1. Vladimir Putin
President, Russia

Age: 61
Residence: Moscow, Russia
Country of Citizenship: Russia
Education: Doctor of Jurisprudence, Saint Petersburg State University
Marital Status: Married

Profile

This year’s snapshot of power puts the Russian President on top. Putin has solidified his control over Russia and anyone watching the chess match over Syria has a clear idea of the shift in the power towards Putin on the global stage. The ex-KGB strongman—who controls a nuclear-tipped army, a permanent seat on the UN Security Council and some of the world’s largest oil and gas reserves—is allowed to serve another six-year term, which could keep him in office until 2024. 

2. Barack Obama
President, United States

Age: 52
Residence: Washington, DC
Country of Citizenship: United States
Marital Status: Married
Children: 2

Profile

His signature legislation, Obamacare, is under fire, U.S. allies are outraged over NSA surveillance overseas and the government shutdown for 16 days in October begs the question: who’s in control here? It appears that President Obama’s lame duck period has set in earlier than usual for a two-term president, causing him to drop one notch from the No. 1 spot. To be sure, though, Obama remains in charge of the the most powerful nation in the world, with the largest, most innovative economy and the deadliest military.

3. Xi Jinping
General Secretary, Communist Party, China

Age: 60
Residence: Beijing, China
Country of Citizenship: China
Marital Status: Married

Profile

The 60-year-old Xi is the paramount political and military leader of China, ruling over 1.3 billion people (close to 20% of the world’s population). China owns some $1.3 trillion in U.S. securities, making it the largest shareholder of U.S. debt. There are 122 billionaires in the country, up from zero one decade ago. In addition to his title of general secretary of the Communist Party in China, Xi is also president of the People’s Republic of China and the chairman of the Central Military Commission.

3. Pope Francis
Pope, Roman Catholic Church

Age: 76
Residence: Vatican City, Vatican City State
Country of Citizenship: Argentina

Profile

The March 2013 election of Pope Francis has breathed new energy into the world’s largest religion with 1.2 billion followers. The first Jesuit and Latin American Bishop of Rome preaches compassion for the poor and a greater role for women while signaling the church to quiet its focus on «only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptives.» He has embraced social media, regularly using Twitter to dispense religious advice to his 3-plus million followers and is responsible for the world’s first papal «selfie.» Born in Buenos Aires as one of five children to an Italian immigrant railway worker, Pope Francis (né Jorge Mario Bergoglio) cheers Argentina’s San Lorenzo de Almagro soccer club.

4. Angela Merkel
Chancellor, Germany

Age: 59
Residence: Berlin, GermanyCountry of Citizenship: Germany
Education: Master of Science, Leipzig University; 
Doctorate, Leipzig University
Marital Status: Married

Profile

The world’s most powerful woman is the backbone of the 27-member European Union and carries the fate of the euro on her shoulders. Fresh off a commanding reelection in September 2013, she has served as ­Chancellor of Germany since 2005; the first woman in the position. Merkel has earned the top spot on the FORBES list of Most Powerful Women In The World for eight of the past 10 years.

5. Bill Gates
Co-Chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Age: 58
Source of Wealth: Microsoft, self-made
Residence: Medina, WA
Country of Citizenship: United States
Education: Drop Out, Harvard University
Marital Status: Married
Children: 3

Profile

Bill Gates is the wealthiest man in the U.S. (and the world, for that matter), despite past gifts of more than $28 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He bolstered his foundation’s efforts to eradicate polio in April, securing $335 million in pledges to the cause from six billionaire comrades, including $100 million each from Mexico’s Carlos Slim and New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg. Shares of Microsoft jumped in late August on news that Steve Ballmer will step down as CEO; Gates will remain chairman of the software company. He and Warren Buffett have thus far convinced over 100 of the super rich to sign on to the Giving Pledge, a promise to donate at least half one’s net worth to charity.

6. Ben Bernanke
Chairman, Federal Reserve, United States

Age: 59
Residence: Washington, DC
Country of Citizenship: United States
Education: Doctorate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Bachelor of Arts / Science, Harvard University
Marital Status: Married
Children: 2

Profile

Big Ben is stepping down when he term ends in January 2014, and Janet Yellen has been nominated to lead the Fed next year. Bernanke has steered the Fed during some of the biggest financial challenges since the Depression. The former Princeton professor is credited with helping avert a global economic meltdown during late 2000’s, and jump-starting a still-moderate U.S. recovery. The American economy’s «adult in the room» has said that there is only so much the Fed can do; politicians are the ones with the power to keep us from going over a fiscal cliff.

7. Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud
King, Saudi Arabia

Age: 89
Residence: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Country of Citizenship: Saudi Arabia
Marital Status: Married
Children: 22

Profile

Saudi Arabia’s aging monarch holds the keys to Islam’s two holiest sites and the world’s second largest crude oil deposit of some 265 billion barrels, amounting to about 18% of global reserves. The Kingdom boasts a $727 billion GDP, putting it in the top 20 richest countries worldwide. But with 50% of its population under 25, and more than a quarter of those youths out of work, the king has pushed $130 billion at unemployment funds and housing projects in recent years.

8. Mario Draghi
President, European Central Bank

Age: 66
Residence: Rome, Italy
Country of Citizenship: Italy
Education: Doctorate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Marital Status: Married
Children: 2

Profile

As chief banker of the world’s largest ­currency area—the euro zone’s collective GDP is now nearly $17 trillion—Draghi faces the Herculean task of trying to maintain financial unity across 17 countries. But if anyone can wrangle the interests of nations as diverse as Germany and Greece, it might be the man who navigated the minefield of Italian politics so deftly that he earned himself a nickname: «Super Mario.»

