Forbes has released its seventh annual ranking of the world’s most powerful people, the class of elites who run the world. U.S. President Barack Obama came in as the third most powerful leader - the first sitting U.S. president to drop to the third position, as the magazine declared Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel as the two most powerful people of the world.

The global ranking of powerful people came only weeks after Russia assumed a new role in Syria in conducting airstrikes against notorious ISIS establishments.

"As Obama enters the final year of his presidency, it's clear his influence is shrinking, and it's a bigger struggle than ever to get things done," Forbes wrote. "At home, his approval ratings are perpetually stuck under 50 percent; abroad, he's outshined by Merkel in Europe, and out maneuvered by Putin in the Middle East."

Putin has retained his position as the most powerful man alive on earth for three years in a row. According to Forbes, “he’s one of the few men in the world powerful enough to do what he wants – and get away with it.”

Even though international sanctions for seizing Crimea and waging war against Ukraine pushed Russia into a deep recession, Putin’s popularity and power remains unaffected. His undisputable role in carrying out airstrikes against the Islamic State and his meeting with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad face-to-face in Moscow, also pushed him to the number one position.

Merkel has shown an apparent improvement as a leader, jumping from last year’s 5th position to this year's second. Her role in dealing with the ongoing refugee crisis in Europe and her strong stance at the time of the Greek financial crisis helped her climb higher up the ladder of power.

Although the U.S. still leads the world in terms of economic, technological, diplomatic, cultural and military power, it seems President Obama’s influence has started shrinking abroad.

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