Forbes: President Putin continues to be the most powerful person in the world

Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to be honored by the prestigious American magazine Forbes as the most powerful person in the world in 2015.

The ranking results were just announced on November 4, marking the third consecutive year that the Russian leader has topped the list of the world's most powerful figures.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel came in second while US President Barack Obama dropped to third place.

This is the first time a US President has not been among the top two most powerful people in the world as voted by Forbes.

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: AFP/TTXVN

According to independent polls, the percentage of Russians supporting Mr. Putin this year reached 87%, the highest level in the past 6 years, despite the sanctions that the US and Western countries are applying to Russia, related to the crisis in Ukraine.

In addition, President Putin's decision to conduct airstrikes in Syria has helped strengthen Russia's influence abroad.

Forbes said that Mr. Putin is one of the few people in the world with enough power to do what he wants.

Right behind President Putin is German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Her ranking has increased 3 places compared to 2014.

According to Forbes, it is Ms. Merkel's pivotal role in the European Union (EU) and her strong decisions in dealing with the migration crisis and the debt crisis in Greece that helped the German female leader become the second most powerful person in the world in 2015.

Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama ranked only 3rd on this list, down one place compared to last year.

Forbes believes that as he enters the final year of his presidential term, Obama's influence is declining.

In addition, he is also facing a lot of pressure both domestically and internationally, and this also partly affects President Obama's decisions.

Among the top 10 most powerful people in the world this year announced by Forbes is Pope Francis in 4th place, followed by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

There are also new faces such as former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and billionaire Donald Trump, ranked 58th and 72nd respectively.

In this year's list of the 73 most powerful people in the world, there are 9 women and 64 men. They are heads of state, people who hold huge assets or people with great influence in a certain field./.

According to Vietnam+