While all the men on the list are quite powerful or influential, their order is bizarre and several of them don't deserve to be in the top 67 world wide. My answer to the bolded question toward the bottom is a definite no.
The list
http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/20/power-09_The-Worlds-Most-Powerful-People_Rank.html?partner=msnbc
QuoteRank Name Title Organization Age
1 Barack Obama President United States of America 48
2 Hu Jintao President People's Republic of China 66
3 Vladimir Putin Prime Minister Russia 57
4 Ben S. Bernanke Chairman Federal Reserve 55
5 Sergey Brin and Larry Page Founders Google 36
6 Carlos Slim Helu Chief executive Telmex 69
7 Rupert Murdoch Chairman News Corp. 78
8 Michael T. Duke President, CEO and Director Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. 59
9 Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Saud King Saudi Arabia 85
10 William Gates III Co-Chair Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation 54
11 Pope Benedict XVI Pope Roman Catholic Church 82
12 Silvio Berlusconi Prime Minister Italy 73
13 Jeffery R. Immelt Chairman General Electric Company 53
14 Warren Buffett Chief executive Berkshire Hathaway 79
15 Angela Merkel Chancellor Germany 55
16 Laurence D. Fink Chairman BlackRock, Inc. 57
17 Hillary Clinton Secretary of State United States of America 62
18 Lloyd C. Blankfein Chairman Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. 55
19 Li Changchun Propaganda Chief Communist Party of China 65
20 Michael Bloomberg Mayor & Founder New York City & Bloomberg LP. 67
21 Timothy Geithner Secretary United States Treasury 48
22 Rex W. Tillerson Chairman ExxonMo Corp. 57
23 Li Ka-shing Chairman Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limited and Hutchison Whampoa Limited 81
24 Kim Jong Il Chairman of National Defense Commission North Korea 68
25 Jean-Claude Trichet President European Central Bank 66
26 Masaaki Shirakawa Governor Bank of Japan 60
27 Sheikh Ahmed bin Zayed al Nahyan Managing Director Abu Dhabi Investment Authority 41
28 Akio Toyoda Chief executive Toyota Motor Corporation ADS 53
29 Gordon Brown Prime Minister United Kingdom 58
30 James S. Dimon Chairman JPMorgan Chase & Company 53
31 Bill Clinton Former President United States of America 63
32 William H. Gross Chief Investment Officer Pacific Investment Management Company 65
33 Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva President Brazil 64
34 Lou Jiwei Chairman China Investment Corporation 59
35 Yukio Hatoyama Prime Minister Japan 62
36 Manmohan Singh Prime Minister India 77
37 Osama bin Laden Founder al-Qaeda 52
38 Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani Prime Minister Pakistan 57
39 Tenzin Gyatso Dalai Lama Tibet 74
40 Ali Hoseini-Khamenei Grand Ayatollah Shi'a 70
41 Joaquin Guzman Drug Trafficker Sinaloa Cartel 52
42 Igor Sechin Deputy Prime Minister Russia 49
43 Dmitry Medvedev President Russia 44
44 Mukesh Ambani Chairman Reliance Industries Limited 52
45 Oprah Winfrey Media Personality The Oprah Winfrey Show 55
46 Benjamin Netanyahu Prime Minister Israel 60
47 Dominique Strauss-Kahn Managing Director International Monetary Fund 60
48 Zhou Xiaochuan Governor People's Bank of China 61
49 John Roberts Jr. Chief Justice United States Supreme Court 54
50 Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar Head D-Company 53
51 William Keller Executive Editor The New York Times 60
52 Bernard Arnault Chairman Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy 60
53 Joseph S. Blatter President The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) 73
54 Wadah Khanfar Director-General Al Jazeera 41
55 Lakshmi Mittal Chairman ArcelorMittal ADS 59
56 Nicolas Sarkozy President France 54
57 Steve Jobs Chief executive Apple, Inc. 54
58 Fujio Mitarai Chairman Canon, Inc. ADR 74
59 Ratan Tata Chairman Tata Group 71
60 Jacques Rogge President International Olympic Committee 67
61 Li Rongrong Chairman State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council 65
62 Blairo Maggi Governor Mato Grasso 53
63 Robert B. Zoellick President World Bank 56
64 Antonio Guterres High Commissioner for Refugees United Nations 60
65 Mark John Thompson Director-General British Broadcasting Corporation 52
66 Klaus Schwab Founder World Economic Forum 71
67 Hugo Chavez President Venezuela 55
An explanation of the list.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33859565/ns/business-forbescom/
QuoteObama tops Forbes world's most powerful list
The 67 statesmen, criminals, financiers and others who really run things
By Michael Noer and Nicole Perlroth
updated 7:42 p.m. ET Nov. 11, 2009
"I love power. But it is as an artist that I love it. I love it as a musician loves his violin, to draw out its sounds and chords and harmonies." — Napoleon Bonaparte
Power has been called many things. The ultimate aphrodisiac. An absolute corrupter. A mistress. A violin. But its true nature remains elusive. After all, a head of state wields a very different sort of power than a religious figure. Can one really compare the influence of a journalist to that of a terrorist? And is power unexercised power at all?
