Forbes has created a list of 71 of the most powerful people in the world. Based on how much power the person has over people (religiously or financially), financial resources and their stretch of power in different spheres, here are the top 20.

1. President Barack Obama
2. Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany
3. Vladimir Putin, President of Russia
4. Bill Gates, Cochair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation  
5. Pope Benedict XVI, Pope of Roman Catholic Church.
6. Ben Bernanke, Chairman, U.S. Federal Reserve
7. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al Saud, King, Saudi Arabia
8. Mario Draghi, President, European Central Bank.
9. Xi Jinping, General Secretary, Communist Party Of China
10. David Cameron, Prime Minister, United Kingdom.
11. Carlos Slim Helu, Chairman, Carlos Slim Foundation
12. Sonia Gandhi, President, Indian National Congress
13. Li Keqiang, Vice Premier, People's Republic Of China
14. Francois Hollande, President, France
15. Warren Buffett, CEO, Berkshire Hathaway
16. Michael Bloomberg, Mayor, New York City
17. Michael T. Duke, CEO, Wal-Mart.
18. Dilma Rousseff, President, Brazil
19. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister, India
20. Sergey Brin & Larry Page, Cofounders, Google

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