8 'Least Powerful' People in the World

A certain former pope makes the list
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 31, 2016 8:24 AM CDT
8 'Least Powerful' People in the World
A 2006 photo of Pope Benedict XVI.   (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz-file)

Lists of the "most powerful" people are easy to find, but 24/7 Wall St takes the opposite tack with this one. The website set out to find the "least powerful" people in the world, defined as those who once held mighty clout but then suffered a "precipitous fall in stature." The ranking is gauged on how powerful they once were and how big the fall. The top 8:

  1. Bill Ackerman: He used to be on the short list of best-performing hedge fund managers of all time, until bad bets on Valeant Pharmaceuticals and Herbalife put a big dent in his reputation.
  2. Roger Ailes: No longer running the show at Fox News after sex-harassment claims.
  3. Hulusi Akar: He is the highest-ranking official in Turkey's military, which tried to pull off a coup against his wishes. It failed, and now the once-powerful military is in disarray.

  1. Emperor Akihito: The job of being Japan's emperor is now largely ceremonial, and Akihito himself is suggesting that he'd like to abdicate.
  2. Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo: OPEC's secretary-general oversees a much-weakened organization these days.
  3. Anthony Batts: He ran the nation's eighth-largest police force in Baltimore, until the city fired him after riots and a spike in homicides.
  4. Pope Benedict: Remember the other pope?
  5. Noel Biderman: Ashley Madison's CEO had to step down after hackers released data on his cheating clientele.
Click for the full list of 50. (More lists stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X