Each year Forbes Magazine publishes its list of the most
powerful people in the world. They have
a methodology for their selections and the number of people they select. Each year they choose 1 powerful person for
every 100 million people. This year the
list is made up of 72 people.
This year there was a change at the top. In 2011 and 2012 President Barack Obama was
chosen as the most powerful person in the world. This year he has slipped to #2. He was replaced by the Russian President
Vladimir Putin. The one newcomer to the
list from 2012 is Pope Francis at the #4 position. The biggest climber in the top 10 is Xi
Jinping, the General Secretary of the Communist Party in China, who moved from
#9 in 2012 to #3 in 2013.
Below are the top 10 for 2013 and for 2012
2013
- 1. Vladimir Putin, President of Russia
- 2. Barack Obama, President of the United States of America
- 3. Xi Jinping, General Secretary, Communist Party, China
- 4. Pope Francis, Pope Roman Catholic Church
- 5. Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany
- 6. Bill Gates, Co-Chair of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
- 7. Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the US Federal Reserve
- 8. Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Saud, King of Saudi Arabia
- 9. Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank
- 10. Michael Duke, CEO Wal-mart
- 1. Barrack Obama, President of the United States
- 2. Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany
- 3. Vladimir Putin, President of Russia
- 4. Bill Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
- 5. Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Roman Catholic Church
- 6. Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve
- 7. Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Saud, King of Saudi Arabia
- 8. Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank
- 9. Xi Jinping, General Secretary Communist Party, China
- 10. David Cameron, Prime Minister, United Kingdom
The complete list can be found at: http://www.forbes.com/powerful-people/list/
What do you think about the changes to the top 10 from 2012
to 2013? Why do you think those changes
have occurred? What is your impression
of the people on the list? Based on what
you know about these people, who do you think Forbes evaluates power? Do you agree or not?
I think that those changes on the top ten are kind of surprising. The Russians are getting a lot more powerful and so are the Chinese, so I think that not only do they have the ability to completely neglect their people and they wouldn't be overthrown, but the President of the U.S. couldn't do that. I think that Forbes does evaluate the power because that is a big difference between a corrupt country and a healthy country.
ReplyDeleteI think that the changes are quite reasonable, I have taken notice that Putin is the only political figure outside of the us that has been taken notice to on social media sites and in a respectable way, with the bankers, store and company CEO's it boils down to economical power and the free enterprise market. And pope Francis I am glad he has risen to the fourth most powerful person because he appears to be the only pope in a while that has actually acted as Jesus would, thus people can no longer say "Well why should I be charitable if the catholic church has all that gold? They sure don't seem to be feeding the poor wit that." and instead are saying "Wow, the pope took all that gold and excess money and is using it to help those in need. And look! he is personally blessing people who go up to him, just like Jesus did."
ReplyDeleteFrom what I can tell is that these people's power is controlled by the amount of respect and attention people pay to them, and the accessibility to certain world changing actions as well as influence on others.
I think that some of them are expected, but some of them are very surprising. Pope Francis has been on the news a lot lately because of his different attitude about the way the Catholic Church should head, and I think it's only natural that he should be on that list. Putin has the whole of Russia under his control, so his placement is not surprising. The large jump that Xi Jinping made surprised me, and so did the placement of Michael Duke, the CEO of Walmart. My impression is naturally that they have a lot of power, and some have mountains of money to go along with that. They also must be fairly hardworking and have a talent for influencing the public. I think that each person that Forbes placed on the list was thought about a lot. I think that the spots made sense from what I know about those people.
ReplyDeleteFor the most part they are not surprising. I am not sure why the Walmart guy is on the list though. I guess that Obama moved to number two because it sounds like a lot of people don't like the Affordable Care Act. I'm not sure though. I think that the people on the list are important leaders from all over the world. But like I said earlier, the Walmart CEO makes no sense to me. I think the magazine evaluates power based on how many people they are in charge of and how much money they make. I would agree because now in days money does mean power (unfortunately).
ReplyDeletePersonally, I thought that the list was not too surprising. Bill Gates was the only one I did not expect. Sure, he has a lot of money, but he isn't the head of a huge military or country. However, I'm interested to see that China's leader was lower on the list in the last list. I think it's more realistic that he's in second place this year. Why did he jump from ninth to second? I don't know. I guess Forbes must evaluate power based on what kind of change they can make in the world. Bill Gates can change a lot of things. He has no army, but he can make a difference in some things.
