The “world’s most powerful man” has generally been a title reserved for the President of the United States, but for only the second time since the creation of these rankings, the U.S. president is no longer in the number one spot. Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, was named the world’s most powerful man by Forbes magazine.
The last time that the number one spot was taken was by Hu Jintao, the former Chinese President. This also happened to be while President Obama was in office.
The list is not based off of things called “Hard Power,” which include overall military strength, troop numbers, or technology superiority. The rankings go off of willingness to use power—when Obama was resistant to putting strength into Syria during recent problems, Putin was very clear about his willingness to show his strength. The rankings also follow along economic movements as well.
Although the U.S. President has dropped off the top, Americans have no reason to worry as the United States still holds 28 of the top 100 positions.