Among them are Mark Zuckerberg (33 years old, No. 13 in the ranking) and Warren Buffett (87 years old, No. 16), Tim Cook (57 years old, No. 24) and Elon Musk (46 years old, No. 25), Michael Bloomberg (76 years old, #51) and Michael Dell (age 56, #53).

The rating also includes two representatives of India (in addition to the prime minister, this is the founder and head of the oil and gas giant Reliance Industries, 61-year-old billionaire Mukesh Andani), two Japanese (Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Softbank head, billionaire Masayoshi Son), two Mexicans (billionaire Carlos Slim and President Enrique Peña Nieto) and two Frenchmen, including President Emmanuel Macron (No. 12), 40, and billionaire Bernard Arnault.

The remaining several countries are represented in the ranking of the most influential people in the world by one person. Among them were British Prime Minister Theresa May (No. 14 in the ranking), Iranian spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (No. 17), Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (No. 26), Portuguese UN Secretary-General António Guterres (No. 31 ), head of the European Union Luxembourger Jean-Claude Juncker (No. 33), leader of North Korea 34-year-old Kim Jong-un (No. 36), Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (No. 48), Brazilian President Michel Temer (No. 50), President of South Korea Moon Jae-in (No. 54), Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (No. 57), Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (No. 62), Swiss FIFA head Gianni Infantino (No. 75).

In the ranking of the 75 most influential people in the world, there were only five women. In addition to Merkel, May and Lagarde, these are the head of General Motors, Mary Barra, and the head of Fidelity Investments, Abigail Johnson. The youngest person on the list is Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, who is 32 years old. The oldest - the head of CK Hutchison Holdings, Hong Kong's richest billionaire Li Ka-shing - is 89 years old.

Forbes on Wednesday released a new ranking of the most influential people in the world. The list includes 72 political, economic, business and public figures - one for every 100 million inhabitants of the planet. The rating was headed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The 61-year-old politician removed his American colleague Barack Obama from the first line. Rounding out the top three were Chinese President Xi Jinping. Read more about the most influential people in the world according to Forbes below.

The rating is based on the subjective choice of the American editors of the magazine. The criteria for influence are indicators such as the number of people affected by the decisions of the rating participant, the financial flows that the rating participant manages as an administrator, manager or owner, and the activity with which the rating participant uses his power.

1. Vladimir Putin

Who: President of Russia
influence: Russia
Industry: politics
Age: 61

The ascension of the Russian leader to the top of the Forbes influence rating was facilitated both by the process of “tightening the screws” inside the country and by his success in the diplomatic arena.

In particular, Putin proposed a compromise solution to the Syrian problem that would suit all parties and relieved tension in the conflict, which almost escalated into a full-scale war. In addition, the Russian president granted political asylum to former CIA officer Edward Snowden, whose high-profile revelations became not only a headache for American intelligence agencies, but also a problem for other states, whose diplomats the fugitive programmer turned to for support.

The world's largest nuclear arsenal, a vote in the UN Security Council and record hydrocarbon deposits remain under Putin's control. The leader of the rating has at least another five years of absolute power left, and can potentially rule Russia until 2024.

2. Barack Obama

Who: President of the United States
influence: USA
Industry: politics
Age: 52

The American leader lost the first line of the rating to his Russian colleague against the backdrop of numerous squabbles in US domestic politics.

Obama failed to convince Congress of the need to implement health insurance reform according to his plan, which ultimately led the country to a dead end: in early October, US government agencies had to close for 16 days due to the inability of politicians to find consensus on the budget and the national debt ceiling. No less sensitive blow to Obama's reputation was the revelations of Edward Snowden, which put the head of state in the position of an eternally justifying person.

And yet, even with his second term in office and the accompanying suspicions of turning into a lame duck, Obama remains the leader of the world's most powerful political, economic, and military power.

3. Xi Jinping

Who: Chinese President
influence: PRC
Industry: politics
Age: 60

The new Chinese leader in 2012 officially took the helm of the second most influential world power with a population of 1.3 billion people, which is almost 20% of the population of the entire planet. Under Xi, the PRC remains the largest holder of American external debt - China owns US Treasury receipts for $ 1.3 billion. The rapid growth of the economy continues: in 10 years, the number of official billionaires in China has increased from zero to 122, and GDP has reached $ 8.2 trillion. In addition to the post of chairman of the PRC, Xi is the secretary general of the Communist Party and the head of the country's military forces.

4. Pope Francis

Who: Pope
Influences: Roman Catholic Church
Industry: religion
Age: 76

Francis succeeded Benedict XVI as head of the Roman Church in March 2013. His mission is to breathe new energy into an institution that brings together 1.2 billion people around the world.

