AKIPRESS.COM - The Forbes list is topped by Russian President Vladimir Putin who pipped his US counterpart Barack Obama for a second year in a row.

The list of 72 most powerful people in the world also included the names of Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani at 36th, ArcelorMittal chairman and CEO Lakshmi Mittal at 57th and Microsoft's Indian-born CEO Satya Nadella at 64th.

This year there are 12 newcomers on the list, including India's Narendra Modi and Egypt President Abdel el-Sisi. Alibiba founder and China's richest man — Jack Ma also makes a first appearance on the list after his record-breaking $25 billion initial public offering in September, as does terror group Islamic State's chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The top five remain the same as 2013 — Chinese President Xi Jinping ranked third, Pope Francis at No. 4 and the world's most powerful woman German Chancellor Angela Merkel ranked fifth.

Fed chief Janet Yellen moves into into sixth position, followed by Bill Gates and European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron slides up to number 10. The most powerful people in business are Google's Larry Page and Sergey Brin, both ranked nine.

The Forbes list of the 'World's 72 Most Powerful People' who "rule the world" features 17 heads of state who run nations with a combined GDP of about $48 trillion.

It has 39 CEOs and chairs who control over $3.6 trillion in annual revenues. Among the corporate honchos are 14 founders, including the newcomer billionaires to the list, Alibaba's Ma and Tencent's Ma Huateng.