Business Insider recently released a ranking of the 50 most powerful people in the world— the men and women who command the most influence and authority right now.
We looked at more than 100 of the top leaders in business, politics, entertainment, and tech. We evaluated their influence based on metrics in four major areas: economic power, command, newsworthiness, and impact — a subjective measure that captures how important they are in their respective spheres (see our full methodology here).
To spotlight the women who are breaking barriers and transforming industries, countries, and companies, we broke out a separate list of the world's most powerful women, including the nine women who made our top 50 as well as several near misses.
While more women than ever have ascended to the top echelons of power — Park Geun-hye and Dilma Rousseff are the first female presidents of South Korea and Brazil, respectively — gender equality is still a long way off. Less than 5% of S&P 500 companies are led by female CEOs, and according to the World Economic Forum, it could take another 118 years to erase the global gender pay gap.
Considering the systemic obstacles working against them, the accomplishments of these women — who are role models simply by dint of their positions — warrant special mention.
Scroll down to meet the 12 most powerful women on the planet.
Editing by Alex Morrell; additional research by Andy Kiersz.
SEE ALSO: The 50 most powerful people in the world
12. Isabel Dos Santos
Title: Businesswoman and investor
Country: Angola
Age: 42
Not only is Isabel Dos Santos the daughter of the president of Angola, she's also Africa's first female billionaire, amassing a net worth of at least $3.4 billion at a time when the average Angolan lives on just $2 a day.
Her wealth stems primarily from investments in Angolan and Portuguese conglomerates, including Unitel, one of Angola's largest telecom companies, and Portugal's Banco BPI. In June, she bought a 65% stake in Portuguese power components manufacturer Efacec Power Solutions for more than $220 million.
Thanks to her savvy business moves and considerable wealth, Dos Santos' words can move markets: In March she reportedly suggested a merger between Banco BPI and Millennium BCP, another bank in Portugal, causing the share prices of both banks to surge to their highest levels since the end of 2014.
11. Meg Whitman
Title: CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, chair of HP Inc.
Country: US
Age: 59
After taking the helm of IT company Hewlett Packard in 2011 amid internal corporate scandals, Meg Whitman set out to overhaul the company and revive its declining profits and revenues. She wrote off fruitless acquisitions, implemented thousands of layoffs, and ultimately split HP into two separate Fortune 500 companies, a change that took effect November 1. Whitman now serves as CEO of new brand Hewlett Packard Enterprises, which will focus on software and tech services, and is the chairman of HP Inc., which will center on personal computers and printers.
Previously the longtime CEO of e-commerce site eBay, Whitman’s personal net worth sits at a sizable $2.1 billion. When she took the position at eBay, the company only had 30 employees and $4 million in revenue, but by the time she left 10 years later, eBay was generating $8 billion in annual revenue and employed more than 15,000 people.
Whitman’s no stranger to politics either. Back in 2010, she unsuccessfully ran for governor of California, famously spending more of her own money on the campaign — at least $119 million — than any other self-funded politician in history.
10. Hillary Clinton
Title: Former US Secretary of State, 2016 presidential candidate
Country: US
Age: 68
Hillary Clinton has come a long way since her stint as first lady, and she could find herself back in the White House if she wins the 2016 presidential election. The Democratic front-runner has support from an impressive 56% of her party, according to a November 13 poll by Reuters. This comes even after the "emailgate" scandal that revealed she had been using a personal email account instead of a government email while she served as secretary of state, showing that even despite her mistakes, her experience and popularity could still land her in office.
Clinton was the first female senator in New York and the first and so far only first lady to run for president herself. In addition to several high-profile endorsements from school unions, Clinton recently earned the support of the SEIU, a labor union two million members strong. As her list of backers continues to swell and her electoral chances improve, so does her sway and influence in American politics.
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