The first Jesuit pope and the first Latin American pope has already issued a number of reformist statements, from calling for gender equality to lowering the level of critical rhetoric against supporters of abortion, gay marriage and contraceptives. Francis, or Jorge Mario Bergoglio in the world, uses social media, preaches on Twitter, and even takes self-portraits for social networks in accordance with the spirit of the times.

He comes from a large family of Italian immigrants who settled in Buenos Aires. The Pope is known as a passionate fan of the San Lorenzo de Almagro football club.

5. Angela Merkel

Who: Chancellor of Germany
influences: Germany
Industry: politics
Age: 59

The most powerful woman in the world remains a key figure in solving the political and economic problems of the European Union.

Merkel's commitment to a hard line of austerity and the preservation of the euro as a single currency helped the EU to survive as an integration entity, despite the crisis in the southern economies of the Old World and persistent calls for reverse disintegration from the North.

Recently, the “iron chancellor” was re-elected without any visible problems to the post that she has been holding since 2005. In the ranking of the most powerful women in the world according to Forbes, Merkel climbed to the top 8 times over the past 10 years.

6. Bill Gates

Who: Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Influences: Microsoft, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Industry: business, philanthropy
Age: 58

With a fortune of $72 billion, Gates recently regained his status as the richest person in the world according to Forbes. At the same time, the Microsoft founder himself spends most of his time on the work of a charitable foundation, which he manages with his wife Melinda.

As a philanthropist, he has already spent $28 billion. Gates' last major philanthropic initiative was the $335 million polio program in April, which was joined by six more billionaires with $100 million in contributions, including Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Microsoft shares have been rising since the end of August, when the software giant announced the resignation of Steve Ballmer as CEO. Gates remains chairman of the board of directors of the company he co-founded with Paul Allen in 1975.

Along with Warren Buffett, Gates continues to recruit participants for the Giving Pledge initiative, in which billionaires make a public pledge to donate at least 50% of their wealth to charitable causes.

7. Ben Bernanke

Who: Fed Chairman
influence: Fed
Industry: economics
Age: 59

Big Ben is preparing to leave the most powerful economic post in the world on January 31, 2014. Recently it became known the name of his successor - Janet Yellen will head the Fed next year. During his tenure, Bernanke has become a living symbol of the fight against the consequences of the global crisis. The former Princeton professor became the main lobbyist for the soft stimulus policy and ensured, albeit modest, but still stable growth in US GDP.

8. Abdullah ibn Abdulaziz Al Saud

Who: King of Saudi Arabia
Influence: Saudi Arabia
Industry: politics
Age: 89

The influence of the Saudi monarch is made up not only of high authority in the Muslim world, but also due to control over 20% of the world's oil reserves (265 million barrels). GDP growth to $727 billion allowed the kingdom to enter the top 20 global economies. At the same time, the unemployment rate in the country remains at 12%, and 50% of the population is under 25 years old. King Abdullah recently allocated $130 billion for youth employment and housing programs.

9. Mario Draghi

Who: President of the European Central Bank
influence: ECB
Industry: economics
Age: 66

"Super Mario" got not the most comfortable position in modern economic realities. He became the face of the troubled economy of the eurozone countries with a combined GDP of $17 trillion. Every time Draghi has to set investors up for optimism and maneuver between the interests of countries so different by all criteria, like Greece and Germany. And while he copes with this paradoxical task.

10. Michael Duke

Who: CEO of Wal-Mart Stores
Influencers: Wal-Mart Stores
Industry: business
Age: 63

The head of the world's largest retailer with a revenue of $470 billion and the world's second largest employer with a staff of 2.2 million people could not help but enter the top 10 most influential people. Duke, as the CEO of Wal-Mart, can decide the fate of a product with a single signature, simply by removing it from the shelf or putting it there. In the fall, he visited Washington as part of a delegation of 20 CEOs of the largest American companies, where he tried to convince President Obama of the need to quickly break the budget impasse.

11. David Cameron

Who: British Prime Minister
influences: UK
Industry: politics
Age: 47

The Tory leader runs the world's sixth largest economy and is often compared to Margaret Thatcher for her commitment to fiscal austerity. True, Cameron got hit for a populist proposal to cut the electricity tax for households. An Oxford graduate and distant relative of King William IV is known as an active critic of Edward Snowden. In two years, Cameron will have to lead the Conservatives to new elections.

