Washington, December 22 (MIA) - U.S. president-elect Barack Obama ranks first on Newsweek's list of "The Global Elite: 50 Most Powerful People" released Saturday.
Newsweek said Obama "will be judged by whether he can save capitalism" from the global crisis.
Chinese President Hu Jintao ranked second as China's influence on the world economy is growing amid the global recession.
Third-ranking French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is concurrently EU president, won high marks for his leadership in efforts to solve the European financial crisis.
Ben Bernanke, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, and Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank, ranked fourth and fifth.
Newsweek said it decided the rankings based on a poll of experts and a vote by ordinary readers. It attached relatively greater importance than usual to economic influence. ik/fd/9:32
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