ReplyDeleteI really can't say much about the changes, because to me they all look like leaders and kings of countries, which makes sense because those tend to be pretty powerful people. I think those changes have occurred because people gain and lose favor, so if people become less popular, then they obviously tend to lose power because the people could revolt, etc. etc., and vice versa. I think the people on the list make sense because Bill Gates is a pretty powerful person, since he is rich, and the Pope because he is the head of about 3 billion people world-wide. Therefore, I think the Forbes magazine bases it power on people who have a lot of people under them or are very rich and influential. I can't agree or disagree, because you can't really evaluate someone's power, since a lot of variables factor in. All in all, I'd say it was a pretty accurate as far as I can tell.
ReplyDeleteSome of the changes are surprising and some are not all that surprising. Those changes have occurred because of popularity, control, and power changes. I think it is somewhat accurate because it has kings, leaders, and very rich people. What I was surprised at was that the CEO of Walmart was on the list. I think Forbes bases his list on influence. I think this an accurate way to make the list because power is based on how much influence you have on people.
ReplyDeleteI think the changes are not too surprising. I expected President Obama to be farther down the list at like 4 or 5. I assume the changes are made on control, wealth, and popularity. I think that most of the people on the list are the ones people would choose if they could. I think most of these people only made it because they are very wealthy and powerful. I think Forbes list was thought out very well because most of the people on the list I would pick too.
ReplyDeleteI think that the changes made are very acceptable. I can see that President Putin would be very powerful, mainly because we don't know exactly how much power he contains; Russia is a very ominous country at this time. These lists have seemed to change based off the amount of income the person owns, but also amount of people's lives they have the ability to affect. I do agree with Forbes that some of the most powerful men are wealth; but there are also an amount of people that are not in the slightest way wealthy that have a superior amount of power. Thus I conclude that the definition of power is having the ability to change (whether it be positive or negative) the most people's lives.
ReplyDeleteI think that the changes in the top ten make sense. Russia is becoming a very powerful country and Putin should be at the top. My impression of the people is that they are usually leaders of countries or CEOs of really important companies. I think Forbes measures power by the amount of money someone has or how much influence they have on people. I do agree because if you can influence people you have a lot of power.
ReplyDeleteThe changes made are agreeable and make sense. Vladimir Putin is given a lot of power as a Russian President. Obama isn't given nearly as much power as Vladimir is. I think the people on the list are hardworking people who are wealthy and live successful lives. Forbes measure this by how much of a difference on the earth these people make and how much control they have over people. I agree with these standards.
ReplyDeleteI think the changes in the top ten are not suprising. many people on that list are becoming more and more powerful and therefore moving up the list. just as the Russian president and china's secretary are doing. but some people are moving down in the list and losing trust. The people on this list are hardworking and amazing people. (C.E.O's, presidents, kings etc.) I think Forbes magazine evaluates power because it can influence people in alot of different ways and i agree eith what they think.
ReplyDeleteI think the changes are not surprising at all. With all of the problem in our government i am not surprised that he was moved down a spot. With people getting stronger, just like Vladimir Putin and others rising to power we better stay sharp. My impression on these people are hard working, strong, and very dedicated people to there position in power. Yes, I think Forbes magazine does help people get power. It influence the people who read the magazine. I really like the people above and i hope they can stay in power for a while.
ReplyDeleteI don't really find the changes that surprising, and I think that they occurred because things came up just like they did in our country and that those changes determined where those people would be on the list. My impression of all the people is a good one and they are all good leaders and hardworking people. However, I don't know what to think about Vladimir Putin. I don't have anything against him and its not like he isn't hardworking or a good leader, but he just looks and seems like a scary man. I know that it could just be the American in me speaking, but there is just something about him that I can't put my finger on and so I don't really have an opinion on him. I think Forbes evaluates power based on how much influence and money a person has because with money, power usually follows close behind. Also when you influence people they tend to respect you, and powerful people are usually respected. I agree with the way Forbes evaluates power because most people don't just have power magically bestowed upon them, they have probably worked hard to be where they are today, and working hard can cause you to have influenced people while earning some money.
ReplyDeleteThe changes aren't that surprising. Obama's popularity has definitely decreased and Putin has worked had to get that title. A lot of people, even people that aren't Catholic, like Pope Francis. He has been using the media to convey his ideas and messages. I don't like some of the people on the list but I have to give credit where credit is due. They have all worked hare for their spot on that list. I think that they are all hard working dedicated people.I think that Forbes measured power with the number of people that they have under their power that would help them. The Presidents popularity has decreased so his power has gone down as well.I don't really agree with some of the people listed above as great leaders, but if their dedicated, think of others instead of themselves, and understand that they can't always be right they'll be wonderful people.
