PM Narendra Modi is ninth most powerful figure in Forbes list
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the ninth most powerful man in the world, according to Forbes magazine. He was ranked 15th in the list released last year.
In the list for 2015 released by the magazine, Russian President Vladimir Putin is ranked one once again, while German chancellor Angela Merkel jumps three spots since last year and is second. US President Barack Obama though has slipped a place and is third while Modi has broken into the top-10 of a list that is mostly dominated by heads of states.
The other political figures in the list are Chinese premier Xi Jinping (5th) and British PM David Cameron (8th). Among others, Pope Francis is the fourth most powerful while Microsoft’s Bill Gates is ranked sixth.
Forbes says it follows an intricate process to ascertain the most powerful people in the world. The magazine explains that hundreds of candidates from almost every sphere of life are examined before preparing the final list.