Forbes Most Powerful People Of 2013 List, Who’s No. 1?

The Forbes Most Powerful People of 2013 list is out and while there are no real surprises in the top spots, the magazine’s pick of No. 1 is interesting.

The last two years, the President of the United States, Barack Obama, emerged as the undisputed name topping the list. However, as a sign of the times, 2013 sees Russian President Vladimir Putin in the number one spot.

Obama came in second place, followed by China’s General Secretary of the Communist Party, Xi Jinping. Taking the number four spot was the head of the Catholic Church, newly elected Pope Francis I, and rounding out the top five is German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Forbes puts this question to their readers:

“Who’s more powerful: the autocratic leader of a former superpower or the handcuffed commander in chief of the most dominant country in the world? ”

Obama has been challenged in a year marked by scandal after scandal in the US and internationally and Putin has taken advantage of it to establish his worldwide leadership.

“Putin has solidified his control over Russia while Obama’s lame duck period has seemingly set in earlier than usual for a two-term president — latest example: the government shutdown mess. Anyone watching this year’s chess match over Syria and NSA leaks has a clear idea of the shifting individual power dynamics.”

Putin also defied express wishes of the US leader, when he allowed NSA whistleblower Edward Snowdon to remain in Russia and avoid returning to the US to face charges related to the leaking of top secret information.

According to Forbes, the Most Powerful People list is “an annual snapshot of the heads of state, CEOs and financiers, philanthropists and NGO chiefs, billionaires, and entrepreneurs who truly rule the world.”

Among the 72 people who made the grade, this year’s list features 17 heads of state who run nations with a combined GDP of approximately $48 trillion, including the three most powerful people, Putin, Obama, and Xi Jinping.

Forbes revealed that the 27 CEOs who made this year’s list control over $3 trillion in annual revenues, and 12 are entrepreneurs, including new billionaires on the list, Nigeria’s Aliko Dangote (No. 64), and Oracle’s Larry Ellison (No. 58).

This is the first time that Vladimir Putin takes Forbes Most Powerful top spot and it also marks only the second time since 2009 that Barack Obama has not been No. 1.

The Forbes Annual Most Powerful List was instituted in 2009 an attempts to answer a complicated question: “What is the true nature of power and can we really compare and rank heads of state with religious figures and drug traffickers?”