ReplyDeleteI think the changes for the top 10 are understandable. The president of Russia and U.S. are usually in either the first or second position. Most of the people one the list were leaders. The pope was put because lately he has been making major decisions and he also is the leader of around 1 billion people. I’m not surprised at all on the top ten most influential people on the list. If you think about it, Wal-Mart has spread recently too many countries, and it also sells a great variety of products. If power is based on how many people are influenced by the decisions that are made of those on the list, then these choices make more sense. I would have to agree Forbes; the more people who depend on you, the more lives in your hands. More lives depending on you = more power.
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised that Barack Obama became second. Because he has been losing support from some of his citizens. To tell you the truth, I don't really make a good impression on this, because I need to know more about these people. I think that Forbes can evaluate power because this is a powerful and educated magazine that has reasonable predictions so I think in a way it does give power. I think that Forbes evaluates power to Putin.
ReplyDeleteI think the top ten changes from 2012-> 2013 are reasonable changes that are probably accurate. These changes probably changed on how they have ruled what decisions they have made and how much money they have made. This comes together as what influence they ave made on the world.My impression on the list is that it is very accurate on what they are basing their charts on. I think they base their list of of how much money they make and how much power they have on society. I kind of agree with how they did it but I think it should have been based of of impact not power.
ReplyDeleteI think that changes in the top 10 are to be expected. America cannot be the lone country at the top. If we remained at the top we would become complacent. I think that Russia is beginning to surge beyond ourselves because of the large population of Russia. The president of Russia is given powers that our president does not and is president of far more people than America. China has also begun to move higher up in their power. I think these changes can be attributed to the ever changing society. Most of the people on the list are elected officials or people who have worked hard to earn their position. I think that Forbes measures power on much influence they have over a large group of people. I agree that the more people that you lead, the more influence and power you have.
ReplyDeleteI think the changes in the top 10 are interesting, but definitely understandable. Russia is such a huge nation, so of course their president would have tremendous amounts of power. The rest of the top 10 really didn't interest me. All of the people in it are either or both super wealthy/leaders. This list is very predictable. I think all of the changes on this list have occurred because other countries besides the U.S. are gainly more interest in areas such as the news because people are starting to be more affected by the different powerful people. Of course the list is going to shift every year; more people are under the influence of Putin than Obama right now. I think that is the criteria for Forbes magazine to be in the top 10: you have to have an extreme influence on the lives of others. All of these people do. One of the people that struck me the most was Bill Gates, and for a moment I didn't think this made sense. But the more I thought about it, Gates has such a powerful effect of the lives of others with his technology. Being rich doesn't hurt either when you pair it with being powerful. I agree with this list, even though I haven't heard of some of the people on it.
ReplyDeleteI find the changes between 2012 and 2013 very intriguing. I believe some of the changes that occurred are reasonable considering that Russia is way larger than the United States of America. Also it is very cool that the Pope got up there instead of Bill Gates because it makes way more sense considering that although Bill Gates has a lot of money and has that big company the Catholic church has so many members all around the world. Most of the changes have to do with how much more of an impact they set on more people than others. The people on the list were not as surprising as I thought they would be. Honestly the only one that surprised me was the secretary of the Communist Party but it was reasonable at the same time. Form what the list shows Forbes probably spent a lot of time evaluating each one taking knowledge of what I know about some of the people on the list.
ReplyDeleteIt took me a little bit of time to ponder on what I feel about the changes and now after my feelings of 2012 felt like an accurate way of possibly showing an image for who is considered a popular influence to now thinking that this list has some issues in the way some of these are decided. I mean I can sort of have a clear understanding on why the changes were made, but some of them just seem a little bit to inaccurate for me to believe. I mean just look at one example here; The Ceo of Wal-Mart is more powerful than the Prime Minister of the U.K. I mean some of these statistics just doesn't make any sense. But on other cases I can see clearly on how some of these were decided, but just some seem a little to outrageous and show Forbes bases this list (this is in my opinion) on only the control that people have in society but in my opinion it should be the role they play in to help in the world we are in today
ReplyDeleteI think the top ten changes are reasonable. I think Obama moved down from one to two because the Obama Care wasn't much appreciated by some. Although I don't know a lot about it so I am not in a place to judge. I understand why 9 of the ten people are on the list, but what I dont understand is why the CEO of Walmart is present. I mean I get that Walmart is a huge deal but I dont understand how he could have much power. I think Forbes determines the list by the people who are the most influencial, or most wealthy, and who can make the most changein the world.
