The renowned Forbes magazine has published the list of the most powerful women in the world 2015. The list is once again dominated by the usual suspects. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has once again ended up at the top of the list. Her dominance in domestic and European politics has made her a key figure in world politics. Merkel is followed by Hillary Clinton, who once again ended the year as America’s strongest politician.

No, the list is not predominantly made up of politicians only. It would surprise you that philanthropist and wife of Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, is third on the list. Then there are bankers, economists, entertainers and entrepreneurs who have found a spot on the list. Yes, Oprah is there. However, she failed to make the top 10 and had to settle for 12th position in the prestigious countdown ^.

Well I think that’s enough for an introduction and playing around. So let’s get down to business and take a look at the prominent female personalities who are beacons of inspiration and success in their respective fields.

1. Angela Merkel

Angela Merkel has claimed the title of the most powerful woman on the planet for the tenth straight year. Yes, you read it right. Merkel always had a sense of surprising everyone and being a kind of pioneer. After all, the former scientist is considered the first woman to lead her home country. In December 2014, she secured a third four-year term in Europe’s most dynamic economy, becoming the longest-serving elected EU head of state. Among her many accomplishments is addressing the national recession with great dexterity during the global recession. She released stimulus packages and government subsidies for companies that reduced the working hours of workers. Currently she is one of the leading figures in the ongoing discussions,

She recently broke the long-standing German tradition that has existed since the Nazis by providing military support to Kurdish fighters in the fight against IS. She is also trying to defuse tensions between Vladimir Putin and Western Europe by attempting to finalize a peace deal over the Russia-Ukraine conflict. And it looks like she’ll be the number one next year too.

2. Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton is the Democrat’s leading contender for the 2016 presidential campaign. She already has a healthy lead over her competitors and is firmly on track to fulfilling her desire to become a champion for the US public, as she announced when she announced her candidacy had explained by e-mail and video publication. In 2014, her Ready for Hillary super PAC raised $9 million, and it’s well known that some of her biggest potential donors are yet to commit. Clinton, who became the first and only woman to become a US Senator in 2001, has also proven to be a hugely successful writer. In her essay “Hard Choices”, published in 2014, which documents her work as Secretary of State, she put in a high seven-digit lead.

So popular is she that despite the “Email-Gate” revelations stating that at the US State Department she used her own private email address and server instead of the government system, making her correspondence potentially vulnerable to hacking and foreign surveillance power.

3. Melinda Gates

Over the years, Melinda Gates has effectively changed the way philanthropy is done. Like her husband, she was a pioneer in the field of charity. Over the past year, she has cemented her position as a leading philanthropist with a 2014 donation of $3.9 billion to charity and global development. Since the inception of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundationwith her husband, Bill Gates, she gave away $33 billion in grants. And their position among the leading philanthropists is not only due to the size of the donations. With targeted campaigns, data-driven monitoring and global collaboration, she has made philanthropy more efficient. As the leader of the charity, she decides how the organization works and regularly monitors the results. Currently, her and the organization’s attention is focused on women and girls around the world.

4. Janet Yellen

In 2014, Janet Yellen made history by becoming the first woman to chair the Federal Reserve. Other distinguished and distinguished positions she has held include President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco; Chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers under President Bill Clinton; and Professor Emerita at the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business. Since assuming the new position in 2014, she has not been idle. She took charge soon after the central bank began unwinding its bond-buying program amid the recession, leading markets through six cuts that took monthly purchases to $0 from a peak of $85 billion. As markets are still very vulnerable to changes and new measures, she handled her new responsibility with sensitivity and balance. In March 2015, she received plaudits for managing to change leadership without scaring investors. At the same time, she fought calls for increased congressional leadership over the Fed’s work and campaigned to improve the Fed’s oversight of big banks.

5. Mary Barra

Mary Barra, who has been recognized as the first female CEO of a major global automaker, has finally laid out her strategy for the future. Among other things, she wants to turn Cadillac into a global luxury brand that continues to grow in China and into a technology leader. However, her first year in the new position was harrowing. It showed the faulty ignition switches caused at least 74 deaths and 126 injuries, prompting a recall of 30 million cars and pressure from investors to return more money to shareholders. In April last year, she was on the cover of 100 Most Influential People Alive.

