German Chancellor Merkel keeps No. 1 ranking; 15 newcomers to list

German Chancellor Angela Merkel awaits Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of The Netherlands, unseen, under an umbrella prior to intergovernmental consultations in Kleve, Germany, Thursday, May 23, 2013. AP

NEW YORK – German Chancellor Angela Merkel remained as the most powerful woman in the world for the third consecutive year, according to a press release on Forbes’ 10th annual ranking of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.

Merkel is followed by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff at No. 2, and Melinda Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, at No. 3. U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama moved up to No. 4.

Although Hillary Clinton recently left her high-power role as U.S. Secretary of State, she is still one of the most watched and listened-to women at No. 5.

Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman (No. 15) is the subject of the Forbes cover story, “The Reluctant Savior.” Other women in the technology sector include Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg (No. 6); IBM CEO Virginia Rometty (No. 12); Xerox CEO Ursula Burns (No. 14); Oracle CFO Safra Catz (No. 23) and Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer (No. 32).

“The rise of personal brands and entrepreneurial endeavors among this year’s Power Women are exciting trends as we mark our 10th year of publishing the list,” said Moira Forbes, President & Publisher, ForbesWoman, when the list was released on May 22. “From Singapore to Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom to the United States – and beyond – the 100 influential women on our list are making an indelible and lasting impact on the world we live in.”

Members of the 2013 ranking represent women in technology, politics, business, media, entertainment, non-profits and NGOs, as well as billionaires – all ranked by money, media presence and impact.

The 24 corporate CEOs on the list lead companies with a combined $893 billion in 2012 revenues. Eight heads of state run nations with a combined Gross Domestic Product of $9.9 trillion.

The 100 women on the 2013 list have major reach: a combined Twitter following of over 153 million.

Entrepreneurial spirit runs through the 2013 list; 16 women founded their own companies. A total of 26 countries are represented, and while the U.S. dominates the list, South America, Asia and the Middle East are also well represented.

Among the 15 newcomers on this year’s list are South Korean President Park Geun-hye (No. 11); Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson (No. 34); Tory Burch CEO Tory Burch (No. 69); Spanx Founder Sara Blakely (No. 90) and Baidu CFO Jennifer Li (No. 98).  Fifteen women dropped off the list this year, including Laura Lang, Cynthia Carroll and Alice Walton.