In compiling our first ranking of the World's Most Powerful People we wrestled with these questions — and many more — before deciding to define power in four dimensions. First, we asked, does the person have influence over lots of other people? Pope Benedict XVI, ranked 11th on our list, is the spiritual leader of more than a billion souls, or about one-sixth of the world's population, while Wal-Mart CEO Mike Duke (No. 8) is the largest private-sector employer in the United States.
Then we assessed the financial resources controlled by these individuals. Are they relatively large compared with their peers'? For heads of state we used GDP, while for CEOs, we looked at a composite ranking of market capitalization, profits, assets and revenues as reflected on our annual ranking of the World's 2000 Largest Companies. In certain instances, like New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller (No. 51), we judged the resources at his disposal compared with others in the industry. For billionaires, like Bill Gates (No. 10), net worth was also a factor.
Next we determined if they are powerful in multiple spheres. There are only 67 slots on our list — one for every 100 million people on the planet — so being powerful in just one area is not enough to guarantee a spot. Our picks project their influence in myriad ways. Take Italy's colorful prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi (No. 12) who is a politician, a media monopolist and owner of soccer powerhouse A.C. Milan, or Oprah Winfrey (No. 45) who can manufacture a best-seller and an American President.
Lastly, we insisted that our choices actively use their power. Ingvar Kamprad, the 83-year-old entrepreneur behind Ikea and the richest man in Europe, was an early candidate for this list, but was excluded because he doesn't exercise his power. On the other hand, Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin (No. 3) scored points because he likes to throw his weight around by jailing oligarchs, invading neighboring countries and periodically cutting off Western Europe's supply of natural gas.
To calculate the final rankings, five Forbes senior editors ranked all of our candidates in each of these four dimensions of power. Those individual rankings were averaged into a composite score, which determined who placed above (or below) whom.
U.S. President Barack Obama emerged, unanimously, as the world's most powerful person, and by a wide margin. But there were a number of surprises. Former President George W. Bush didn't come close to making the final cut, while his predecessor in the Oval Office, Bill Clinton, ranks 31st, ahead of a number of sitting heads of government. Apple's Steve Jobs easily made the list, while Arnold Schwarzenegger, the movie star governor of California (alone, the world's fifth largest economy) did not.
This ranking is intended to be the beginning of a conversation, not the final word. Is the Dalai Lama (No. 39) really more powerful than the president of France (No. 56)? Do despicable criminals like billionaire Mexican drug lord Joaquín Guzmán (No. 41) belong on this list at all? Who did we overlook? What did we get wrong?
© 2009 Forbes.com
It seems that Forbes doesn't like Europeans, Putin aside. Is Berlusconi the most powerful man in the EU for them? Very tough on Sarkozy, as well.
The richest man in Hong Kong is no. 23 :yeah:
President of Brazil is more powerful than the leaders of Japan, India, and France?
They gave money too much weight imo. Berkshire Hathaway and Telmex don't have Security Council vetoes.
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on November 12, 2009, 05:44:55 AM
They gave money too much weight imo. Berkshire Hathaway and Telmex don't have Security Council vetoes.
