Forbes ranks world's most powerful people of 2015
Forbes gave an exclusive first look at its annual list of world's most powerful people on "CBS This Morning," Wednesday, November 4, 2015. From heads of state to entrepreneurs, 73 people were featured this year based on four factors: power over people, financial resources, power in multiple spheres and exercise of power.
Click through to see who made the list.
10. Larry Page
The co-founder of Google stepped down as CEO in August 2015 to lead Alphabet, a new publicly traded parent company that includes Google, the Google X lab, and businesses such as Calico, Nest and Fiber.
9. Narendra Modi
The populist Indian prime minister Narendra Modi presided over 7.4 percent GDP growth in his first year in office. He also increased his international profile, meeting with global leaders including President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
8. David Cameron
British prime minister David Cameron was reelected for his second term in May, making him the leader of the first majority conservative government in nearly 20 years.
7. Janet Yellen
Janet Yellen made history in 2014 as the first female head of the Federal Reserve. She has been fighting to increase oversight and accountability for the central bank.
6. Bill Gates
The world's richest man, Bill Gates launched Microsoft 40 years ago with Paul Allen. Now, Gates and his wife, Melinda run a charity organization and have invested over $30 billion to reduce inequity.
5. Xi Jinping
Chinese president Xi Jinping is being called the most powerful Chinese ruler since Mao Zedong.
4. Pope Francis
The first Jesuit and Latin- American Bishop of Rome is a spiritual leader to one-sixth of the world's population -- 1.2. billion people. Also nicknamed "the people's pope," the pontiff made a six-day visit to the U.S. in September and has preached for issues including climate change, immigration and compassion for the poor.
3. Barack Obama
This year marks the first time any U.S. president fell out of the top two spots.
"I think it has to do a lot with the fact that this is going to be his last year in office -- he's a little bit more hamstrung both domestically and internationally," said Luisa Kroll, Forbes' assistant managing editor of wealth.
2. Angela Merkel
The German chancellor has maintained her position as the most powerful woman on the planet for ten years. In December 2014, she became the longest-serving elected EU head of state after being elected to her third four-year term by Europe's biggest economic power.
1. Vladimir Putin
Russian president Vladimir Putin ranked number one for the third consecutive year. Putin has proven he will exercise his power to get what he wants - from Crimea, to Ukraine, to bombing ISIS forces in Syria.
"He's not afraid to go out and exercise his power," said Kroll. "He has no checks and balances."
In June his approval ratings reached an all-time high of 89 percent.
Read the full list of world's most powerful people on Forbes.com.