World's Most Powerful People?

Forbes, the People magazine of Ayn Randish executives, and so fond of lists, has a new ranking out: "The World's Most Powerful People"

There are the obvious picks (Obama comes in first, Putin third), but the meshing of economic, political, and cultural power makes for some odd pairings: Sergey Brin ranks nine places above Angela Merkel, and 5 places above the Pope; Oprah Winfrey places 11 slots up from Nicolas Sarkozy and eight spots down from Osama bin Laden.