NEW YORK: Russian President Vladimir Putin was the world’s most powerful person for a fourth straight year in 2016, Forbes magazine announced in its annual rankings.
He was followed by the United States President-elect Donald Trump.
“Russia’s president has exerted his country’s influence in nearly every corner of the globe,” the US business magazine wrote.
“The 64-year old Russian leader is “unconstrained by conventional global norms (and) his reach has magnified in recent years”,” Forbes said.
The magazine wrote that at number two, Trump, who was listed 72nd in Forbes’ 2015 power rankings, “has a seeming immunity to scandal, both houses of Congress on his side, and a personal net worth in the billions.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has been at the helm of Europe’s economic powerhouse for 11 years and announced plans to run for reelection next year, was placed at the third rank by the magazine.
Fourth place went to China’s President Xi Jinping, while the fifth spot on the list went to Pope Francis.
American President Barack Obama, who placed second in 2015, plummeted to 48th place this year as he waits out the final weeks of his presidency, with his Democratic Party ousted from the White House after Trump’s shock election win and out of power in Congress.