9. Michael Duke
CEO, Wal-Mart Stores

Age: 63
Residence: Rogers, AR
Country of Citizenship: United States
Marital Status: Married
Children: 3

Profile

Chief of the world’s No. 1 retailer (just under $470 billion in sales in 2012) and biggest private employer (2.2 million employees). Wal-Mart can make or break a company simply by deciding to stock its product.

10. David Cameron
Prime Minister, United Kingdom

Age: 47
Residence: London, United Kingdom
Country of Citizenship: United Kingdom
Education: Master of Science, Oxford University
Marital Status: Married
Children: 4

Profile

The Conservative PM guides the world’s sixth largest economy. He has recently been criticized for a flip-flop approach to green taxes after he pledged to slash household energy bills. The Oxford graduate and descendent of King William IV (1830-1837) has fired at the Guardian newspapers and NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden for «making it a lot more difficult to keep our countries and our citizens safe.» He has two years to galvanize the Tories ahead of a 2015 general election.

11. Carlos Slim Helu & family 
Honorary Chairman, América Móvil

Age: 73
Source of Wealth: telecom, self-made
Residence: Mexico City, Mexico
Country of Citizenship: Mexico
Education: Bachelor of Arts / Science, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico
Marital Status: Widowed
Children: 6

Profile

Carlos Slim Helu holds the title of the world’s second richest man (net worth $69 billion), having lost the world’s richest spot to Bill Gates in May. The biggest chunk of Slim’s fortune lies in telecom. He also owns mining, financial, industrial and real estate companies, plus a stake in the New York Times. In 2012 he added soccer to the mix, buying into Mexico’s Leon and Pachuca clubs and Spain’s Real Oviedo. In February, Slim and Bill Gates announced they were funding research to reduce hunger and support innovation for farmers in the developing world.

12. Warren Buffett
CEO, Berkshire Hathaway

Age: 83
Source of Wealth: Berkshire Hathaway, self-made
Residence: Omaha, NE
Country of Citizenship: United States
Education: Bachelor of Arts / Science, University of Nebraska Lincoln; Master of Science, Columbia University
Marital Status: Widowed, Remarried
Children: 3

Profile

Neither age nor prostate cancer slows Warren Buffett down: a year after completing radiation treatment, the world’s fourth richest man ($58.5 billion) is still doing huge deals. His Berkshire Hathaway teamed up with 3G Capital to pick up iconic ketchup maker H.J. Heinz for $23.2 billion and a Berkshire subsidiary is buying Nevada’s NV Energy for $5.6 billion. He gave away another $2 billion of Berkshire stock to the Gates Foundation in July, bringing his lifetime giving to nearly $20 billion.

13. Li Keqiang
Premier, China

Age: 58
Country of Citizenship: China
Education: Doctorate, Peking University; Bachelor of Arts / Science, Peking University
Marital Status: Married

Profile

Despite being a communist party loyalist, Keqiang has been credited with economic liberalism and a push for reforms such as greater market access and support for smaller businesses.

14. Jeff Bezos 
CEO, Amazon.com

Age: 49
Source of Wealth: Amazon.com, self-made
Residence: Seattle, WA
Country of Citizenship: United States
Education: Bachelor of Arts / Science, Princeton University
Marital Status: Married
Children: 4

Profile

It’s difficult to imagine what the profitable side of the Internet would look like without Bezos. The billionaire founder of Amazon, which saw $61 billion in sales last year, is a veteran disruptor in the book, online retail and tablet industries, and now has his sights on fashion, video streaming and old media. This summer he bought The Washington Post for $250 million.

15. Rex Tillerson
CEO, Exxon Mobil

Age: 61
Residence: Irving, TX
Country of Citizenship: United States
Marital Status: Married
Children: 4

Profile

The ExxonMobil CEO led the company to $44.9 billion in profits last year. Exxon remains the largest non-state oil and gas producer in the world, with operations on six continents, but it dropped from No. 1 to No. 5 largest company on the 2013 Forbes Global 2000. In September Tillerson penned an op-ed defending the Common Core teaching standards for grades K-12, stating, «To abandon the standards is to endanger America’s ability to create the technologies that change the world for the better.»

16. Sergey Brin 
Cofounder, Director Of Special Projects, Google

Age: 40
Source of Wealth: Google, self-made
Residence: Los Altos, CA
Country of Citizenship: United States
Education: Bachelor of Arts / Science, University of Maryland, College Park; Master of Science, Stanford University
Marital Status: Separated
Children: 2

Profile

The cofounders of Google still operate as a power duo. Page runs the search giant and has been kept busy this year deflecting accusations that Google supplied the U.S. government with users’ data, while Brin helms the futuristic Google X division, developing Glass and driverless cars. Together, the two made over $400 million in charitable donations last year.

17. Larry Page
CEO, Google

Age: 40
Source of Wealth: Google, self-made
Residence: Palo Alto, CA
Country of Citizenship: United States
Education: Bachelor of Arts / Science, University of Michigan; Master of Science, Stanford University
Мarital Status: Married
Children: 1

Profile

The cofounders of Google still operate as a power duo. Page runs the search giant and has been kept busy this year deflecting accusations that Google supplied the U.S. government with users’ data, while Brin helms the futuristic Google X division, developing Glass and driverless cars. Together, the two made over $400 million in charitable donations last year.

