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 USD 48 trillion.
It has 39 CEOs and chairs who control over USD 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.
Putin tops the list, pipping US President Obama.
Forbes said after a year when Putin annexed Crimea, staged a proxy war in the Ukraine and inked a deal to build a more than USD 70 billion gas pipeline with China, its choice of him as the most powerful person "simply seems prescient."
"Russia looks more and more like an energy-rich, nuclear-tipped rogue state with an undisputed, unpredictable and unaccountable head unconstrained by world opinion in pursuit of its goals," it said.
"Heading into the second half of his second term, Obama seems stymied both by the West African Ebola breakout and a blood-thirsty militia named ISIS, which threaten to undo all the gains of a 9-year war in Iraq that cost the lives of 4,500 Americans," Forbes said.
It said at home, Obama had to address the racially charged images of unrest in Ferguson, Missouri which mocked his 2008 message of "Change."
"On the plus side, unemployment is at its lowest level since the Great Recession and the markets continue test new highs. One word sums up his second place finish: caution. He has the power but has been too cautious to fully exercise it," it said.
Forbes said for the first time, two women, Merkel and Yellen, reach the top 10.
This year there are nine women on the list, representing 12 per cent of the world's most powerful - in stark contrast to being 50 per cent of the world's population.
While the same number as last year, the inaugural list from 2009 included only three women leaders.
Alexey Miller, CEO of Russian gas giant Gazprom, makes a return appearance after dropping of the list in years past.
The list also includes French President Francois Hollande (17), Iran's Grand Ayatollah Ali Hoseini-Khamenei (19), Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg (22), Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu (26), Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein (27), UN Secretray Geberal Ban Ki-moon (40), forner US President Bill Clinton (44), North Lorean leader Kim Jong-un (49) and Japanese leader Shinzo Abe (63).
