Forbes has published its first list of The World's Most Powerful People, including politicians as well as businessmen, financiers, spiritual leaders and even TV hosts. Russia has three representatives on the list: Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, President Dmitry Medvedev and Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, who was rated above the president.
Forbes journalists took into account a person's influence, control of financial resources, ability to project power beyond one's immediate sphere of influence and how actively one wields power.
US President Barack Obama topped the list, followed by President of the People's Republic of China Hu Jintao. The world's third most powerful person was Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. President of the POLYTI Foundation Vyacheslav Nikonov was not surprised by the rating: "Vladimir Putin seems a strong political figure against the European leaders." The Prime Minister has become as familiar abroad as in Russia over the past nine years.
The rating assumed all the cliches about Russia. Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, who is responsible for the fuel and energy industry, was rated 42nd, higher than President Dmitry Medvedev in 43rd place. Meanwhile, it is the Kremlin that is the architect of Russia's future, and the government that is actually building it.
Vyacheslav Nikonov believes that the Forbes rating reflects a certain stereotype that Western journalists have about the Russian system of governance. The one who is in charge of natural resources, first of all, of oil and gas, is more influential than the one who steers domestic policy.
The Forbes rating relating to the United States is far more logical. It is clear that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, rated 17th, has more influence now than her husband Bill Clinton, rated 31st. Nevertheless, US ex-president is perceived by the public as having more power than his successor George W. Bush, who is not on the list at all.
Businessmen were rated according to their frequency of appearance in the media. Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page with their 5th place were rated the highest among representatives of the world economy. American banking and investment circles turned out to be rather influential as well: Goldman Sachs' CEO Lloyd Blankfein, rated 18th, and Morgan Stanley's CEO James Dimon, rated 30th, were in the top half of the list. Billionaire Warren Buffett was rated 14th, higher than German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The rating's authors understand that it reflects some of the publisher's partiality and invite everybody to discuss it. And there are things to be discussed. For example, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was rated below Mexican drug baron Joaquin Guzman and American TV hostess Oprah Winfrey was ranked higher than IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, rated 67th, was at the bottom of the list.
POWERS THAT BE
1. Barack Obama
2. Hu Jintao
3. Vladimir Putin
4. Ben Bernanke
5. Sergey Brin, Larry Page
12. Silvio Berlusconi
17. Hillary Clinton
42. Igor Sechin
43. Dmitry Medvedev
56. Nicolas Sarkozy
67. Hugo Chavez
Source: Forbes
Konstantin Poltev