Forbes released their annual ‘World’s Most Powerful People’ list for 2012 on Wednesday placing Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz as the seventh most powerful figure on the chart, and the only Arab figure to make it to the top ten list.
The 2012 list covers the different powerful head of states, financers, philanthropists, and entrepreneurs who are popularly known all over the world.
“There are nearly 7.1 billion people on the planet. These are the 71 that matter the most,” the Forbes report stated.
Recently elected U.S. President Barack Obama topped the first ten in the list for the second time, followed by German chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin, world’s second richest man, Bill Gates, Pope Benedict VVI, U.S Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, Chinese General Secretary Xi Jinping, and UK Prime Minister David Cameron.
The 88-year-old monarch, who is currently recovering from a successful back
operation, was declared the seventh most powerful individual in the world based on his financial resources.
“We considered other valuable resources at the candidate’s disposal –like 20% of the world’s known oil reserves,” the Forbes report said.
The personalities were measured and considered by the power they have according to four different categories; first, by the total number of people they have power on, second, by the financial resources they control, third, by the power they have in various areas (e.g. as politician, as billionaire), and lastly by how active they are in using their powers.
The final rankings were decided by ten senior Forbes editors.
Other prominent Arab figures considered in the list were Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister Ali Al Naimi Sheikh on the 32nd spot followed by Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE’s president, 33rd on the list.
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