His wife may have been number one on Forbes magazine’s 2010 List of World’s Most Powerful Women, but President Barack Obama only takes the second slot on the recently released Forbes 2010 list of Powerful People, putting him a spot below of where he placed on the list last year.
In 2009, Forbes wrote of Obama, “How powerful is he? Let’s count the ways: Presides over world’s largest, most innovative, most dynamic economy…head-of-state of world’s sole superpower; his Democrats have majorities in both U.S. House and Senate; recently awarded Nobel Peace Prize, apparently for general awesomeness.”
A year later, Forbes pushed Obama down to number two and wrote, “Obama’s Democrats suffered a mighty blow in U.S. midterm elections, with the president decisively losing support of the House of Representatives, and barely holding onto the Senate. It’s quite a come-down for last year’s most powerful person.”
Forbes decided on this year’s list by selecting individuals who “bend the world to their will.” The ranking is made up of “heads of state, major religious figures, entrepreneurs and outlaws” who have influence over lots of people, among several other factors.
China’s President Hu Jintao topped the 2010 list as the most powerful person. The list of 68 people also includes Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Pope Benedit XVI, Bill Gates, Osama bin Laden, and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
