No Pakistani on Forbes list of World's Most Powerful People 2015

Vladimir Putin ranked world's most powerful leader by Forbes. Can you guess who was second and third on the list?

Every year Forbes magazine releases a list of World’s Most Powerful People, the global elite whose actions move the planet, and while Pakistanis have made it to the list in the past, this year there was none.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was ranked as the world's most powerful leader by Forbes after Russia managed to put US threat of an attack on Syria at bay. Russia also gave asylum to former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

Germany’s Angela Merkel ranked second followed by US President Barack Obama, Pope Francis and Chinese President Xi Jinping.



Also featured on the list among the top 15 of the world's most powerful people were Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Al Saud.

Among the hundreds selected to be included on the list, Modi's power to influence the world was ranked at number nine. He presided over 7.4% GDP growth in his first year in office, and further raised his profile as a global leader during official visits with Barack Obama and China's Xi Jinping. Modi's recent visit to Silicon Valley also reinforced his nation's great importance in technology.



PHOTO: AFP

However, while releasing the list, Forbes said governing 1.2 billion people in India requires more than "shaking hands" and that Modi must pass his party BJP's reform agenda and keep "fractious opposition" under control.

Modi heads to Silicon Valley chasing a digital dream


King Salman bin Al Saud of Saudi Arabia followed close behind on the list at number 14. With 20% of the world's known oil reserves at his disposal, there's no doubt over the power he holds in the global economy.

Crowned King of Saudi Arabia in January 2015 after the death of his half-brother, King Abdullah, Al Saud began wielding his power immediately.

Altering the Saudi line of succession was first on his agenda, in which he announced kingship would be passed among the sons of Abdulaziz ibm Saud, the country's founder.



Credited as a mediator among the royal family, the king advocates for philanthropy in poor Muslim countries. With his personal Twitter account surpassing 200,000 followers after his first tweet, he is one to follow.

PHOTO: AFP

Other than Modi and King Salman, others in the list and in the top 10 included Microsoft Founder Bill Gates at the sixth place, US Federal Reserve Chairperson Janet Yellen at seventh place, UK Prime Minister David Cameron and Google's Larry Page at eight and 10th place respectively.

PHOTO: FORBES

In 2012, Pakistan’s former army chief Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and spymaster Zaheerul Islam made it to the list of Forbes’s ranking of the mightiest earthlings. The American magazine placed Kayani on the 28th spot for “controlling nuclear weapons and one of the world’s largest standing armies in an unstable country.”



General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani was also the only Pakistani to make it to the Forbes ‘World’s Most Powerful People 2010’ list, landing at number 29.

Many took to Twitter celebrating the news of their leaders:

https://twitter.com/nimit129/status/661915902934450176

https://twitter.com/lectureratlarge/status/661915789323202565

PM Narendra Modi is Ninth most powerful man in Forbes list - https://t.co/8NVUh1TpCc via @timesofindia

— BairiSugreev (Modi ka Parivar) (@manojsirsa) November 4, 2015

https://twitter.com/Shanknaad/status/661932858051686400

#PM @narendramodi presides over 7.4% #GDP growth in his first year in office@JimHarris @Nichelle_McCall @rjaggrawalhttps://t.co/ADB7Zg2Fgw

— KAMLESH DABHHI (@kamleshdabhhi) November 5, 2015

https://twitter.com/GiftPiper/status/662149921252884484

https://twitter.com/RT3UAE/status/661977878389768192

Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud - Forbes https://t.co/cHbyiYSGyc via @forbes

— حمود الخلف (@HMALKHALAF) November 5, 2015

This article originally appeared on Forbes.