:yes: Li Ka Shing is the richest man in Hong Kong and owner of one of the largest port operating companies in the world, but he is also well-known for his political shyness. He seldom speaks publicly and almost never gives his personal political views. He also doesn't support any particular cause financially. His main ambition is a successful transition of ownership of his vast empire to his son.
Quote from: Monoriu on November 12, 2009, 05:51:31 AM
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on November 12, 2009, 05:44:55 AM
They gave money too much weight imo. Berkshire Hathaway and Telmex don't have Security Council vetoes.
:yes: Li Ka Shing is the richest man in Hong Kong and owner of one of the largest port operating companies in the world, but he is also well-known for his political shyness. He seldom speaks publicly and almost never gives his personal political views. He also doesn't support any particular cause financially. His main ambition is a successful transition of ownership of his vast empire to his son.
That really doesn't fit with their explanation:
Quote
Lastly, we insisted that our choices actively use their power. Ingvar Kamprad, the 83-year-old entrepreneur behind Ikea and the richest man in Europe, was an early candidate for this list, but was excluded because he doesn't exercise his power. On the other hand, Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin (No. 3) scored points because he likes to throw his weight around by jailing oligarchs, invading neighboring countries and periodically cutting off Western Europe's supply of natural gas.
Quote from: The Larch on November 12, 2009, 06:21:36 AM
That really doesn't fit with their explanation:
Quote
Lastly, we insisted that our choices actively use their power. Ingvar Kamprad, the 83-year-old entrepreneur behind Ikea and the richest man in Europe, was an early candidate for this list, but was excluded because he doesn't exercise his power. On the other hand, Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin (No. 3) scored points because he likes to throw his weight around by jailing oligarchs, invading neighboring countries and periodically cutting off Western Europe's supply of natural gas.
Wiki states he's a noted philanthropist who has pledged to donate over $10 billion
What are the founders of Google doing so high up? What "power" do they really have?
Quote from: Warspite on November 12, 2009, 06:45:30 AM
What are the founders of Google doing so high up? What "power" do they really have?
They can change reality? :D
Merkel and Sakorzy lower than Berlusconi is a joke :lmfao:
No one in their right mind gives Silvio ANY credit.
V
Quote from: Warspite on November 12, 2009, 06:45:30 AM
What are the founders of Google doing so high up? What "power" do they really have?
They own Data on all of us. A fuck ton of data.
Quote from: Valdemar on November 12, 2009, 07:12:57 AM
Quote from: Warspite on November 12, 2009, 06:45:30 AM
What are the founders of Google doing so high up? What "power" do they really have?
They can change reality? :D
Merkel and Sakorzy lower than Berlusconi is a joke :lmfao:
No one in their right mind gives Silvio ANY credit.
V
He does rule one of the G8 and own major media companies inside it.
Quote37 Osama bin Laden Founder al-Qaeda 52
*snort*
Quote from: jimmy olsen on November 12, 2009, 08:12:19 AM
Quote from: Valdemar on November 12, 2009, 07:12:57 AM
Quote from: Warspite on November 12, 2009, 06:45:30 AM
What are the founders of Google doing so high up? What "power" do they really have?
They can change reality? :D
Merkel and Sakorzy lower than Berlusconi is a joke :lmfao:
No one in their right mind gives Silvio ANY credit.
V
He does rule one of the G8 and own major media companies inside it.
He owns Italian media, he doesn't hold any important seats.. I refer you to the other Euro replies.. NOONE here gives him any credit outside Italy :)
V
Quote from: jimmy olsen on November 12, 2009, 08:12:19 AM
Quote from: Valdemar on November 12, 2009, 07:12:57 AM
Quote from: Warspite on November 12, 2009, 06:45:30 AM
What are the founders of Google doing so high up? What "power" do they really have?
They can change reality? :D
Merkel and Sakorzy lower than Berlusconi is a joke :lmfao:
No one in their right mind gives Silvio ANY credit.
V
He does rule one of the G8 and own major media companies inside it.
Sure, he's a powerful man, but no way in hell he's the most powerful person in the EU, ahead of Merkel, Brown, Sarkozy or Barroso, who isn't even on the list and definitely should.
Quote from: The Larch on November 12, 2009, 08:46:17 AM
Quote from: jimmy olsen on November 12, 2009, 08:12:19 AM
He does rule one of the G8 and own major media companies inside it.
