Russian President Vladimir Putin has been chosen as the world’s most powerful person for the third time in a row by Forbes magazine.

Putin bested US President Barack Obama, who came in third place after German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the most powerful woman in the world, said the American magazine’s seventh annual list of the world’s most powerful people published on Wednesday.

“Putin continues to prove he’s one of the few men in the world powerful enough to do what he wants,” the magazine said.

According to the article, Putin’s domestic approval rating rose to 89 percent, the highest level over the last six years.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (C) poses for a selfie with members of the youth military patriotic in Red Square in Moscow, Russia November 4, 2015. (Reuters)
Obama became the first incumbent US president not listed in the top two rankings. “As Obama enters the final year of his presidency, it’s clear his influence is shrinking, and it’s a bigger struggle than ever to get things done,” Forbes said.

Out of the 73 people on the 2015 list, Pope Francis was fourth and Chinese President Xi Jinping came in fifth, a two-stage drop from last year.

To compile the list, Forbes took into consideration the candidates’ financial resources, their power in multiple spheres over a large number of people, and if they actively used their power.