12. Carlos Slim

Who: Chairman of the Honorary Charitable Foundation
influences: America Movil
Industry: business, philanthropy
Age: 73

The Mexican telecommunications tycoon displaced Bill Gates from the position of the richest man in the world for several years, but this year again lost the palm to the American. Slim's business empire includes assets in mining, real estate development and media (under The New York Times). In 2012, the billionaire acquired three football clubs at once - two in his native Mexico and one in Spain. In February 2013, Slim joined the Gates initiative to fight hunger and support innovative farming technology.

13. Warren Buffett

Who: CEO of Berkshire Hathaway
influences: Berkshire Hathaway
Industry: business, philanthropy
Age: 83

The "Oracle of Omaha", despite diagnosed with prostate cancer and advanced age, does not let go of the threads of the operational management of his business empire. His net worth has grown by almost $20 billion to $53.5 billion in a year, and Buffett has not lost his taste for big deals. Berkshire Hathaway launched a $23.2 billion takeover of legendary ketchup maker Heinz in June, after acquiring energy firm NV Energy for $5.6 billion in cash. The investor continues to be actively involved in charity: in July, he sent another $ 2 billion in the form of Berkshire shares to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Cumulatively, Buffett's philanthropic initiatives have already reached $20 billion.

14. Li Keqiang

Who: Premier of the State Council of China
influence: PRC
Industry: politics
Age: 58

The second politician in the PRC after Xi Jinping, Li, despite being loyal to the party's communist ideals, is known as a champion of economic liberalism. He acted as one of the lobbyists of the World Bank report, which called on the Celestial Empire to accelerate reforms in the direction opposite to state capitalism.

15. Jeff Bezos

Who: CEO of Amazon.com
Influencers: Amazon.com
Industry: business, technology
Age: 49

Bezos quickly emerged as one of the world's most powerful businessmen with the explosion of the online retailer he founded. Amazon, with $61 billion in annual sales, has expanded its reach into technology, fashion, video streaming and traditional media. In the summer, Bezos acquired The Washington Post holding for $250 million.

16. Rex Tillerson

Who: CEO of Exxon Mobil
Influencers: Exxon Mobil
Industry: business
Age: 61

The head of the largest US oil and gas corporation led Exxon to a phenomenal $44.9 billion profit last year. The company remains the world's largest publicly traded oil and gas producer and operates on six continents. Tillerson is considered one of the most influential and effective lobbyists in the industry.

17. Sergey Brin

Who: co-founder, head of special projects at Google
influencers: Google
Industry: business, technology
Age: 40

The co-founders of Google have been working in tandem together for more than a decade. While Page has operational control over the entire search giant, Brin has focused on the corporation's most innovative devices within the Google X division. We are talking about Google Glass augmented reality glasses and a self-driving car. Together with Page, Brin donated $400 million to charity this year.

18. Larry Page

Who: co-founder, CEO of Google
influencers: Google
Industry: business, technology
Age: 40

Page runs the world's most popular site with a monthly audience of 1 billion users, a corporation with $50 billion in revenue and a rapidly growing business. The Google CEO is responsible for numerous M&A deals, such as the $1 billion purchase of the crowdsourced app Waze and the $12.5 billion takeover of Motorola's mobile division.

19. Francois Hollande

Who: President of France
influences: France
Industry: politics
Age: 59

Hollande became France's first Socialist president in two decades and immediately ran into the financial troubles of Europe's second-largest economy. His popularity rating dropped to 23% in October amid clumsy actions in a high-profile scandal over migrant deportations. This is the lowest electoral figure for a French president in 20 years - even lower than that of Hollande's unpopular predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy. Recently, the head of state criticized his American colleague Barack Obama for the facts of wiretapping by the US special services of telephone conversations of millions of French people (70 calls and SMS messages were tapped and viewed in a month alone).

20. Timothy Cook

Who: Apple CEO
influencers: Apple
Industry: business, technology
Age: 52

Apple is not only the most valuable company in the world, but also the unrivaled authority in the design and technology industry, in the film and music business, in media and telecommunications. This year, at Cook's request, his bonus will be linked to the company's stock performance. In 2012, the CEO of Apple, the successor to Steve Jobs in office, earned $4.2 million.

53. Dmitry Medvedev

Who: Prime Minister of Russia
influence: Russia
Industry: politics
Age: 48

The head of the Russian government, despite serious reputational losses after the reverse castling with Vladimir Putin, remains the second most influential figure in the domestic power vertical. However, the chances that the current president of the country will decide to entrust all the threads of control to his younger comrade for the second time are negligible.