18. Francois Hollande
President, France

Age: 59
Residence: Paris, France
Сountry of Citizenship: France
Education: HEC Paris; Ecole Nationale d»Administration
Marital Status: In Relationship
Children: 4

Profile

France’s first Socialist Party president in two decades, Hollande has faced tough financial times leading Europe’s No. 2 economy. His approval rating reached a new low of 23% in October following his handling of a highly-publicized deportation case — the lowest of any French president in 20 years. Hollande recently criticized President Obama after it emerged that the NSA had intercepted millions of French phone calls and texts, including 70 million in a single month

19. Timothy Cook
CEO, Apple

Age: 53
Residence: Cupertino, CA
Country of Citizenship: United States
Education: Master of Business Administration, Duke University

Profile

Apple is not only the most valuable company in the world but a bigger-than-ever player in design, technology, publishing, Hollywood and music. At Cook’s request, his bonus will now be tied to company stock performance. The Apple CEO’s pay was $4.2 million in 2012.

20. Dilma Rousseff
President, Brazil

Age: 65
Residence: Brasilia, Brazil
Country of Citizenship: Brazil
Education: Bachelor of Arts / Science, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul
Marital Status: Divorced
Children: 1

Profile

One of the world’s most powerful women, Rousseff is more than halfway through her term as president of Brazil, the world’s seventh-largest national economy with a GDP of nearly $2.4 trillion. The country is hosting the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games in 2016. Rousseff criticized the U.S. for spying during her opening speech at the UN General Assembly this fall and cancelled a state visit over reports that the National Security Agency was intercepting her emails.

21. Sonia Gandhi
President, Indian National Congress, India

Age: 66
Residence: New Delhi, India
Country of Citizenship: India
Marital Status: Widowed
Children: 2

Profile

As president of the Indian National Congress, Gandhi heads the ruling political party of the world’s second largest population. Rumors persist of a rift between her and soft-spoken Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, with many expecting Singh to leave office before the 2014 general elections. Son Rahul, heir apparent in the nation’s most famous political dynasty, recently snubbed Singh publicly.

22. Jamie Dimon
СEO, JPMorgan Chase

Age: 57
Residence: New York, NY
Country of Citizenship: United States
Education: Master of Business Administration, Harvard Business School
Marital Status: Married
Children: 3

Profile

Since taking the reins in 2005, Dimon shepherded the $2.3 trillion in assets company through the global financial crisis and on to fiscal 2012 profits of $21.3 billion.

23. Ali Hoseini-Khamenei
Grand Ayatollah, Iran

Age: 74
Residence: Tehran, Iran
Country of Citizenship: Iran

Profile

Iran’s Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution presides over the nation’s civil and religious business. The America-hating, nuke-hungry country’s top decision maker welcomed a new, supposedly more moderate president, Hassan Rouhani, a contrast in character from his bombastic predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

24. Mark Zuckerberg
Cofounder, Chairman and CEO, Facebook

Age: 29
Source of Wealth: Facebook, self-made
Residence: Palo Alto, CA
Country of Citizenship: United States
Education: Drop Out, Harvard University
Marital Status: Married

Profile

The hoodie-wearing CEO has over one billion «friends» but he’s expanding his influence with lobbying group FWD.us, which advocates for immigration reform and technology education. Zuckerberg donated 18 million Facebook shares, worth $500 million at the time, to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation in December 2012 for education initiatives.

25. Jeffrey Immelt
CEO, General Electric 

Age: 57
Residence: Fairfield, CT
Country of Citizenship: United States
Education: Master of Business Administration, Harvard Business School
Marital Status: Married
Children: 1

Profile

As head of the fourth-largest company in the world, Immelt oversees one of the most diverse businesses on the planet: GE produces aircraft engines, lightbulbs, amusement parks, medical ­devices and much more. A second-generation GE employee, Immelt also serves as head of the President’s Council on Jobs & Competitiveness. 

26. Benjamin Netanyahu
Рrime Minister, Israel

Age: 64
Residence: Jerusalem, Israel
Country of Citizenship: Israel
Education: Master of Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Bachelor of Arts / Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Marital Status: Married
Children: 3

Profile

Though Netanyahu presides over just 8 million people, he leads one of the world’s most religiously and geopolitically fraught nations. PM of Israel since 2009, with a lengthy political career prior to that, Netanyahu is a central player in nearly every Middle Eastern crisis.

27. Lloyd Blankfein
CEO, Goldman Sachs Group

Age: 59
Residence: New York, NY
Country of Citizenship: United States
Education: Bachelor of Arts / Science, Harvard University; Doctor of Jurisprudence, Harvard University
Marital Status: Married
Сhildren: 3

Profile

Blankfein’s indomitable investment bank, with $938 billion in assets, had some rough spots this past year, including an electronic trading error that flooded the U.S. options market with unintended orders.

28. Manmohan Singh
Prime Minister, India

Age: 81
Residence: New Delhi, India
Country of Citizenship: India
Marital Status: Married
Children: 3

Profile

Indian PM Singh is an Oxford- and Cambridge-educated economist credited with shaping India’s economic and social welfare reforms. Singh’s quiet intellectualism renders him a timid public figure. Indian National Congress VP Rahul Gandi recently criticized Singh over an ordinance to protect convicted lawmakers, calling it «complete nonsense.» Rumor has it Singh will soon resign.

