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Putin secures his power: The world’s most powerful people 2013

By C. J. Refsland on October 30, 2013 • ( 0 )

My Comment: It’s official. Our slide from Super power to Super mess has been completed with this president. ‘Hope & Change’???? Worked well didn’t it?

(MSN) Every year, Forbes makes a list of the most powerful people in the world drawn from government, business, religion and other fields. In 2012, President Obama topped the list. But has his influence dimmed over the past year? See gallery

Who’s more powerful: the omnipotent head of a corroding but still feisty superpower or the handcuffed head of the most dominant country in the world?

U.S. President Barack Obama topped our annual list of the world’s most powerful people a year ago. But since then, President Vladimir Putin has solidified his control over Russia (“dictator” is no longer an outlandish word to ponder) while Obama’s lame duck period has seemingly set in earlier than usual for a two-term president — latest example: the government shutdown mess. Anyone watching this year’s chess match over Syria has a clear idea of the shifting individual power dynamic.

Click through this slideshow to see where our votes went in 2013.

The Most Powerful People in the World list represents the collective wisdom of top FORBES editors, who consider hundreds of nominees before ranking the planet’s top 72 power-brokers – one for every 100 million people on Earth — based on their scope of influence and their financial resources relative to their peers. The top 10 appear here; then find the full list at Forbes.com.