Hu Jintao, Barack Obama Top Most Powerful People List

It pretty much goes without saying that President Barack Obama is one of the world's most powerful people.

But he's not the most powerful person - at least not according to Forbes Magazine's annual ranking. That honor goes to Chinese President Hu Jintao.

As a related blog post on Forbes suggests, that's likely because - in addition to leading the world's most populous country - Hu "doesn't have to contend with those annoying artifacts of democracy like Congress, an independent judiciary, an uncensored media and voting by common citizens."

(The post also notes, however, that the way power is brokered through the Communist Party in China does constrain Hu's power somewhat.)

And let's just assume that Mr. Obama isn't number two because his party lost control of the House of Representatives Tuesday in a sweeping win for the opposition. Presumably the list was written before that.

Third on the list is the King of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Saud. The king sits atop the world's largest oil reserves and has friendly relations with both the West and his country's conservative religious establishment, Forbes noted.

Three European leaders - Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and British Prime Minister David Cameron - also made the top 10.

Sonia Gandhi, president of the Indian National Congress, also made the top 10, coming in nine spots above Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Gandhi is the widow of slain former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and the daughter-in-law of famed Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who was assassinated in 1984. Leading the ruling party to several electoral wins, Gandhi is "the true heiress to the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty" and remains the real power behind the nuclear-tipped throne," Forbes said.