Who Rules The World 2022

Leading the world's most powerful economy amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, global economic crisis and increased political polarisation put Joe Biden in the top position on the 2022 WRTW index. 

Current affairs surrounding the war in Ukraine have increased the already evident global tensions between Russia and NATO, which has resulted in the USA growing exponentially in popularity. This was also instrumental in Biden taking the top spot, which proves that political leaders still rank higher than business leaders. Even Google search results for the USA tripled this year in comparison to 2021. 

On the other hand, Larry Page has increased his personal net worth by 45% since last year! The majority of Page’s wealth comes from his stake in Alphabet, which is the parent company of Google. And even aside from his personal net worth growing so drastically, Alphabet’s net worth has grown by almost 13% since 2021, the combination of which has resulted in Larry Page holding on to a high-ranking spot in the 2022 index, in second place, right behind the President of the USA.

Moving up 10 places from last year’s index and coming in in third place is Bill Gates. Mr Gates has nearly doubled his cumulative score on the WRTW ranking from 2021 to 2022, thanks largely to his work with NFTs and cryptocurrency. His scores for both influence and power have increased over the last twelve months – and unsurprisingly, so have his profits. His money score is also influenced by Microsoft’s market capitalization value, which doubled since 2021.

Sergey Brin remains Alphabet’s co-founder, controlling stakeholder and, as of 2022, the fourth most powerful person in the world. His net worth has increased by 43% since 2021, making him and Larry Page centibillionaires. The wealth of the co-founders of Google has been growing prodigiously following the growth of Alphabet shares during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Li Keqiang is a newcomer to this year’s WRTW list, claiming the sixth spot. Mr Keqiang is the Premier of the People’s Republic of China, and, when his power and influence are combined with that of President Xi Jinping, this power couple come a close second to President Joe Biden in terms of influence and are considered one of the most powerful pairings in the world. With recent reports indicating that the Chinese media are giving more airtime to Mr.  Keqiang, there is strong speculation afoot that the Premier is taking charge of the government’s economic policy.