Russian President Vladimir Putin was ranked as the most powerful person in the world for the third year in a row, leaving behind German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Barack obama. Putin’s rankings may have suffered a bit after sanctions by Western countries that lead to a deepened recession in Russia, however his ratings shot by almost 90% continuing to prove that Putin is one of the few men in the world “powerful enough to do what he wants,” reports Forbes.

The most powerful woman in the world is Merkel, reports Forbes. The German chancellor’s tough line concerning the influx of Syrian refugees and Greece have seen her power ranking rise from fifth place last year to second place in 2015.

To compile its list, Forbes considered hundreds of candidates based on four criteria (a) influence over other people (b) wealth factor (c) spheres of power (d) the success in which the candidate yields power.

“The men and women who are featured on Forbes’ annual ranking of the World’s Most Powerful People are the 0.00000001% – the global elite whose actions move the planet. These heads of state, financiers, philanthropists and entrepreneurs truly run the world,” reports the magazine.