The World's Most Powerful People 2013

Forbes Magazine recently released their compilation of the world's most powerful people. This year's vote goes to the Russian President Vladimir Putin who solidified his control over Russia. 

US President Barack Obama on the other hand who topped the list for every year with the exception of 2010 when former political and military leader of China Hu Jintao became the number one, drops at number two. The causes of his failure in retaining the number one spot were all attributed to the government shutdown mess, the chess match over Syria and NSA leaks that fueled anger from U.S. allies.

The Most Powerful People in the World list represents the collective wisdom of top FORBES editors, who consider hundreds of nominees before ranking the planet’s top 72 power-brokers – one for every 100 million people on Earth — based on their scope of influence and their financial resources relative to their peers. In short:

* number of people they control

* amount of money they control

* spheres of influence they control

The World’s 10 Most Powerful People

1. Vladimir Putin - President of Russia

2. Barack Obama - President of the United States of America

3. Xi Jinping - General Secretary of the Communist Party of China

4. Pope Francis - Roman Catholic (Vatican City)

5. Angela Merkel - Chancellor of Germany

6. Bill Gates - Co-founder of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

7. Ben Bernanke - Chairman of U.S.  Federal Reserve

8. King Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud - King of Saudi Arabia

9. Mario Draghi - Cheif Banker of the European Central Bank

10. Michael Duke - CEO of Walmart