29. Michael Bloomberg
Mayor, New York City, United States

Age: 71
Source of Wealth: Bloomberg LP, self-made
Residence: New York, NY
Country of Citizenship: United States
Education: Bachelor of Arts / Science, Johns Hopkins University; Master of Business Administration, Harvard Business School
Marital Status: In Relationship
Children: 2

Profile

The world’s richest mayor Michael Bloomberg relinquishes control of New York City in December, after 12 years shaping everything in the Big Apple. As he exits, Bloomberg has taken steps to extend his political influence into the national debate around gun control. That influence is better financed than ever, with his personal fortune up $6 billion since last year, thanks to the performance of Bloomberg LP, the financial data firm he founded in 1982. He owns 88% of the company, which generated $7.9 billion in 2012 revenues. His lifetime philanthropic giving has reached $2.8 billion, including his recent $100 million pledge to the Gates Foundation to help fellow billionaire Bill Gates eradicate polio.

30. Li Ka-shing
Chairman, Hutchison Whampoa

Age: 85
Source of Wealth: diversified, self-made
Residence: Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Country of Citizenship: Hong Kong
Education: Drop Out, High School
Marital Status: Widowed
Children: 2

Profile

The Hong Kong magnate is the richest man in Asia. «Superman’s» empire spans 260,000 employees in 52 countries, and shares in his largest holdings jumped in the past year, adding $5.5 billion to his fortune. His private tech investment company, steered by his partner Solina Chau, was an early-in to Facebook, Skype and Spotify. He’s also generous — lifetime donations make him one of the biggest philanthropists in Asia. The octogenarian has lined up his eldest son Victor to take over management and control of his publicly traded assets.

31. Charles Koch
CEO, Koch Industries

Age: 78
Source of Wealth: diversified, inherited and growing
Residence: Wichita, KS
Country of Citizenship: United States
Education: Master of Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Bachelor of Arts / Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Marital Status: Married
Children: 2

Profile

The world’s richest brothers head the nation’s second biggest private company with $115 billion in sales. Koch Industries owns firms that are involved in refinery, chemicals and financial trading, among many others. They’re well known as megadonors for their conservative and libertarian political agenda and to the arts and medicine, including Lincoln Center and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

31. David Koch
Executive Vice President, Koch Industries

Age: 73
Source of Wealth: diversified, inherited and growing
Residence: New York, NY
Country of Citizenship: United States
Education: Master of Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Bachelor of Arts / Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Marital Status: Married
Children: 3

Profile

The world’s richest brothers head the nation’s second biggest private company with $115 billion in sales. Koch Industries owns firms that are involved in refinery, chemicals and financial trading, among many others. They’re well known as megadonors for their conservative and libertarian political agenda and to the arts and medicine, including Lincoln Center and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

32. Ban Ki-moon
Secretary-General, United Nations

Age: 69
Residence: Geneva, Switzerland
Country of Citizenship: South Korea
Education: Master of Arts, Harvard University
Marital Status: Married
Children: 3

Profile

As Secretary General of the 193-member international organization, South Korean Ban has helped strengthened the UN’s peacekeeping efforts, philanthropic ventures and worldwide hunger initiatives. Now in his second term, the measured and conservative Ban will head up the organization through 2016. Within the UN itself, the Secretary-General has increased the number of women in senior management positions by more than 40% — the highest level in the organization’s history. In July 2013, Ban derecognized the UN’s staff unions, which represent 65,000 employees. Ban recently declared the use of poison sarin gas in Syria a war crime.

33. Rupert Murdoch
Chairman and CEO, News Corp

Age: 82
Source of Wealth: media, self-made
Residence: New York, NY
Country of Citizenship: United States
Education: Bachelor of Arts / Science, Oxford University; Master of Arts, Oxford University
Marital Status: Divorced
Children: 6

Profile

At 82, Murdoch’s not afraid of new beginnings. 2013 saw the divide his News Corp. media and entertainment empire into two unequal parts: a big one consisting mainly of TV and film properties (21st Century Fox) and a smaller one for newspaper and book publishing (News Corp.). Murdoch also made a split in his personal life, filing for divorce from third wife Wendi. His net worth has climbed $4 billion over the past year as a result of 50% jump in 21st Century Fox stock.

34. Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan
President, United Arab Emirates

Age: 65
Residence: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Country of Citizenship: United Arab Emirates

Profile

As hereditary ruler of U.A.E. capital Abu Dhabi, Al-Nahyan is head of the country’s richest emirate and is one of the world’s wealthiest monarchs. It’s not all from oil, although he does control 97.8 billion barrels of proven reserves: he also runs the world’s second-largest sovereign wealth fund, with reported assets of $627 billion. Al Nahyan spends an increasing amount of time in the Seychelles, where he owns a 30-acre estate.

35. Christine Lagarde 
Managing Director, International Monetary Fund

Age: 57
Residence: Washington, DC
Country of Citizenship: France
Education: Master of Arts, Institut d»etudes politiques d»Aix-en-Provence
Marital Status: Single
Children: 2

Profile

The first woman to run the 188-country financial organization has spent much of her first two years on the job battling the debt crisis in Europe and calling for ailing global economies to accelerate steps for stable growth. Her push for debt-sharing between EU nations and an increase in rescue funds has faced resistance from Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany. French-born Lagarde was a labor and antitrust attorney in the U.S. before a six-year stint as French finance minister; rumor has it she may make a run for the French presidency. Most recently, Lagarde issued a stark warning to the U.S., urging it to raise its congressionally-mandated debt ceiling.

36. Xuedong Ding
Chairman, China Investment Corp, China

Age: 53
Residence: Beijing, China
Country of Citizenship: China

Profile

Ding was appointed to lead one the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds ($575.2 billion in assets) this July. Like his predecessor, Lou Jiwei, the new Minister of Finance, Ding is under pressure to generate high returns on CIC’s international portfolio, which includes shares in Wall Street banks Morgan Stanley and Blackstone Groups, energy giant AES, and Heathrow Airport.

