Michelle Obama tops women list

Forbes magazine says Michelle Obama was named the world’s most powerful woman because she made the office of first lady her own while remaining popular [AFP]

The US first lady has been named by Forbes magazine as the world’s most powerful woman.

Michelle Obama topped the magazine’s annual listing, which was released on Wednesday, beating out heads of state, chief executives and celebrities.

Forbes said Obama topped the list this year because “she has made the office of first lady her own” while remaining popular.

“In a telling sign of her charisma, the White House is putting her on the campaign trail to headline fundraising events in battleground states like California and Colorado,” Forbes said.

“She’s also effective: In response to her Let’s Move! campaign against childhood obesity, companies like Coca-Cola, Kellogg and General Mills have pledged to reduce the calorie content of their foods by 2015,” it said.

Top ten

Kraft Foods Chief Executive Irene Rosenfeld, who led a hostile $18 billion takeover of Britain’s Cadbury, came in second, followed by talk show host and media mogul Oprah Winfrey, who is ending “The Oprah Winfrey Show” next year after 25 years to launch her cable network OWN.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, elected for a second term last year, was the fourth most powerful woman, while US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was put in charge of brokering Middle East peace, rounded out the top five.

PepsiCo Inc Chief Executive Indra Nooyi, who was last week named the most powerful woman in US business for the fifth year in a row by Fortune, was in sixth place, while singer Lady Gaga came in at number seven.

Gail Kelly, chief executive of Australia’s Westpac Banking Corp, was in eighth place, followed by singer Beyonce Knowles. Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres rounded out the top 10.

Moira Forbes, vice president and publisher of ForbesWoman, said the women on the business magazine’s list were “shaping many of the agenda-setting conversations of the day”.

“They have built companies and brands, sometimes by non-traditional means and they have broken through gender barriers in areas of commerce, politics, sports and media and cultural zeitgeist, and thereby affecting the lives of millions, sometimes billions of people,” she said.

This year, Forbes changed the way it ranked women, basing the list less on wealth and power and more on creative influence and entrepreneurship.

The complete Forbes list of the 100 most powerful women can be seen at www.forbes.com/powerwomen