Forbes names Angela Merkel most powerful woman in the world for 6th year

NEW YORK CITY, N.Y., June 7 (UPI) -- Forbes magazine named its 2016 World's 100 Most Powerful Women with German Chancellor Angela Merkel topping the list for the sixth year in a row.

The magazine's list includes politicians, business leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, scientists and philanthropists.

Merkel, who has been Germany's head of state since 2005, also was second on the list of the magazine's 2015 World's Most Powerful People, behind Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The second most powerful woman named on the Forbes list this year was Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who was also second last year. She was followed again by Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen in third, with philanthropist Melinda Gates at No. 4 and General Motors GM CEO Mary Barra at No. 5.

International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde stays at No. 6, followed by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki. Meg Whitman, the CEO of HP, moved to No. 9 and Ana Patricia Botín, the chairwoman of Banco Santander, is No. 10.

Of the 100 on the list, 26 are political leaders, including 11 heads of state as well as a 90-year-old monarch, Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain.

"In societies where men are truly confident of their own worth, women are not merely tolerated but valued," said Aung San Suu Kyi , who was No. 26 and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and newly elected defacto leader of Myanmar.

Forbes said the four criteria were money (either net worth, company revenues or GDP), media presence; spheres of influence; and impact within the context of each woman's field and outside it.

Forbes decided to eliminate the celebrities category to make room for political leaders. Last year's list included entertainers Ellen Degeneres, Taylor Swift and Angelina Jolie.

In its article, Fores noted "power can be subjective. Is it control, or is it influence?"

Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, the first woman to become president in Mauritius, says it's influence. "People say to have power, you hire and you fire," she says. "I don't subscribe to this notion. For me, power is the ability to influence. If you can influence in the long-term by leaving behind a legacy, to me, that's real power."