Vladimir Putin tops Forbes World's Most Powerful People 2013 list

PanARMENIAN.Net - Russian President Vladimir Putin has batted away competition from Barack Obama, Bill Gates and the Pope to be named the most powerful person in the world this year, The Independent said.

According to the World's Most Powerful People 2013 list compiled by Forbes, recent weak displays on the international stage - from inaction on Syria to the Government shutdown -have seen the US president knocked off the top spot he held last year.

Putin's strengthening control in Russia, meanwhile, has resulted in what Forbes described as a clear "shifting of individual power dynamics".

Xi Jinping maintains a strong position as the third-most powerful person, while Pope Francis is the highest newcomer - in at number four.

Angela Merkel comes fifth, among just nine women in the list of 72 - one power-wielding individual for every 100 million people on the planet, Forbes said.

The list as a whole features 17 heads of state, 27 CEOs and chairs of individual companies and 12 'entrepreneurs'.

Of the 72, 28 are billionaires, wielding a combined wealth in excess of $564 billion.

Britain managed just one person in the list, with Prime Minister David Cameron dropping from number 10 last year to eleventh place today.

Forbes criticised Cameron for a recent "flip-flop approach to green taxes", though credited him with "guiding the world's sixth largest economy".