37. Enrique Pena Nieto
President, Mexico

Age: 47
Residence: Mexico City, Mexico
Country of Citizenship: Mexico
Marital Status: Married
Children: 4

Profile

Pena Nieto became the No. 2 most powerful man in Mexico (behind the $73 billion man Carlos Slim Helu) in 2012, when he was elected president by a narrow victory (38% of the popular vote). He campaign centered on promises of ending the drug wars and revitalizing the economy. In one whirlwind year he has tackled reforms to fix the public school and tax collection system, bring more competition to the telecommunications industry and remodel the state-owned oil and gas sector.

38. Mukesh Ambani
Chairman, Reliance Industries

Age: 56
Source of Wealth: petrochemicals, oil & gas, inherited and growing
Residence: Mumbai, India
Country of Citizenship: India
Education: Drop Out, Stanford University; Bachelor of Science in Engineering, University of Bombay
Marital Status: Married
Children: 3

Profile

Ambani runs Reliance Industries, a $50 billion market value Indian petrochemicals conglomerate. He is also the country’s richest man. A few of his current projects: 4G — he is working to install the service across India — and the KG-D6 offshore gas field. Ambani also owns the world’s most expensive residence.

39. Haruhiko Kuroda
Governor, Bank of Japan, Japan

Age: 69
Сountry of Citizenship: Japan
Education: Master of Science, Oxford University

Profile

The chief banker of the world’s third largest economy ($5.9 trillion GDP) was hired in March 2013 after serving as president of the Asian Development Bank for eight years. Kuroda is critical to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abee’s new leadership team. The new governor’s first order of business is stimulus: two percent inflation target in two years. The BOJ has pledged to inject about 60 to 70 trillion yen ($600 to $700 billion) into the economy annually.

40. Ali Al-Naimi
Oil Minister, Saudi Arabia

Age: 78
Residence: Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
Country of Citizenship: Saudi Arabia
Education: Master of Science, Stanford University

Profile

Ali Al-Naimi presides over the Saudi Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and is chair of the state-owned Saudi Aramco, by far the biggest oil company in the world. Al-Naimi also chairs the board of the Kimg Abdullah University of Science and Technology.

41. Lee Kun-Hee
Chairman, Samsung Group

Age: 71
Source of Wealth: Samsung, inherited and growing
Residence: Seoul, South Korea
Country of Citizenship: South Korea
Education: Bachelor of Arts / Science, Waseda University
Marital Status: Married
Children: 3

Profile

Lee is chairman of the world’s largest electronics manufacturing company (nearly $188 billion in revenue in 2012). He wields significant influence in Asia — Samsung is arguably Asia’s best known brand — and Silicon Valley. The South Korean manufacturer makes chips for Apple while the two tech giants are also locked in bittier patent-related legal battles. Lee is Korea’s No. 1 richest person and this February he won an inheritance court case initiated by his two older siblings. Lee took over the chairmanship of the company in 1987 after his father died.

42. Larry Fink
Cofounder, CEO, BlackRock

Age: 61
Residence: New York, NY
Country of Citizenship: United States
Education: Master of Business Administration, Anderson School of Management; Bachelor of Arts / Science, Duke University
Marital Status: Married

Profile

BlackRock’s $3.8 trillion in assets under management may actually understate the influence of the world’s largest money manager. Fink is often the first phone call for governments and businesses with questions, with clients including the U.S., Sweden, Germany, General Electric and JP Morgan Chase. Fink’s decisions impact the retirement savings of millions of workers; 62% ($2.1 trillion) of BlackRock’s total long-term ­assets under management are for institutional investors, including pensions.

43. Bill Clinton
Chairman, Clinton Global Initiative

Age: 67
Residence: Chappaqua, NY
Country of Citizenship: United States
Education: Doctor of Jurisprudence, Yale University
Marital Status: Married
Children: 1

Profile

The unusually active ex-Prez now fills his time with philanthropic ventures and public speaking. Members of his Clinton Global Initiative have so far made nearly 2,500 commitments valued at $87.9 billion, impacting 430 million people in 180 countries. Of all postwar presidents, Clinton retains the best end-of-term career rating, with 65% of Americans approving of his conduct. Clinton continues to assert himself on the political stage and is (publicly) waiting to see if his wife, Hillary Clinton, will run for the Oval Office in 2016.

44. Akio Toyoda
CEO, Toyota Motor

Age: 57
Country of Citizenship: Japan
Education: Master of Business Administration, Babson College; Bachelor of Arts / Science, Keio University

Profile

The grandson of Toyota ­Motor’s founder has led the company through global recession, recalls and the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Toyota is the world’s largest car company by volume, outpacing both GM and Volkswagen.

45. Masayoshi Son
CEO, Softbank

Age: 56
Source of Wealth: Internet, telecom, self-made
Residence: Tokyo, Japan
Country of Citizenship: Japan
Education: Bachelor of Arts / Science, University of California Berkeley
Marital Status: Married
Children: 2

Profile

The billionaire founder of Softbank, Asia’s top Internet venture, has no plans to stop expanding his empire anytime soon. Son has been on a buying spree in the past year, including acquiring approximately 72% of Sprint for some $21.6 billion and a $1.26 billion investment in mobile phone distributor Brightstar. The Japanese group also just bought a majority stake in Finnish game maker Supercell for $1.5 billion.

46. Kim Jong-un
Supreme Leader, North Korea

Age: 30
Residence: Pyongyang, North Korea
Country of Citizenship: North Korea
Marital Status: Married

Profile

Kim Jung-un, the youngest son of Kim Jong-Il, inheritied leadership of North Korea after his father’s death in December 2011. Since he took power, he has replaced some 44% of the country’s top officials, a move seen as replacing his father’s staff with a new set of aides that owe loyalty to him. This summer Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao became the highest ranking Chinese official to visit Pyongyang since Kim came to power.

