The most influential people in the world: top, ratings. List of the most influential people in the world

Who rules our world today? Who has an influence on everything that happens on a global scale? The most influential people in the world - who are they? In our article, we will answer this question by presenting estimates of two authoritative world publications.

Forbes Magazine Version: The Most Influential People in the World

One of the most respected business magazines on the planet recently presented its traditional list of "powers that be." Who are they - the most influential people in the world? “Forbes” was able to answer this difficult question.

In 2014, Forbes magazine included 72 people on its list. Among them are not only politicians and presidents, but also businessmen, social activists and celebrities. It is these 72 individuals, according to the publication, who are currently able to rotate the "wheel of history".

Interestingly, in 2014 even criminals were on the list of the most influential people in the world. So, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the caliph of the Islamic state recognized by the world community as terrorist, took the 54th line in the ranking.

Forbes last year was headed by Vladimir Putin, who, by the way, held the same position in 2013. According to an authoritative magazine, Vladimir Vladimirovich today occupies a significant place on the world stage. Just one line to the Russian leader was lost by the president of another superpower - Barack Obama. Well, in the third place of honor is another ruler - Xi Jinping, the leader of China.

It is interesting to note the fact that in 2014 the magazine included three more Russian citizens in its rating. They were Igor Sechin, Alexey Miller and Alisher Usmanov (42, 47 and 61 places, respectively).

The most influential people in the Forbes list of different ages. The oldest of them is the king of Saudi Arabia - Abdullah ibn Abdel-Aziz Al Saud, and the “youngest” is the odious Kim Jong-un - the leader of North Korea.

Below we suggest you familiarize yourself with the top ten ranking of the most influential people in 2014.

Forbes Magazine Rating: Evaluation Criteria

Forbes Magazine is a well-known and authoritative global publication of financial and economic topics. It dates back to 1917. Named after its founder, Bertie Charles Forbes. The main office of the publication is located in the heart of New York - on Fifth Avenue.

Forbes magazine selected personalities for its ranking of "most influential" according to four main criteria, namely:

• the total number of people influenced by a particular person;
• resources (primarily material) that the nominee has at a given time;
• the positions that the nominee occupies in a specific (his) field of activity.

In addition, regarding the powers that be, journalists and analysts of the publication included in the rating only those representatives who actively used the power provided to them.

Time magazine version: the most influential people in the world

Another well-known publication annually publishes its list of the most influential personalities. This is another American magazine - Time. Every year he presents to the public his hundred of the most influential personalities (since 1999).

An interesting feature of this magazine is that it does not rank its list from the first to the hundredth position. Last year, people from various walks of life appeared on the Time-100 list. These are politicians, religious leaders, researchers, entrepreneurs, athletes and creative individuals.

Like Forbes Magazine, Time included in its 100 major players in the world’s geopolitical arena: Barack Obama, Vladimir Putin, Angela Merkel and Xi Jinping. The 2014 Time-100 list also includes Pope Francis. But the peculiarity of the magazine "Time" can be considered the presence on his list of pop singer Beyonce, as well as the Portuguese football player Cristiano Ronaldo. Why not? These people also have a very strong influence on the world, however, they do this with a microphone and a soccer ball.

"Time-100": some statistics

The most influential people in the world are selected by the Time publication with the help of a special commission consisting of scientists and professional analysts. At the same time, all selected personalities are divided into five groups. It:

• Leaders and revolutionaries.
• Tycoons.
• Figures of culture.
• The scientists.
• Idols and heroes.

This can explain the presence of a significant number of musicians, athletes, writers or artists in the Time 100 rankings. In turn, Forbes magazine focuses more on the economic and political spheres of life in world society. However, we all know very well that one book written by a man of genius can affect the world much more than dozens of politicians, presidents and prime ministers.

Among the well-known and influential personalities, the list of "Time 100" most often included: Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Clinton, Angela Merkel, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.

Vladimir Putin: a brief biography

For several years now, the President of Russia has not left the lists of the most influential people on the planet.

Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich - Russian, was born in 1952 in Leningrad. In the same city, he received his education by graduating from the Law Faculty of Leningrad State University. During his life he has already managed to work as the head of the Russian FSB, the chairman of the Government, and also the secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation. In May 2012, he sat down for the third time in the chair of the President of the country.

It is known that Putin is a fan of fishing, tales and works of Rudyard Kipling. He is also a master of sports in judo and sambo. Confidently stands on skates and skiing.

Barack Obama: A Short Biography

Barack Obama is primarily known for being the first black president of the United States. He has been in this post for a second term.

Barack Obama was born in 1961 on the sunny island of Oahu, in the city of Honolulu. He has two higher educations (Columbia and Harvard University). By profession - a lawyer. In 2005, he became a senator from the state of Illinois. This event can be considered the beginning of Obama's stellar political career.

Barack has a wife (Michelle) and two daughters. The current American president is also the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize (2009).

Pope Francis

Francis is the first non-European pope in over a 1000-year period. He was elected to this crucial post in 2013.

Born in the capital of Argentina in a poor family of railway workers (in 1936). By education - a chemical technologist. It is curious that in his youth, the future dad worked as a simple cleaner, as well as a “bouncer” in Buenos Aires nightclubs. Francis began his career as a priest only in the late 60s.

Pope Francis is best known for his rather progressive outlook on life. So, he was noted for sharp criticism towards those Catholic priests who do not want to baptize illegitimate babies.

Finally

The most influential people are those individuals who set the tone in world geopolitics, culture, and economics. We examined two ratings of the most influential personalities of the planet from authoritative world publications - Forbes and Time magazines. To agree or disagree with them is everyone’s personal business. However, it is worth remembering that “influential” does not always mean “most influential”. And therefore it is necessary to relate to such ratings with a certain amount of skepticism.