ReplyDeleteThere was definitely a change between the most powerful people of 2012 and 2013. I was surprised that Bill Gates was on there. I don't think that just because he has a lot of money that he should be one of the most powerful people. These changes probably happened because more rulers of different countries have maybe taken more power into their hands.I definitely think that Forbes shouldn't be making this list because as the list showed, they put Bill Gates on the list. Forbes, as I hear, mostly talks about money and such. The list was pretty good and I agree with most of it.
ReplyDeleteThe changes made from 2012 to 2013 are very reasonable and accurate. Many people slipped down to lower positions because they didn't have a very big influence on people. Obama slipped down to number two maybe because of the Obama Care. His plan didn't make people very pleased with his decisions and nobody really got the feel that he is the number one leader and worthy of the most powerful person. Although, Obama may be number two he is still very powerful and has done smart things with his power. I think Forbes does a good job on making the list and really thinking through things. Power isn't all about money it takes leadership and the way people make an impact on people's lives. I agree with the people on the list that Forbes has settled with to be the most powerful people on earth.
ReplyDeleteI think that the changes are fair because most of the changes were slipped by one or two positions rather then a big margin away from each other, the changes included barrack Obama who was the 1st person on the list who slipped to 2nd and then Vladimir Plutin who was 3rd and now is 1st. I think all of these people belong on the list because they all are leaders that do something for our countries and have great power over a lot of people. I feel like Forbes bases power on firstly our world's true leaders, then our world's very wealthy people, and then our world's minor big leaders. I agree with how they put our world's leaders, but I don't think really wealthy people belong on the board because they don't lead our country, for example Bill Gates on the list.
ReplyDeleteI think that the lists were predictable for the mot part and not too surprising. I think that the changes in the lists were due to these leaders and people in our society making changes that large amounts of people did not agree with and causing them to become irritated and not agree with there teachings and/or opinions. I think that the people on this list are on there for mostly money not good deeds that thy do. I think that it should be changed to be that. I think that there is more to a person than just how much money they have or if they have the coolest stuff. It is there caricature and how thy use there gifts and talents to help the poor and needy.
ReplyDeleteI think that those changes are pretty accurate but I would say Vladimir Putin is not the most powerful, nut the most dangerous. I think these changes have occurred ether because of the economy or people are put out of office or they are not making the right decisions. My impression is not on who is on he list. but the list itself. Why do people have the need to put something like this together? It is disturbing to me that people actually care about who is on this list. Yes, our world is made from power and domination, but I don't believe that is what we should be focused on in today's world. I think Forbes evaluates power as to who is a 1st world country and to the poorer ones.
ReplyDeleteBut not nut*
DeleteWhat do you think about the changes to the top 10 from 2012 to 2013? Why do you think those changes have occurred? What is your impression of the people on the list? Based on what you know about these people, who do you think Forbes evaluates power? Do you agree or not?I
ReplyDeletethink that the changes made to the "Most Powerful People in the World" list shows our ever changing world and who we choose to view as a powerful person. I our world today the most well know and respected people have very a powerful way of, speaking, or explaining things. My thoughts on these people are that they are either
A. Vey controlling
B. Have lots on money
C. Are very respected.
I think Forbes evaluates people on the amount of money, control, and people they have. I do agree this is a good method of picking people.
I meant to take the first part off.
Delete
ReplyDeleteI do not know what to think about these changes. Walmart, for example, is a very strange thing to put as important. I don’t see why the CEO of Walmart is there. Other than that, the changes are definitely something to think about. Our very own president went from first to second, behind Vladmir Putin. My family have discussed these changes, and decided that he is the most dangerous, not powerful man. I guess his dangerousness helps him become powerful. I think that forbes evaluates power by how they affect others, and how others resond to them. The pope, for example. He is a very influential person, not just for us Catholics. I do agree with these changes, and maybe I should be up there. Hah just kidding. I like how these blog posts help us with educated opinions in real life. I’ve used a lot of information from technology and these blog posts to form educated opinions with other kids my age.
ReplyDeleteI think that the order of the top 10 seems like its not to out of line to me. To me some of the changes are obvious, they occurred because some people are just plain getting more and more powerful. My impress of some of the people on the list is that they are powerful and people look to them for advice. I would hope that when they are choosing the list Forbes would consider people that are not only wealthy but influential as well.
I think they are good and that they can each benefit from things so its not bad. Maybe because the person wasn't doing something right or the next person gained more power more skills. I don't know much about them really but they are good they seem like very well educated for one and very willing to do what they are told . Well the people who have the most expirince people who know what they are doing and people who know how to get the job done right. yes I do agree!!
ReplyDelete