Under her General Motors has become more financially stable and disciplined. In addition, the company has made several difficult decisions, e.g. For example, pulling out of Russia, Australia and Indonesia, or discontinuing the Chevrolet brand in Europe in the event that profits are insufficient to justify further investment.

6. Christine Lagarde

Christine Lagarde has dropped one position in this list. She is entering the final year of her stint as CEOof the International Monetary Fund, which serves as economic adviser and backstop for 188 countries. When she was appointed, the world economy was recovering from the financial crisis. Currently, the projected annual global growth is 3.5%. This is just an indication of the year-on-year rate and a 4% decline in 2011. She has dubbed this the “new mediocrity” and expressed concern about the slow growth of the new reality. The IMF seeks to spur growth by treating emerging markets as unique locals rather than as a single entity. The organization has also warned central bankers like the US Federal Reserve to be wary of the potential negative impact of divergent monetary policies around the world.

7. Dilma Rousseff

Currently, Dilma Rousseff is struggling with a sudden and significant drop in her approval ratings. It was the main theme of the protests that took place across Brazil in March and April this year. It has been claimed that she was part of the Petrobras scandal. Petrobras is the leading oil company in Brazil and it has been alleged that government officials and politicians have received bribes from the company. Although no evidence has been found linking Rousseff to the corruption scandal, her approval rating has nevertheless fallen to 13%. The country’s economy continues to shrink for the second time in a row. With the economic downturn, Rousseff has also fallen from fourth place last year to seventh place this year. However, she has a habit of bouncing back from defeats.

8. Sheryl Sandberg

Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer is one of the most successful and popular women in IT. Before being lured to Facebook by Mark Zuckerberg in 2008, she was Google’s VP of Global Online Sales and Operations from November 2001 to March 2008. Before that, she worked for Larry Summers , who was then Chief of Staff at the Treasury Department under President Bill Clinton. She is often credited with making Facebook profitable and a business powerhouse. According to Facebook, she controls the company’s operations, including sales, marketing, business development, human resources, public policy and communications.

She is also the author of the bestselling bestseller ‘Lean In’, whose famous fans include Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer and Beyoncé. The books have inspired thousands of Lean In Circle support groups and a spin-off of Lean In for Graduates published in 2014. She has also signed a film deal with Sony Pictures .

9. Susan Wojcicki

Susan Wojcicki has been with Google since its inception in 1998. The company originally founded Larry Page and Sergey Brin set up the office in Wojcicki’s garage in Menlo Park. She became Google’s first marketing manager in 1999 and was responsible for the first viral marketing programs. And remember those cute and creative doodles Google uses to celebrate different occasions? Well, she worked on the first Google Doodles. She was also a key component of the other development teams that created different areas of Google such as B. Google Images and Google Books. In fact, she has often been referred to as “the most important person in advertising”.

She is currently the CEO of YouTube. However, their rise to the top of the world’s leading video streaming website comes as no surprise. She lobbied for the video site’s $1.65 billion acquisition. Currently, YouTube is worth around $20 billion with more than 1 billion unique visitors per month. Total sales for 2014 were approximately $4 billion, which is 33% more than 2013 sales. Her work with leading celebrities and media outlets has contributed to an incredible increase in sales and popularity in recent years.

10. MichelleObama

The US first lady doesn’t sit in the shade. Either way, she’s an independent woman who loves to work hard for the causes she believes in. In 2010, she launched a highly acclaimed “Let’s Move!” initiative to help tackle childhood obesity and make life for the general public healthier and better. In early 2014, she traveled to Southeast Asia to advance an initiative to improve girls’ education and the well-being and financial stability of young women. She was also a leading voice in the election campaign to bring back kidnapped schoolgirls in Nigeria. Her involvement wasn’t just limited to overseas, she also spoke about the government’s efforts to address military veteran homelessness in the United States. She gave examples from Phoenix and Salt Lake City where the organization was successful. During a visit to Saudi Arabia, she also courted controversy by not covering her head in the presence of the President of Saudi Arabia.