Last week Forbes Magazine released its annual list of the
world’s most powerful people. Whether or
not the people on the list care one way or another about the list is irrelevant
to the fact that the subscribers to the magazine are fascinated with the
results.
Each year they analyze who is up, who is down, who is new,
and who is no longer worthy of the list.
Ironically we have a tendency to take the list as fact. The list is put together by highly informed
and educated individuals registering their opinions. There is not a mathematical formula or any
other tool used to measure personal power and influence. It is based on the educated opinion of the
lists contributors.
There was little movement in the top ten this year. The President of the United States is still
#1. President Obama is followed by the
Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel.
Below are the top ten.
1.
Barrack Obama, President of the United States
2.
Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany
3.
Vladimir Putin, President of Russia
4.
Bill Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation
5.
Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Roman Catholic Church
6.
Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve
7.
Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Saud, King of Saudi
Arabia
8.
Mario Draghi, President of the European Central
Bank
9.
Xi Jinping, General Secretary Communist Party,
China
10.
David Cameron, Prime Minister, United Kingdom
The complete list can be found at: http://www.forbes.com/powerful-people/list/
What are your impressions of the list? What criteria would you use to judge people’s
power in the world? Given your criteria,
who should be included on your list and why?
Ryan-I think this list is very cool. I always look forward to the new list each year. If I were to do this I organize it based on the persons achievements and power. People on my list would be pretty much have the same people but in different order.
ReplyDeleteI think it's cool that they name the most powerful. I would do it according how much power you hold over people on a local and national basis. My top ten would pretty much be the same.
ReplyDeletethat was justin
DeleteReed- I think that list is spot on. I think that Our president as the most powerful person in the world means a lot beacuse it make me and i am pretty sure everyone else feel like they are protected from things that might hurt us. We learned about Vlademer Putin guy and Mr. Grant told use that he might bad bad guy so we have to watch out for him. Putin is also sneaky and smart but since he is number 3 and we are number one...... We would kick his butt. I also like how Bill Gates is on the list. I guess he is so Rich he is the 4th most powerful person. I don't really know about the rest of the guys on the list except for the pope. I am sure Mr. Grant will teach me and my classmates about the rest of the guys. By the way i am kinda surprised that there was no women are on the list. I mean there are a lot of powerful women in the world and why isn't there any on the list.
ReplyDeleteReed- Whoops sry Mr. Grant i didnt see that lady on there whoops
ReplyDeleteBailie- My first impression of the list was that it would be pretty amazing if I were one of the most powerful people in the world. Then, I was glad to be from the U.S. because President Barak Obama is considered the most powerful person in the world. In my opinion, I was glad Putin wasn't second on the list because I honestly don't like him. For my criteria for judging how powerful people are is how much they influence others. I would also put my teachers and parents on the list because they have a lot of influence on me.
ReplyDeleteNikita- I thought the list was interesting, although I was not suprised as to who was on the list. I would judge most powerful on what influence they have, how many people follow them, and how much money they're raking in. I think the list is pretty much good as it, but I might add people who have been leading giant save the world type organizations because a lot of people are starting to realize we need to be greener and these organizations/people are starting to have a lot of influence.
ReplyDeleteGrace- I don't know who some of the people on the list are, however, I did notice that some of them are, I guess, what you'd call the highest person in position of the government, such as a king or president. Many people don't like to think this, but in truth, having money can be considered power. If you have money, you can buy anything you want and do anything that you want with it. Bill Gates, for example, has loads of money, and I know he is not greedy and that he is very generous. I'm not saying that's why he's on the list because I don't know why he is, but I do think that money might have to do with why certain people are on the list. I guess I would judge how much land you have and/or how many people you govern. I don't want it to sound like the people are controlled, but you know, how many people live in the place that the person is president, king, prime minister, etc. I think the president of the U.S. does belong on the list because of the millions of people who live in the U.S. I also agree that the secretary of China's communist party should be on the list because there are so many people who live in China. I think that maybe the president of India should be on the list because a lot of people live in India as well.
ReplyDeletePetie- I did realize something on there and that is that most of those people are the highest or one of the highest ranks in their government or military based system. What really scares me though is that two of the people on there are the leaders of communists parties. Not only that but it seems as if both of those communists leaders are hostile and not our friends. It does comfort me the the president of our country and chairman of the US reserve are on that list. The way that I would judge people is how much land they rule and over how many people. It can also depend on what they rule, or how even hostile they are. I really hope that my last point really doesn't matter. I would probably keep everyone on that list except for Bill Gates and replace him with Kim Jong-Il. this is because he has power over North Korea and might just as well have power over South too. He could also do some really bad things with his power.