47. Elon Musk
Founder, CEO, Space Exploration Technologies Corp.

Age: 42
Source of Wealth: Tesla Motors, self-made
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Country of Citizenship: United States
Education: Bachelor of Arts / Science, University of Pennsylvania
Marital Status: Separated
 Children: 5

Profile

Elon Musk’s fortune more than doubled in a year, thanks to investors’ passion for his shoot-for-the-moon inventions. Shares of Tesla, his electric car company, and solar panel installer SolarCity have both surged. NASA is using his privately held SpaceX to resupply the International Space Station. Musk proposed his latest big idea in August: a «hyperloop» to carry people from San Francisco to Los Angeles in 35 minutes. Born in South Africa; by age 12 he sold code to a space game for about $500. Musk left for the U.S. at 17 and his made first fortune as a PayPal cofounder.

48. Terry Gou
CEO, Hon Hai Precision

Age: 63
Source of Wealth: electronics, self-made
Residence: Taipei, Taiwan
Country of Citizenship: Taiwan
Marital Status: Married
Children: 3

Profile

Gou is not only one of Taiwan’s richest people but he also runs the world’s largest electronics contract manufacturer and a key supplier to Apple. Hon Hai Precision, also known as Foxconn, has seen a slew of bad publicity in recent years with alleged labor law violations and employee suicides. Similar allegations cropped up this fall when reports that students from China’s Xian University of Technology were required to work two months in a Foxconn plant before receiving their diplomas.

49. Martin Winterkorn
Chairman, Volkswagen Group

Age: 66
Residence: Wolfsburg, Germany
Country of Citizenship: Germany
Company Website

Profile

Winterkorn chairs Volkswagen Group, the German automaker whose brands include Volkswagen, Audi, Bentley and Lamborghini. The CEO has vowed to make the company the biggest electric carmaker in the world, starting with vowing to put 1 million electric cars on the roads by 2020. The German manufacturer has the highest revenues, profits and assets of any automaker, according to Forbes’ 2013 Global 2000 list. It is partially owned by Lower Saxony, the German state where it is headquartered.

50. Jim Yong Kim
President, World Bank

Age: 53
Country of Citizenship: United States
Education: Doctorate, Harvard University; Medical Doctor, Harvard University; Bachelor of Arts / Science, Brown University
Marital Status: Married
Children: 2

Profile

As head of the World Bank, Kim handouts more than $30 billion a year and runs developmental programs in more than 100 countries. A medical doctor with a PhD in anthropology, Kim is the first Bank leader who does not come from a political or financial background: he was formerly president of Dartmouth College. The World Bank recently announced plans to slash administrative costs by $400 million, cutting jobs and reorganizing the bank’s clunky structure.

51. Lakshmi Mittal 
Chairman and CEO, ArcelorMittal

Age: 63
Source of Wealth: steel, inherited and growing
Residence: London, United Kingdom
Country of Citizenship: India
Education: Bachelor of Arts / Science, St Xavier»s College Calcutta
Marital Status: Married
Children: 2

Profile

His ArcelorMittal is still the world’s biggest steel company, but it is weighed down amid supply glut and heavy debts ($16 billion). Mittal put one of three houses he owns on London’s billionaires’ row up for sale.

52. Geun-hye Park 
President, South Korea

Age: 61
Residence: Seoul, South Korea
Country of Citizenship: South Korea
Education: Bachelor of Science in Engineering, Sogang University
Marital Status: Single

Profile

Park, 61, is South Korea’s first female president; she was elected with the nation’s highest turnout rate in 15 years. This is her second «term» in the presidential Blue House. Her father, Park Chung-hee, was president for 18 years, and at age 22 she became de facto first lady after her mother was killed by a bullet intended for her husband — he was also later assassinated. Park presides over the world’s 15th largest GDP at $1.15 trillion.

53. Dmitry Medvedev
Prime Minister, Russia

Age: 48
Residence: Moscow, Russia
Country of Citizenship: Russia
Education: Doctor of Jurisprudence, Saint Petersburg State University
Marital Status: Married
Children: 1

Profile

The official No. 2 man in the Russian government and former one-term president (2008-2012) of the 143 million population country is now seen as increasingly isolated from Putin’s inner circle.

54. Bernard Arnault & family
Chairman and CEO, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton

Age: 64
Source of Wealth: LVMH, inherited and growing
Residence: Paris, France
Country of Citizenship: France
Education: Bachelor of Arts / Science, Ecole Polytechnique de Paris
Marital Status: Married
Children: 5

Profile

Arnault oversees a luxury empire whose brands include Dom Perignon, Bulgari, Louis Vuitton, Thomas Pink and De Beers. This fall the billionaire taste-maker to the world appointed his daughter to executive vice president of Louis Vuitton, the second of his children to take a leadership role in the company — his son Antoine runs the shoemaker Berluti. Arnault hopes to open his new Frank Gehry-designed museum, Louis Vuitton Foundation for Creation, in Paris by 2014.

55. Bill Gross
Cofounder and Co-Chief Investment Officer, Pacific Investment Management Company LLC

Age: 69
Source of Wealth: investments, self-made
Residence: Laguna Beach, CA
Country of Citizenship: United States
Education: Master of Business Administration, Anderson School of Management; Bachelor of Arts / Science, Duke University
Marital Status: Married
Children: 3

Profile

The cofounder of PIMCO is the most powerful man in the bond market, heading up the industry’s largest fund with $2 trillion under management. He and his wife’s William and Sue Gross Family Foundation is an annual contributor to Columbia University, Doctors Without Borders and the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum, which is building the 12,000 square foot William H. Gross Stamp Gallery.

