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Barely eight months in the public eye, Pope Francis continues to gain the trust of people from all over the world with his simple and uncomplicated lifestyle without veering from the basic Christian message of love.

As a result, he is fourth on Forbes Magazine's newly released list of the Most Powerful People in the World. He joins other heads of state such as Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. President Barack Obama and Communist Party of China General Secretary Xi Jinping who are ahead of him in the list.

After the pontiff comes German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Saudi Arabia King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and Wal-Mart CEO Michael Duke in the Top 10.

The 9 others in the Top 10 have been in the position for years, while Pope Francis headed the 2-billion strong Roman Catholic Church in March after Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI resigned on Feb 28, 2013.

Another proof of his strong leadership is this week, Pope Francis's Twitter followers in 9 different language groups topped 10 million from only 4 million when he became pope. He was known only as Buenos Aires Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio prior to the March conclave.

One significant change in the top 10 list, besides the entry of a newcomer to the list, is the revival of the U.S.-Russia rivalry with Mr Putin dislodging Mr Obama from the no 1 position.

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Forbes said in drawing up the list, it considered four factors that affect the lives of 7.2 billion people on earth. These are the number of people they have power over, financial resources they control, influence beyond one nation and how active they are in wielding their power to change the world.

Eric Kraus, a Moscow-based investment banker and director at Principal Asset Management, agreed with Forbes' choice of the Russian president as the most powerful person in the world in 2013.

He cited Mr Putin's role in preventing the U.S. attack on Syria and providing refuge to NSA leaker Edward Snowden whom many people consider to be a hero, although the U.S. certainly disagrees with the latter.

Mr Kraus emphasised the selection of Mr Putin confirms the perception that American hegemony is gradually on the decline. "There was a time when the US was the key diplomatic relation for pretty much every country on Earth. That is no longer the case. It's not so much being supplanted by Russia which is ... a medium sized country with a large, someone undiversified, economy. But it is being supplanted by a rising Asia."

While Mr Putin topping the Forbes list may not make much of a difference for Russians, Mr Kraus said his role in averting the planned American attack on Syria is seen as "having won a game of diplomatic chess against the US."

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