Sure, he's a powerful man, but no way in hell he's the most powerful person in the EU, ahead of Merkel, Brown, Sarkozy or Barroso, who isn't even on the list and definitely should.
I agree with Larch.. it seems the list is very preoccupied with dollar and US power ideals, certainly no one would put Silvio on such a list in EU :)
V
I think the issue is position vs. person.
The Dalai Lama is the current Dalai Lama. The position is of course weaker than the president of France but he has had it for ages whilst Sarkozy is just the guy temporarily in the French president seat.
Silvio should be on it though. He does have quite the buisness empire. Italy's poltiical position is middling at best but Brown, Merkel et al don't have the extras Sconiboy does.
:huh: Ka Shing? Did he pick the name before or after making his fortune?
Quote from: Grey Fox on November 12, 2009, 08:11:47 AM
Quote from: Warspite on November 12, 2009, 06:45:30 AM
What are the founders of Google doing so high up? What "power" do they really have?
They own Data on all of us. A fuck ton of data.
Yes, and?
What are they going to do? Use our search terms "Vista BSOD problem overheating" against us?
As long as Lore is still free we're OK.
Quote
42 Igor Sechin Deputy Prime Minister Russia 49
43 Dmitry Medvedev President Russia 44
I like the way the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia outranks the President.
The fucktard heading the world's soccer organisation has more power than Sarkozy? Hmm. Maybe the guy who wrote that list is full of shit.
The primary tool of the International Jewish Conspiracy is only #4? List fail.
Quote from: Zanza on November 12, 2009, 12:40:55 PM
The fucktard heading the world's soccer organisation has more power than Sarkozy? Hmm. Maybe the guy who wrote that list is full of shit.
WTF? I just noticed it, Blatter ahead of Sarkozy or Chávez? Madness.
Quote from: The Larch on November 12, 2009, 01:18:11 PM
Quote from: Zanza on November 12, 2009, 12:40:55 PM
The fucktard heading the world's soccer organisation has more power than Sarkozy? Hmm. Maybe the guy who wrote that list is full of shit.
WTF? I just noticed it, Blatter ahead of Sarkozy or Chávez? Madness.
Yes, and we can therefore conclude the authors of this report are not very well acquainted with European politics.
Quote from: Warspite on November 12, 2009, 01:34:20 PM
Yes, and we can therefore conclude the authors of this report are not very well acquainted with European politics.
Or reality.
:lmfao:
There is a Portuguese on the list, so it's obviously crap.
I could accept the presence of Barroso, but Guterres? What a laugh.
Quote from: Viking on November 12, 2009, 12:34:54 PM
Quote
42 Igor Sechin Deputy Prime Minister Russia 49
43 Dmitry Medvedev President Russia 44
I like the way the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia outranks the President.
It looks like a deliberate slight against Medved :lol:
I feel sorry Medvedev. He's like the Regent from Babylon 5, a decent man controlled by the evil faction.
Quote from: clandestino on November 12, 2009, 02:14:35 PM
:lmfao:
There is a Portuguese on the list, so it's obviously crap.
I could accept the presence of Barroso, but Guterres? What a laugh.
:lol:
I did not even see it... Guess dealing with refugees gives you power :D
What an inane project. They should have just filled those pages with Sudoku puzzles or knock-knock jokes or something more socially valuable.
What makes Bloomberg the 20th most powerful person in the world? It's not like there aren't 100s of other billionaires and being the mayor of a major metropolitan conglomoration is powerful in that region but does it really mean much outside of it? There are other big urban areas in the world and none of their mayors seem to be on it.
I concur with everyone else - this list is pretty damn silly.
Quote from: Jacob on November 12, 2009, 04:26:08 PM
What makes Bloomberg the 20th most powerful person in the world? It's not like there aren't 100s of other billionaires and being the mayor of a major metropolitan conglomoration is powerful in that region but does it really mean much outside of it? There are other big urban areas in the world and none of their mayors seem to be on it.
I concur with everyone else - this list is pretty damn silly.
