Obama Is Most Powerful Person, according to Forbes

Forbes magazine called President Obama the most powerful person in the world.

Photo: Obama Is Most Powerful Person, according to Forbes

Next in line: Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

The magazine's first ever listing of the world's top dogs also includes Mayor Bloomberg, at a respectable No. 20.

And Secretary of State Clinton (No. 17) may be secretly pleased to see her hubby Bill farther down the list at No. 31.

Forbes used a four-part formula to rank the world's most powerful, considering the number of people a person influences, their ability to project power, control or access to wealth and how actively a person wields their power, Daily News reports.

It was also reported, in compiling the inaugural ranking, Forbes said it had narrowed the list to 67 people, "a number based on the conceit that one can reduce the world's 6.7 billion people to the one in every 100 million that matter."

"The goal in compiling this list is to expose power and not glorify it, and over time reveal how influence is as easily lost as it is hard to gain," the magazine said.

World and industry leaders dominated the top 10 of the list, which Forbes said was assessed on the number of people the person influences, their ability to project power beyond their immediate sphere of influence, their control of financial resources and how actively that person wields power.

Also on the list were financial heavyweights including Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein (18) and billionaire investor and philanthropist Warren Buffett (14), as well as Pope Benedict (11).

Bin Laden came in at number 37 and Winfrey at number 45, Reuters reports.

Meanwhile, India's most wanted criminal and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim has been figured in the Forbes Magzine's first ever World's Most Powerful People list.

'D' company chief has been placed at 50th in the list. Apart from this, only three Indian industrialists managed to get place in the list. Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani, ArcelorMittal chairman Lakshmi Mittal and Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata are at 44th, 55th and 59th respectively in the list.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stands at 36th in the World's Most Powerful People, Reuters India reports.