Germany’s Merkel still world’s most powerful woman—Forbes

German Chancellor Angela Merkel. AP FILE PHOTO

For the fifth consecutive year, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been named as the world’s most powerful woman by Forbes magazine as revealed by its annual list of World’s 100 Most Powerful Women which was released Tuesday.

This also marked the 10th time that Merkel, who became the first female German chancellor in 2005, made it to the the magazine’s ranking.

READ: Merkel tops Forbes’ most powerful women

Merkel is followed by former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is seeking a presidential bid in the 2016 US presidential elections under the Democratic Party.

READ: Hillary Clinton says she’s running for president in 2016

Clinton, who has appeared in Forbes’ annual list since 2004, jumped four spots from her 2014 ranking.

American businesswoman Melinda Gates, wife of Bill Gates and co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, remained the world’s third most powerful woman.

American economist Janet Yellen clinched the fourth spot, two notches down from her debut ranking last year. Yellen was the first female chair of the Federal Reserve System’s board of governors.

Other personalities in the top 10 are General Motors CEO Mary Barra, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, and US First Lady Michelle Obama.

“This year’s Power Women control nearly $1 trillion in annual revenues. There are 15 billionaires with a total net worth in excess of $73.3 billion,” said Forbes in a statement.

Nineteen personalities made their debut on the list of powerful women this year, including American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift.

Media magnate Oprah Winfrey emerged as the world’s most powerful billionaire at no. 12, four spots up from her ranking in 2014, while American superstar Beyonce Knowles secured the 21st spot.

This year’s ranking represents women from eight categories, namely politics, technology, business, finance, media, entertainment, philanthropy, and billionaires—all of which were ranked by Forbes based on money, media presence, impact, and spheres of influence. IDL