Xi Jinping is the most powerful person in the world 2018
The Chinese president was voted the world's most powerful person for the first time by Forbes magazine this year.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping. Photo:SCMP. |
"There are nearly 7.5 billion people on Earth, but only 75 men and women changing the world. This year's annual Forbes World's Most Powerful People ranking singles out one person in every 100 million whose every move matters most," reads the Forbes post.May 8th
This year, Chinese President Xi Jinping overtook Russian President Putin to take the top spot, pushing him to second place after four consecutive years at the top. According to Forbes, the March constitutional amendment to remove presidential term limits has helped Xi expand his powers and influence, becoming the absolute ruler of China.
Putin is still very powerful because he was just elected and continues to lead Russia as president for the fourth time.After a year in office, US President Donald Trump has dropped to third place. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is ranked fourth, while French President Macron is ranked 12th.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ranked 36th, Indian Prime Minister Modi ranked 9th, South Korean President Moon Jae-in is a new name on this year's list, ranked 54th. Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong ranked 61st, Indonesian President Joko Widodo ranked 74th.
Forbes' list includes politicians, businessmen, spiritual leaders..., evaluated based on their influence on the community, personal assets, power to influence the number of people and in their own fields. Accordingly, Amazon retail group founder Jeff Bezos ranked 5th, Pope Francis, spiritual leader of more than one billion Catholics, ranked 6th; billionaire Bill Gates, founder of technology company Microsoft and the Bill & Melinda Foundation ranked 7th.
The 10 most powerful people in the world according to Forbes:
1. Chinese President Xi Jinping
2. Russian President Vladimir Putin
3. US President Donald Trump
4. German Chancellor Angela Merkel
5. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos
6. Pope Francis
7. Microsoft founder Bill Gates
8. Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud
9. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
10. Google founder Larry Page