Bloomberg demonstrated his prowess by overturning the basic democratic safeguards of the City of New York and getting himself a third vanity term, a feat not even Giuliani could manage. :rolleyes:
Quote from: Jacob on November 12, 2009, 04:26:08 PM
What makes Bloomberg the 20th most powerful person in the world? It's not like there aren't 100s of other billionaires and being the mayor of a major metropolitan conglomoration is powerful in that region but does it really mean much outside of it? There are other big urban areas in the world and none of their mayors seem to be on it.
I concur with everyone else - this list is pretty damn silly.
How many mayors are required to visit Israel regularly?
Quote from: DGuller on November 12, 2009, 04:30:02 PM
How many mayors are required to visit Israel regularly?
Excluding mayors of towns in the Levant and including Bloomburg, zero.
Quote from: Capetan Mihali on November 12, 2009, 04:29:21 PM
Bloomberg demonstrated his prowess by overturning a fundamental restraint on the right to vote for the candidate of one's choosing of the City of New York and getting himself a third vanity term
Fixed,
and thank god for it.
What a retarded list.
IMO this isn't a very useful list.
This list was probably created by people with real power, for the purposes of misdirection.
Quote from: Warspite on November 12, 2009, 06:45:30 AM
What are the founders of Google doing so high up? What "power" do they really have?
Everybody knows they'd be lower if they played in the PAC10.
Quote11 Pope Benedict XVI Pope Roman Catholic Church
The Pope? At 11? That's not even BCS eligible! :mad:
Quote from: CountDeMoney on November 12, 2009, 07:41:32 PM
Quote11 Pope Benedict XVI Pope Roman Catholic Church
The Pope? At 11? That's not even BCS eligible! :mad:
Charlie Weis is a lousy coach.
Quote from: Jacob on November 12, 2009, 04:26:08 PM
What makes Bloomberg the 20th most powerful person in the world? It's not like there aren't 100s of other billionaires and being the mayor of a major metropolitan conglomoration is powerful in that region but does it really mean much outside of it? There are other big urban areas in the world and none of their mayors seem to be on it.
I concur with everyone else - this list is pretty damn silly.
The same reason they voted Silvio so high, he's a media kingpin. As members of the media they value that very highly.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on November 12, 2009, 07:41:32 PM
Quote11 Pope Benedict XVI Pope Roman Catholic Church
The Pope? At 11? That's not even BCS eligible! :mad:
The pope would be ranked higher if you went to mass and voted for pro-life candidates. :P
Obama at #1? He isn't even the most powerful political figure in North America.
About the only power Obama has is the power to convince blacks to vote against gay rights. Not a bad power, but not great.
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on November 12, 2009, 08:10:34 PM
Quote from: CountDeMoney on November 12, 2009, 07:41:32 PM
Quote11 Pope Benedict XVI Pope Roman Catholic Church
The Pope? At 11? That's not even BCS eligible! :mad:
The pope would be ranked higher if you went to mass and voted for pro-life candidates. :P
If anything, they've massively overrated the Pope. Sure, the Pope has the power to run his mouth, but nobody cares what he says anymore. His followers lack fervency.
Quote from: DisturbedPervert on November 12, 2009, 06:32:23 AM
Quote from: The Larch on November 12, 2009, 06:21:36 AM
That really doesn't fit with their explanation:
Quote
Lastly, we insisted that our choices actively use their power. Ingvar Kamprad, the 83-year-old entrepreneur behind Ikea and the richest man in Europe, was an early candidate for this list, but was excluded because he doesn't exercise his power. On the other hand, Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin (No. 3) scored points because he likes to throw his weight around by jailing oligarchs, invading neighboring countries and periodically cutting off Western Europe's supply of natural gas.
Wiki states he's a noted philanthropist who has pledged to donate over $10 billion
He doesn't give his billions to a single cause. He breaks the money up into small chunks. That fits his style of not getting noticed too much.
Quote from: The Minsky Moment on November 12, 2009, 05:28:41 PM
Quote from: Capetan Mihali on November 12, 2009, 04:29:21 PM
Bloomberg demonstrated his prowess by overturning a fundamental restraint on the right to vote for the candidate of one's choosing of the City of New York and getting himself a third vanity term
Fixed,
and thank god for it.
God knows term limits are such a fascist principle in action. Koch was sufficient.