In the 2025 ranking of the world’s 100 most powerful women published by the American magazine Forbes, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, occupies the first place.
According to the editorial board, she is the first woman to hold this position and is responsible for legislation that affects more than 450 million Europeans.
In second place is the President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde.
Third place goes to Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s Prime Minister and the first woman to ever lead the Japanese government.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni ranks fourth, while fifth is Mexico’s President Claudia Scheinbaum.
Among the top ten are also General Motors CEO Mary Barra and Citi CEO Jane Fraser.
The list includes:
- Amy Hood, Executive Vice President and CFO of Microsoft
- Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the IMF
- Gwynne Shotwell, President & COO of SpaceX
- Pop star Taylor Swift
- India’s Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman
Also featured are:
- Media icon Oprah Winfrey
- Disney Co-Chair Dana Walden
- UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves
- JD.com CEO Sandy Ran Xu
- NYSE President Lynn Martin
- Vodafone CEO Margherita Della Valle
- Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria
Other notable names include:
- Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott
- Deutsche Post DHL CFO Melanie Kreis
- Public figure & entrepreneur Kim Kardashian
- Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo Judith Suminwa Tuluka
- Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen
- Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley
The final spot on the list was awarded to the animated heroines of the Netflix–Sony co-produced series “KPop Demon Hunters”—featuring the fictional K-Pop girl group HUNTR/X, which surpassed 325 million views by December 2025, becoming the most-watched Netflix film of all time.
This is the 22nd edition of the Forbes list, which is compiled based on four main criteria:
wealth, media presence, influence, and sphere of impact.
This year’s list includes women from politics, finance, media, entertainment, entrepreneurship—and 17 new entries.
