Modi ranked 9th in Forbes list of world’s most powerful people

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been ranked 9th among the 74 most powerful people in the world listed by Forbes. “Modi has raised his profile as a global leader in recent years during official visits with [United States President] Barack Obama and [Chinese Prime Minister] Xi Jinping,” said Forbes.

The magazine’s annual ranking of the World’s Most Powerful People has been topped by Russian President Vladimir Putin for a fourth consecutive year while US President-elect Donald Trump is at the second spot. German Chancellor Angela Merkel retained her position in third place.

Regarding Putin, Forbes said that the 64-year-old leader has been able to exert Russia’s influence globally and continues to “get what he wants”. However, Trump has made the biggest leap after being ranked 72nd last year.

“The biggest trend this year is likely the rise to power of Donald Trump as well as the increasing power of his supporters and allies,” the magazine’s contributing editor, David Ewalt, told The Guardian.

The other Indians on the list are Reliance Industries Chairperson Mukesh Ambani (38th) and Microsoft’s India-born Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella (51st).

The list also has Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Barack Obama, Apple CEO Tim Cook, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Among the new entries on the list are US vice-president-elect Mike Pence, Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman, Saudi Arabia Oil Minister Khalid al-Falih, British Prime Minister Theresa May and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The factors taken into consideration for the rankings include the number of people over whom a person has power, their financial resources, whether they have influence in more than one sphere, and how they use their power to change the world. “There are nearly 7.4 billion humans on planet Earth, but these 74 men and women make the world turn. Forbes’ annual ranking of the World’s Most Powerful People identifies one person out of every 100 million whose actions mean the most,” said Forbes.

Source: Scroll.in