60. Igor Sechin

Who: President, Chairman of the Board of Rosneft
influence: Rosneft
Industry: business
Age: 53

A faithful ally of Vladimir Putin returned to the Forbes rating after a year of absence. He did not join Dmitry Medvedev's government and maintained tense relations with the current prime minister. But in the status of the head of Rosneft, the former curator of the fuel and energy complex in the Cabinet started a “deal of the century” to take over TNK-BP in the amount of $56 billion. Soon, Sechin will officially become the head of the largest public oil company in the world in terms of production. At the same time, he maintains close relations with the first person of the state, which in Russian realities remains the main resource of administrative weight.

63. Alisher Usmanov

Who: CEO of Gazprominvestholding
Influencers: USM Holdings
Industry: business
Age: 60

Russia's richest man made his fortune of $17.6 billion in metals, but in recent years he has diversified his business by acquiring assets in telecommunications (MegaFon), media (Kommersant Publishing House) and technology (Mail.ru Group). He also owns a stake in London's Arsenal Football Club.

The world's population is growing daily, and we have already reached the mark of 7 billion. However, not everyone can boast of being able to change the course of history. On our planet, only a small percentage of such people are a kind of elite, people who have reached unprecedented heights and are "at the helm" of world development.

The authoritative publication Forbes constantly makes a selection of the most influential people on the planet. Participants are selected based on a pivot table. Surprisingly, the selection conditions are very simple: applicants are compared by the number of people who are subject to them and popularity.

The most influential people in the world for 2017, according to Forbes:

Mark Zuckerberg

The last place is occupied by Mark Zuckerberg. He is the youngest representative of this rating. The founder of Facebook is only 32 years old, and he has already reached unprecedented heights. He is also the youngest member of the TOP 10 richest people in the world.

Surprisingly, it is almost twice as young as its main competitors. This year, the billionaire has significantly improved his position and has confidently entered the top ten since the end of the twenty.

At the moment, his fortune is estimated at 59 billion dollars. However, the young businessman does not suffer from star fever at all and leads a very modest life. He also donates significant amounts to charity.

Mark said that by the end of this year he wants to donate $ 3 billion to a kind of charity - the structure that will receive the investment is dedicated to the eradication of all currently existing diseases on Earth.

Narenda Modi

The penultimate one is Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi. Every year is more and more successful for Modi. Popularity among Indians is steadily growing.
It is noteworthy that even the harsh financial reform did not diminish his popularity. Painful changes were made as part of the fight against corruption. In the autumn of 2016, the prime minister issued an order that states the annulment of the two most nominal denominations.

Larry Page

A well-known figure on the Internet, it is Larry who is one of the main developers of the best Google search engine. In 2016, the company was completely reorganized and now Google is a subsidiary of Alphabet. Larry is elected to the post of chairman of the board.

Bill Gates

Larry was overtaken by a no less famous person - Bill Gates. He is the founder of the world famous Windows company, which is a world leader in software development. The richest man in the world, with a fortune exceeding $ 80 billion.

Janet Yellen

Leading US economist, Janet Yellen, is almost in the middle of our top. Concurrently, she is also the head of the US Federal Reserve System. It controls all activities of banking and other financial institutions.

It's funny, but it is very popular among ordinary Americans. This is ensured thanks to her simple approach and the ability to clearly express her thoughts in an accessible form.

Pope Francis

Pope Francis, head of the Vatican, is ranked fifth. He is also the oldest member of the TOP, because he recently turned 80 years old.
It is worth noting that a solid age does not at all prevent Francis from maintaining a huge amount of vital energy and inspiring people on the true path. After all, it is he who directs a huge flock to perform various good deeds.

Xi Jinping

The fourth place is occupied by the President of the People's Republic of China, Xi Jinping. In 2012, he was elected to the position and immediately set to work in the country. He became famous for his fight against corruption. The population is extremely supportive of his activities, due to the high degree of openness.

Angela Merkel

It is quite predictable that Angela Merkel has entered the top three this year. He is a very unusual person, but at the same time remains a prominent figure in political life.
The German chancellor, according to Forbes, can compete with Russia's influence in the West. The ambitious politician was able to relieve tension within the European Union and coped with the huge crowds of emigrants flooding into Germany.

Donald Trump

Donald Trump is in second place. Surpassing his predecessor, Barack Obama, who fell to forty-eighth after third place, Trump confidently entered the top ten most influential people on the planet.

Recall that earlier Trump was at the very bottom of the rating, but the rapid rise provided him with the presidency.

The ambitious politician who came to power with the slogan "Make America Great Again" immediately set to work.

Vladimir Putin

The first place in the ranking is occupied by Vladimir Putin. According to Forbes, he is the most powerful person in the world. Taking the first mark for the fourth time in a row, the politician proved that he is deservedly considered the most famous and popular person, whose influence on society simply cannot be denied.

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