Michelle Obama heads list of power women

NEW YORK, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama heads Forbes magazine's list of the world's most powerful women.

In its description of Obama, the magazine suggested her decision to avoid open involvement in "hard policy" contributes to her power. The magazine called her "Jackie Kennedy with a law degree from Harvard and street sense from Chicago's South Side."

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who did get involved in policy as first lady, was in the fifth position. She followed Kraft Foods CEO Irene Rosenfeld, Oprah Winfrey and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Rounding out the top 10 were PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi, Lady Gaga, Westpac CEO Gail Kelly, Beyonce Knowles and Ellen DeGeneres. Nancy Pelosi, the first female speaker off the House, was No. 11, while Sarah Palin, the top Republican politician on the list, was only No. 16.

Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain was in 41st place, making her the most powerful female monarch, in Forbes' view. But she is apparently considered less powerful than Chelsea Handler (No. 33), author of "Chelsea, Chelsea, Bang Bang."

Domestic diva Martha Stewart, who might have been higher up the list a few years ago, was in 99th place, outranking only Dominique Senequier, the chief executive of AXA Private Equity.