US President Barack Obama has been named the world’s most powerful person in the inaugural ranking by Forbes.

The top 10

1. Barack Obama

2. Chinese President Hu Jintao

3. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin

4. US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke

5. Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page

6. Carlos Slim, Chief Executive of Mexico’s Telmex

7. Rupert Murdoch, chairman of News Corp

8. Michael T Duke, Chief executive, Wal-Mart Stores

9. Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz

10. Bill Gates, co-chairman, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

ALSO IN: Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein is placed 18 while billionaire investor Warren Buffett is at 14. While Pope Benedict XVI is placed at 11, the Dalai Lama finds himself at the 39th spot. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was number 36, while Mukesh Ambani (44) and Ratan Tata (59) and Lakshmi Mittal (55) were also in. British PM Gordon Brown came in at number 29, while Queen Elizabeth failed to make the cut.