56. Virginia Rometty
CEO, IBM

Age: 55
Residence: Armonk, NY
Country of Citizenship: United States
Education: Bachelor of Arts / Science, Northwestern University
Marital Status: Married

Profile

Rometty heads up the biggest computer company by revenue — yes, bigger even than Google, Tencent or Yahoo. Generating $104.5 billion annually, IBM saw a $16.6 billion profit last year

57. Shinzo Abe
Prime Minister, Japan

Age: 59
Residence: Tokyo, Japan

Profile

This is Shinzo Abe’s second go as prime minister, begging the question whether or not he is destined to be another in a long line Japanese leaders who can’t seem to hold on to their administration for longer than two years. Abe’s first term was 2006 to 2007. The right-wing nationalist was reelected in September 2012 and has vowed «It’s our first mission is to turn it [the economy] around.» Abe campaigned hard to win the right to host to 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, even with concerns about lingering radioactive water leaks from the Fukushima nuclear plant crippled in 2011 after the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident.

58. Larry Ellison
CEO, Oracle

Age: 69
Source of Wealth: Oracle, self-made
Residence: Woodside, CA
Country of Citizenship: United States
Education: Drop Out, University of Illinois at Urbana; Drop Out, University of Chicago
Marital Status: Divorced
Children: 2

Profile

Little gets in the way of Larry Ellison’s ambition—or mouth. In an August TV ¬interview, the Oracle founder said that Apple’s best days are behind it after the passing of close friend Steve Jobs and that Google’s alleged infringement on Oracle’s patents in its Android software was «absolutely evil.» In late September his Team Oracle pulled off a stunning comeback from a seven-race deficit to win its second consecutive America’s Cup sailing trophy. Ellison collects houses on Malibu’s Carbon Beach and also owns of 98% of Hawaii’s Lanai island. In his quest for youth he has donated $445 million to his medical foundation to support research on aging and age-related diseases.

59. Margaret Chan
Director-General, World Health Organization

Age: 66
Residence: Geneva, Switzerland
Country of Citizenship: China
Education: Medical Doctor, University of Western Ontario; Bachelor of Arts / Science, Northcote College of Education; Masters of Public Health, National University of Singapore
Marital Status: Married
Children: 1

Profile

Now in her second term as leader of the World Health Organization, Chan is the most powerful person in global public health and the only person with the authority to call a worldwide pandemic. Her advice on drugs and treatments direct countries battling major diseases and viruses like malaria and HIV/AIDS; her recommendations often dictate drug industry profits. WHO 2013 Statistics report showed declining infant mortality rates in the world’s poorest countries, increased life expectancies worldwide and a pronouncement that 27 nations have already met the U.N.’s 2015 Millennial Development Goals.

60. Igor Sechin
Chairman, Rosneft

Age: 53
Residence: Moscow, Russia
Country of Citizenship: Russia
Marital Status: Married
Children: 1

Profile

Vladimir Putin’s former deputy chief of staff had a great year since landing the top job at Russian oil major Rosneft in May 2012, inking a sweet deal for BP’s near half of energy giant TNK-BP and then buying out the remaining shares. Just like that, Sechin stepped out of the shadows (he’s been called Putin’s Shadow) and created one of the world’s largest publicly traded oil companies by output. Of course Rosneft’s major stockholder is the Kremlin.

61. Robin Li
Founder and CEO, Baidu

Age: 45
Source of Wealth: Internet search, self-made
Residence: Beijing, China
Country of Citizenship: China
Education: Bachelor of Arts / Science, Peking University; Master of Arts, University at Buffalo
Marital Status: Married
Children: 4

Profile

One of China’s richest men and CEO of the nation’s top search engine. Before founding Baidu, Li worked in Silicon Valley for Infoseek, a search pioneer. He sits on the board of New York-listed New Oriental Education & Technology, which provides educational services in China.

62. John Roberts 
Chief Justice, U.S. Supreme Court, United States

Age: 58
Country of Citizenship: United States
Education: Bachelor of Arts / Science, Harvard University; Doctor of Jurisprudence, Harvard University
Marital Status: Married
Children: 2

Profile

Now eight years into his lifelong tenure as the U.S. Supreme Court’s top judge, he’s successfully moved the court in a conservation direction. Yet this year the court surprised (to Roberts dissent) in the U.S. vs. Windsor case, also known as the Defense of Marriage Act, striking down the controversial federal law preventing same-sex married couples from being recognized as legal spouses. The court’s new term, which started in October, will see crucial cases involving campaign finance, state-sanctioned prayer, and affirmative action.

63. Alisher Usmanov
Founder, Metalloinvest

Age: 60
 Source of Wealth: steel, telecom, investments, self-made
 Residence: Moscow, Russia
 Country of Citizenship: Russia
Education: Master, Finance Academy under the Government of the Russian Federation; Master of Laws, Moscow Institute of International Relations
Marital Status: Married

Profile

The richest man in Russia made his fortune in metals (iron and steel) and now has interests ranging from telecommunications (Megaphone, Russia’s No. mobile phone operator) to media (Kommersant, the country’s largest business daily). He also owns stakes in FC Arsenal.

