Most Powerful Women in the World 2012

The following table lists the most powerful women in the world, according to Forbes. The women range from presidents to divas, CEOs to a mining tycoon.

Rank Name Title Category
1. Angela Merkel Chancellor of Germany politics
2. Hillary Clinton U.S. Secretary of State politics
3. Dilma Rousseff President of Brazil politics
4. Melinda Gates Co-Chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation humanitarian
5. Jill Abramson Executive Editor, New York Times Co. media
6. Sonia Gandhi President of Indian National Congress, India politics
7. Michelle Obama First Lady, United States politics
8. Christine Lagarde Managing Director, International Monetary Fund humanitarian
9. Janet Napolitano Secretary, Department of Homeland Security politics
10. Sheryl Sandberg COO, Facebook technology
11. Oprah Winfrey Entrepreneur, Personality celebrity
12. Indra Nooyi Chairman and CEO, PepsiCo business
13. Irene Rosenfeld Chairman and CEO, Kraft Foods business
14. Lady Gaga Musician, Philanthropist celebrity
15. Virginia Rometty President and CEO, IBM technology
16. Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner President, Argentina politics
17. Ursula Burns Chairman and CEO, Xerox technology
18. Meg Whitman CEO, Hewlett-Packard technology
19. Aung San Suu Kyi Chair and Parliamentarian, National League for Democracy, Burma politics
20. Maria das Graças Silva Foster CEO, Petrobras-Petróleo Brazil business

Information Please Database®, ©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Most Powerful Women in the World 2012

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