ReplyDeleteThomas B.-I thought the list was cool because I have never looked at this type of list. Also I thought it was kind of weird that Bill Gates was in front of the pope. I would mostly judge them on their influence on people. I am not sure who else I would put on there, but I would probably change it around.
ReplyDeletesean-
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised that obama is the most powerful person in the world. And frankly in all respects; I couldn't care less about it unless a rapper was on that list, then something went wrong. But it's like a list of who is the most popular at a school, it leaves others discouraged while the top four get so smug they can't see straight. And according to über mormons, such as the kid next door, say that Jesus should, which would cause a lot of other problems with other religions.
Patrick-I think that the list is accurate and probably the real 10 most powerful people. I can definitely see Barack Obama on the list as well as the pope but I would like to know what the other people really do. To judge the peoples power in the world I would probably measure it by 3 things. Influence on people, relationship with powerful countries, and really how good they are at their job. Some other people that should be included in the list is probably, well I don't know enough about political leaders of other countries so probably the ruler of China.
ReplyDeleteNate- I find it surprising that Barack Obama is at the top of the list. He is still held back by Congress, etc., while some these people can do whatever they want. My criteria would be how wealthy and developed a leader's country is, how much power he has over that country, and how well liked he is in that country, and around the world. So, judging by that criteria, the leader of China would be at the #1 spot on my list.
ReplyDeleteNatalie- Most of the people on that list I did not recognize. I recognized President Obama of course, Bill Gates, Vladimir Putin, Pope Benedict, and David Cameron. I've heard many people talk about the President of the United States having the most power, but sometimes I don't think that it is completely true. To judge people's power, I would probably research everything that they had accomplished over the year. I'm not a judge, thank goodness, because I really wouldn't know how to judge people's power. I think I would have switched Angela Merkel and Vladimir Putin around, because Vladimir Putin has so much power in Russia. But I guess that's just my opinion.
ReplyDeleteSydney- I don’t know who all of these people are, but I do know a few people on the list. I would very much agree with the list that President Obama is the first person on the list. If I did this, I would see who is better by looking at what they have done for the country and how the impact it. I would also see if they have any power. I would probably put the same people on my list.
ReplyDeleteTomas- There are a lot of powrful people in this world and i wouldnt want to mess with them. i think taht they have to be liked by many people and be the popular one. Money also could help to. They should also have a powerful position in the world like President. Joseph Stalin could be on that list becuase he has a postion and money with a big popular group so he would be good for that list.
ReplyDeleteAndoni- I think the list is quite accurate. I noticed that all of the people on the list are government leaders. If i had to decide who would be on the list i would probably decide by how many people they had under their control. I would probably have close to the same list, but i don't really know who would belong where on the list. What i may change is that some of the most influential people in our country are not government leaders. Some athletes can influence people without even trying.They start trends and sayings. They don't have world power, but they may have national power.
ReplyDeleteJohn-I think the list is good, but most of the people on that list I don't know of. I think the list is accurate because almost all of the people on the list are their countries goverment leaders and that makes them powerful because they can decide what they want to do with the country they are leading. To judge people's critirias are celebreties, professional athletes, and leaders of the country because a lot of people in our world judge on how popular and famous those people are. I think the most people that would be on my list are the goverment leaders because they are the rulers of each country and they decide what to do
ReplyDeleteLuke- I think the list is fairly accurate. I do not know why these people are show on this list besides Obama, but I am certain the others have their reasons of being on that list. I would judge people's standing of power based on how much they are able to do. I don't know of anyone who I can put on that list because I do not know of anyone who has a great standing of power besides the ones on this list.
ReplyDeleteNathaniel- I have seen one of these lists before, and think that looking at it once in a while is a good thing. I think it was a good idea to actually make a list of the most influential people. I really am not that surprised that Barrack Obama is at the top, after all, most countries look up to the U.S. with respect. What did surprise me is that the Russian President is third, and not at second. My criteria would be for the people who have the most indirect power over other people's lives. I actually think the list might be almost perfect because of this.
ReplyDelete1. Angela Merkel
2. Barrack Obama
3. Vladimir Putin
4. Pope Benedict XVI
5. Bill Gates
6. Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Saud
7. Ben Bernanke
8. Sonia Ghandi
9. David Cameron
10. Xi Jinping
My list changes a few things here and there, but I still think it's fairly similar, and the people I included/moved up ranks are there because of how MANY people follow or how much our lives depend on them. I don't know many other influential people, and therefore I am stuck with only a few, but I think my list is good enough.