64. Aliko Dangote
CEO, Dangote Group

Age: 56
Source of Wealth: cement, sugar, flour, self-made
Residence: Lagos, Nigeria
Country of Citizenship: Nigeria
Education: Bachelor of Arts / Science, Al-Azhar University
 Marital Status: Married
 Children: 3

Profile

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, continues to expand his publicly traded Dangote Cement across the continent, announcing plans in recent months to build new plants in Kenya and Niger. With operations in 8 countries, it is the largest cement manufacturer in sub-Saharan Africa. In May, Dangote said he would build a $9 billion oil refinery and petrochemical complex in Nigeria. When completed, it will be Nigeria’s first and Africa’s largest petroleum refinery. Dangote began trading commodities more than three decades ago using a loan from his uncle. He created Dangote Group, which in addition to cement owns sugar refineries, flour milling and salt processing facilities.

65. Reid Hoffman
Partner, Greylock Partners

Age: 46
Source of Wealth: LinkedIn, self-made
 Residence: Palo Alto, CA
Country of Citizenship: United States
Education: Master of Science, Oxford University; Bachelor of Arts / Science, Stanford University
Marital Status: Married
Times on Midas: 3

Profile

The most connected man in Silicon Valley, Hoffman has been behind many of the world’s most important tech companies, including Facebook and PayPal. As a partner at Greylock Ventures, Hoffman led funding rounds for numerous businesses, including room-renting startup Airbnb. He is also the cofounder and chairman of one of the valley’s best performing public companies, Linkedin. Hoffman, who has a net worth of $4.4 billion, now splits his time between LinkedIn, which celebrated its tenth birthday this year, and Greylock, which just raised a new $1 billion fund.

66. John Boehner
Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives, United States

Age: 64
Residence: West Chester Township, OH
Country of Citizenship: United States
Education: Bachelor of Arts / Science, Xavier University

Profile

The most conservative members of his party in the House were able shut down the U.S. government for 16 days In October in an effort to break Obamacare. It was a defining moment for speaker, the GOP’s main man in the battle with the president. «We fought the good fight; we just didn’t win.»

67. Joaquin Guzman Loera
Drug Trafficker, Sinaloa Cartel

Age: 56
Source of Wealth: drug trafficking, self-made
Residence: Sinaloa State, Mexico
 Country of Citizenship: Mexico

Profile

CEO of the Sinaloa cartel, «El Chapo» is the world’s most powerful drug trafficker. The cartel is responsible for an estimated 25% of all illegal drugs that enter the U.S. via Mexico. Drug enforcement experts estimate, conservatively, that the cartel’s annual revenues may exceed $3 billion. This February the city of Chicago branded him the first «Public Enemy No. 1» since Al Capone.

68. Jill Abramson
Executive Editor, New York Times Co.

Age: 59
Residence: New York, NY
Country of Citizenship: United States
Education: Bachelor of Arts / Science, Harvard University
Marital Status: Married 
Children: 2

Profile

Now two years on the job as executive editor, Abramson sets the editorial agenda at the nation’s newspaper of record. This year her staff won four Pulitzer Prizes but the paper couldn’t compete with the U.K.’s Guardian for exclusives from whistleblower Edward Snowden: «They have published far more material than we have, that those articles are very much in the public interest and inform the public.»

69. Joseph Blatter
President, FIFA

Age: 77
Residence: Zurich, Switzerland
Country of Citizenship: Switzerland

Profile

Soccer patriarch Joseph Blatter heads up the governing body of the world’s most popular sport and unofficial religion. The sport expects to generate $4 billion in revenue by the close of next year’s World Cup in Brazil. Swiss Blatter is currently serving his fourth term as FIFA president, and this April FIFA’s Ethics Committee cleared him of bribing allegations. Blatter remains bullish on Qatar as host of the 2022 World Cup.

70. Yngve Slyngstad
CEO, Norges Bank Investment Management, Norway

Age: 51
Residence: Oslo, Norway
Country of Citizenship: Norway

Profile

Runs the richest sovereign wealth fund in the world by far. Buoyed by taxes, ownership and stakes in the state oil and gas industry, it has reported assets worth about $785 billion. Slyngstad is now actively reducing its total Euro holdings (currently about 48%) in favor of emerging markets. The fund has also found a new way to wield its influence in CSR: an ethical-investment committee which shuns companies engaged in human rights violations or environmental damage.

71. Mohammed Ibrahim
Founder, Mo Ibrahim Foundation

Age: 67
Source of Wealth: communications, self-made
Residence: London, United Kingdom
Country of Citizenship: United Kingdom
Marital Status: Married
Children: 2

Profile

Sudanese-British billionaire made his money on Celtel, one of the first mobile phone companies in Africa that serves 23 countries across the continent and in the Middle East. He sold it in 2005 for $3.4 billion and pocketed $1.4 billion. He’s now trying to change corrupt leadership in the region through the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, which gives a lifetime award of $5 million over 10 years to retired African heads of state who have left their countries materially better off and more transparent. This October, for the second consecutive year the panel did not give out a prize; it was the fourth time in its seven-year history.

72. Janet Yellen
Vice Chairman, Federal Reserve, Washington, United States

Age: 67
 Residence: Washington, D.C., DC
Country of Citizenship: United States
Education: Bachelor of Arts / Science, Brown University; Doctorate, Yale University

Profile

No. 2 at the U.S. Federal Reserve since 2010, Janet Yellen is President Barack Obama’s pick to take the top spot after current Chairman Ben Bernanke steps down in 2014. If confirmed by the Senate, Yellen would be the first woman to head a major central bank. On her to-do list: maximum employment. «Too many Americans still can’t find a job and worry how they’ll pay their bills and provide for their families,» she said during her White House nomination. «The Federal Reserve can help if it does its job effectively.»

Источник: http://www.forbes.com/powerful-people/list/