Forbes ~ World's most powerful women ~ 3 Indians in list ~ who is youngest ?

Women are powerful ~and you do not need an index to confirm that ...  yet Forbes dos that .... recently Forbes has relased the list of ‘World’s most powerful women’ –  wonder who is powerful and by which yardstick ?  Seven women who appeared on their  inaugural list in 2004 are still there this year too : Melinda Gates, Christine Lagarde, Hillary Clinton and Indra Nooyi,  Oprah,  Queen Elizabeth II, and Ho Ching.   Forbes is an American business magazine owned by Forbes, Inc. Published biweekly, it features original articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. Forbes also reports on related subjects such as technology, communications, science, and law. Its headquarters are inNew York City. The magazine is well known for its lists and rankings, including its lists of the richest, most powerful etc.,

The definitive annual audit of the foremost heads of state, iconic entrepreneurs and CEOS, celebrity role models, billionaire activists, and pioneer philanthropists, all ranked by money, media momentum, spheres of influence and impact  is out – this  year’s top 10 are : Merkel and Clinton followed by Melinda Gates, Janet Yellen, Mary Barra, Christine Lagarde, Dilma Rousseff, Sheryl Sandberg, Susan Wojcicki and Michelle Obama.  The most powerful women in politics, philanthropy, business and tech are Merkel, Gates, Barra and Sandberg, respectively. The top ranking billionaire this year is Oprah Winfrey at No. 12, who has a personal net worth of $3 billion. The concept of power can be nebulous — especially when it comes to gender. As of January 2015, 10 women served as heads of state and 14 as heads of government. Women currently hold 23 (4.6%) of CEO positions at S&P 500 companies. Of a total 1,826 global billionaires, 197 are women — 11% of the total. Only 9% of executive officers in Silicon Valley are women.

The 2015 power women list features eight heads of state (plus one monarch) who run nations with a combined GDP of $9.1 trillion with over 600 million citizens — including the newly elected Polish Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz. The 24 corporate CEOs control nearly $1 trillion in annual revenues.   The total social media footprint (Twitter, YouTube) of all 100 Power Women is nearly 475 million followers and fans.

No. 1 is the German chancellor - Angela Dorothea Kasner, better known as Angela Merkel, the first female chancellor of Germany and one of the architects of the European Union.

No. 2 is  Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton, former United States Secretary of State in the administration of President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013; a former United States Senator representing New York from 2001 to 2009; and, as the wife of President Bill Clinton, First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001.

No. 3. Is  the philanthropist Melinda French Gates,  wife of Bill Gates and the co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

4^th is  Janet Yellen, an American Economist.  She is the Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, previously serving as Vice Chair from 2010 to 2014.

5^th in the list is  Mary Barra,  Chief Executive Officer of General Motors. She has held the position since January 15, 2014, and she is the first female CEO of a major global automaker.

No. 6 is  Christine Lagarde,  a French lawyer and Union for a Popular Movement politician who has been the Managing Director (MD) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) since 5 July 2011.

7. Dilma Rousseff is the 1^st woman President; the 36^th and current President of Brazil.

8. Sheryl Sandberg,  an American technology executive, activist, and author. She is the Chief Operating Officer of Facebook.

9. Susan Wojcicki, another Technology executive – current CEO of You Tube.

10. Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama,  an American lawyer and writer. She is the wife of  Barack Obama, the 44th and current President of the United States.

If you think it to be list of politicians and technologists – there is a singer and songwriter at no. 64, a mega star alongside glam personalities like Beyonce, Angelina Jolie, Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres.  She is unique, for she is only 25 and has become the youngest woman ever to be included on the Forbes list of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women. Forbes says, she 'has not only broken record sales and captivated the world with her fantastically honest lyrics, but she has proven herself as an impressive businesswoman.'  

Taylor, who's 1989 album was her third consecutive release to sell one million copies in its first week, is described by the business bible as a 'bona fide cross-genre, global megastar.' Forbes said she has changed the nature of celebrity by posting personally on Twitter and Instagram and making time to engage with her fans or 'Swifties'. It also cited her controversial decision to pull her music from the streaming service Spotify.

There are 15 billionaires with a net worth of 73.3 billion dollars (£47bn) which does not include Melinda Gates, 24 chief executives and 19 newcomers in this year's power list. Federica Mogherini, the European Union Foreign Policy Chief, is highest new entry at 36 followed by Polish Prime minister Ewa Kopacz at 40. Just three Britons made its in the Forbes magazine list by US figures.  The Queen has been on the Most Powerful Women list every year since its inception in 2004. She is a constant. Her moving six spots, a small change in the broad view, represents the dynamism and ebb and flow of the list. Every year it changes based on who makes the cut and their relative successes over the past year."

The Indians in that powerful list are : Ms Arundhati Bhattacharya (59) at no. 30.  She is the first female (and youngest) chair at the government-owned State Bank of India in 2013 after nearly four decades of service. She oversees 220,000 staff members in 16,000 branches and services 225 million customers at the country's largest lender (assets $400 billion) with offices spread over 36 countries.  Ms Chanda Kochhar is at no. 35,  the managing director and CEO of India's ICICI Bank, o versees nearly $125 billion in assets and recently announced a 14% increase in profits over last year.  At no. 85 is the 62 year old Ms Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, CMD of BioconLimited, a biotechnology company and the current chairperson of IIM-Bangalore.

Indra Nooyi of PepsiCo is there at no. 15 but she is shown as naturalised US citizen.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

28^th May 2015.