Who Rules The World 2023
The ultimate ranking of the world’s most influential people.
Who wields the power? Who has the influence? Who are the real decision-makers?
Who Rules The World - 2023 TOP 10
We bring you the Top 10 each year - see how they compare in each of the three metrics:
.jpg)
Who Rules The World - 2022 TOP 10
We bring you the Top 10 each year - see how they compare in each of the three metrics:
Who Rules The World - 2021 TOP 10
We bring you the Top 10 each year - see how they compare in each of the three metrics:
.webp)
21st Century Power & Influence
Change is constant in this game. Compiling and analysing data three years running, to produce our unique index of true potential and clout, we can confidently say that. Wealth, impact, authority have all been shaped and moulded by culture and volatile events.
How did last 12 months reorder the global power structures? What separates the leaders from the followers? Who are the rulers of tomorrow and which stars are on the rise? Find out, only with the Who Rules The World? index.
Five Power Bases
When the concept of power goes through seismic shifts, the metric that measures it has to evolve too.
Modern influence doesn’t come from just any one source. To reflect this, our index combines metrics of reach, clout and opportunity in five different fields to arrive to the definitive index of power.
Want to know Who Rules The World 2023?
Wealth has changed, influence has changed, power has changed. Who’s calling the shots in today’s society?
Three Key Pillars of Power
In order to compile a definitive index, three key data points were leveraged: Wealth, Power and Influence.
These coalesce to determine who reigns supreme, where their strengths lie, and who has the capacity to tip the balance.
Money may not be able to buy you happiness, but it certainly has a bearing on status, visibility and affluence.
As a metric it is wholly objective, and as such plays a central role in the Who Rules The World? index.
The data collated to establish ‘wealth’ takes into consideration both personal assets and those an individual has indirect control over. The resultant score is determined by combining an individual’s net worth and that of their entities. In the case of political figures, entities are substituted by the wealth indicators of the country whose fortunes they manage.
Here we come to the question of ‘real-world’ power. This is an individual’s ability to make a tangible difference and their ability to impact the lives of others.
This could mean managing a company, running a business empire or governing a country.
The data collated in this instance takes into consideration economic and military strength, executive powers and positions within an entity or organisation.
Soft power always included cultural impact and a voice to be vielded. Digital connectivity makes it more important than ever and possibly more obscure than ever: hence our research focuses on the many facets of the internet and all its social media channels.
Reach, likes, quality and activity of followers and impressions are considered. The data for this category spans audience demographic and size, as well as social media and search engine statistics.
The Stories Behind the Numbers
Top Locations for the Top 100
Want to know Who Rules The World 2023?
Wealth has changed, influence has changed, power has changed. Who’s calling the shots in today’s society?
Where Power is Coming to the Top 20
The Numbers Behind the Top Ten
(Person + Entity they run)
personal wealth
The total size of the networks individuals have access to is one ofthe crucial factors affecting the WRTW index.
Below are the 5 largest people networks in the world:
So, What Are The Rulers Up To?
Politics
In our world of overnight social media fame, visionary CEOs and AI that can read the entire internet, one would be well positioned to think the old bases of power will not be quite as relevant anymore. Our Top 10 & 20 is here to prove otherwise. Of course power comes in many flavours, yet sway over an entire country’s budget, military might and the influence over global scale alliances put political leaders firmly on top. Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Narendera Modi (the world’s most popular leader according to The Economist) only advanced their positions since last year.
Could this be because of the increasing uncertainty in the world cements the position of people viewed as stable and in for the long haul? Possibly our attention is lavished at political leaders more when we expect states to act and make things better amidst economic turmoil. Then of course, much of today’s politics is leaning towards polarisation and populist toolkits: more noise, more attention and more controversy ensures power by screen time too. The highest ranking female on our list is a politician too: Giorgia Meloni, who attracted the western world’s interest with her staunchly conservative views and the difficulty of the job: none of the last 6 prime ministers were able to hold on to office for an entire term.
Big business
Founders and CEOs of yesterday’s startups and today’s behemoths are major holders of power in 2023. Larry Page, Tim Cook and Sergey Brin all occupy slightly less advanced positions behind Xi Jinping and Li Quiang, illustrating the rising sun of China, however some other, more controversial figures lost more of their klout. Elon Musk barely holds onto his top 10 run, while Mark Zuckerberg is at 11th place and Jeff Bezos is down to 14th. Of course holding power in the global top 20 is no mean feat, but we can possibly make the conclusion that controversy, loudness and persistence are not enough to wield power anymore.
Entertainment
In previous years entertainment players would not feature above 35th place - in 2023 that changed. BTS, the Korean boy band, dubbed the best and biggest by many publications before, debuted in our ranking at 17th place. Of course now they are looking to take a break - what else is there if you beat Kim Kardashian (second highest ranking female and second in Entertainment category at 23rd place) and Justin Bieber, at 28th.