Megan- To me, this list seems fairly reasonable. Some of those names are familiar, others I have never heard of. If I had a list, I would definally judge it by the person's wealth, world influence, and overall international recognition. With this, I would probably have about the same people up. I would love to add Oprah for fun, though!
ReplyDeleteKeelie: I wasn’t really surprised when I saw the list. Of course Obama would be first. Not to be cocky but America is the most powerful country. So the leader of it would be the most powerful person. What I would use to judge someone is how people would be affected if they weren’t there. If there were no president the whole world could be chaos. Also, how them being in power has affected you. If anyone from that list were to disappear, there would be pandemonium, too. On my list, my mom would be at the top. Sure, my dad makes money, but my mom is the one who organizes and decides what to do with it in an effective way. She makes food, cleans my sheets, and tells me what to do. Without her, my whole family wouldn’t survive.
ReplyDeleteRylie: I'm actually not surprised by President Barack Obama being first. America is a powerful country with freedom and equality. I'm glad that an American citizen is first. I would list them in order of which they impacted the world in a good way. How they have met needs for their country and the people around it. I would include Mother Teresa because of how much she impacted the world in a spiritually good way. She helped the people around and by doing so she even helped herself.
ReplyDeleteLily- I am not shure about all the people on the list, but I do know a few people ontheir that are very powerful in the world. Obama deserves to be first on the list, we have a powerful country with freedom. If I chose who was on the list I would probebly choose those who are most important to our country and how they impact us. The people on the list right now would probebly be the ones I would choose.
ReplyDeleteAdriana- When i saw the list i was not suprised by it. I mean of course Barack Obama will be #1 on the list in mean he is the president of the united states!!!. the criteria i would use to judge the top ten would be how much impact their power had on the people. my list would be pretty much the same but i might switch some people around here and there just because i have a different opinion on how they impacted us.
ReplyDeleteTodd- The list is pretty amazing that these people can do so much for our world, and where is my name? My criteria would include that individuals would need to be: Kind, helpful and sympathetic. My lists of amazing people are: Oprah because she uses her career to help many people in need, my mother would also be included in my list. My mother try’s to help others in need and always makes time for our family. My list includes people who do things that are not required of them, but they still chose to do them.
ReplyDeleteHAYLEY: I do not understand how they consider who is powerful and who is not. I think I would judge this list off of kindness and how much political power they have. I think this list would be interesting if they based it off of kindness and not off of money or press time. We were always taught one kind act is a huge power in the world.
ReplyDeleteRaquel- the list shown above was really interesting.It was cool to notice that the Catholic church does have a big impact enough to place as top 5. If I were to judge and give a say in this list I would look into the person if they have done any inspirational move in their lifetime. Someone that would probably fall into the list would have to be well actually i don't know, i would really have to hear their story.
ReplyDeleteLauryn- I don't agree with the list. If I were to decide how you get on the list it would be based on how much of a difference they made in the world. I think I would also look at how many support their ideas and decisions; how many follow them. On my list the pope would be first than obama.
ReplyDeleteLiam~ I somewhat agree with the list, I mean I do believe that Obama has a lot of power, but I dont think that the Pope can really do a lot with the world. I mean he doesn't have a lot of power politically. I think that the inventor of the internet, Tim Berners-Lee should be included on there, he does have the power to bring down he whole internet so, he is pretty powerful.
ReplyDeleteAubrie- I do not completely agree with the list because I don’t even know who half of these people are and I’m not really shore what the people who make up the list base it on. If I were to make up the list I would base who is the most powerful person according to the number of achievements the person has done and how much good change that that person has made in the world. If I were to decide who the first person would be on my list it would be the pope because I think that he has made the most goo change in our world today.
ReplyDeleteWes- I can agree with this cause of how strong in power and influence they are in. If this was me i would put it in how much impact and influence these people have put on people now. I would put all of these people in but in a differnet order.
ReplyDeleteNekane-it’s a very good list I think it’s just right. Well it depends if they are really mean and never really that nice I would not really like to hang out with that person. If there a nice person then yes I would hang out with them. All my friend they are all so nice and funny and just the sweetest people ever.
ReplyDeleteClaire-I only know two people on the list, the pope and President Obama. I pick people who are kind, smart, and do good things for other people. Some people I would pick are my friends, maybe some of my family and maybe some singers or artists.
DeleteLiza- I think that the list is well put together and I agree with it. I think that they chose the people very well. I think my criteria would be based off of the size of what they are ruling and the wealth and prosperity they have brought to the people living there. If the people were happy and liked what the person was doing and they all though that he or she was a good person, that is what my criteria would be. If i could pick some people I would pick some singers and political leaders. Even some founders of organizations such as O.A.T.H.S.
ReplyDelete