November 7, 2011. (Romereports.com) Forbes Magazine has come out with its list for the World's Most Powerful People of 2011. Pope Benedict XVI came in at number seven. This is a fall of two spots since he was ranked number five back  in 2010.

Ranked at number one was U.S. president Barack Obama. He was followed by Russian Prime Minister Vladamir Putin. The number three spot was given to Chinese president Hu Jintao.


Fourth and fifth place are taken by German Chancelor Angela Merkel and Bill Gates, followed by the Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz. The pope's ranking at seven was largely based on the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.

The next spot is filled by the U.S. chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke who ranked at number eight. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was number nine and UK Prime Minister David Cameron ranked tenth.

The rankings are based on financial resources, individual controls, and influence on world events.

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