Russian President Vladimir Putin has the world in his hands, according to Forbes. AP Forbes has just declared Russian President Vladimir Putin to be the most powerful person on Earth.

"As the undisputed, unpredictable, and unaccountable head of an energy-rich, nuclear-tipped state, no one would ever call him weak," writes Forbes Senior Editor Caroline Howard.

For the second year in a row, Putin edges out US President Barack Obama for the top spot.

With the exception of Pope Francis, the top six people are all in politics.

The business world cracks the top 10 in the form of Google cofounders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, who are tied at No. 9.

At only 30 years old, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is the youngest person on the list, while the 90-year-old king of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, is the oldest.

Newcomers include Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Alibaba CEO Jack Ma.

Here are the world's 25 most powerful people:

1. Vladimir Putin, President of Russia

2. Barack Obama, President of the US

3. Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China

4. Pope Francis, Head of the Roman Catholic Church

5. Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany

6. Janet Yellen, Chair of the Board of Governors of the United States Federal Reserve System

7. Bill Gates, Co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

8. Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank

9. Sergey Brin and Larry Page, Cofounders of Google

10. David Cameron, Prime minister of the United Kingdom

11. Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, King of Saudi Arabia

12. Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway

13. Li Keqiang, Premier of China

14. Carlos Slim Helu, Honorary chairman of América Móvil

15. Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India

16. Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon

17. Francois Hollande, President of France

18. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase

19. Ali Hoseini-Khamenei, Grand Ayatollah of Iran

20. Rex Tillerson, CEO of Exxon Mobil

21. Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of General Electric

22. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook

23. Michael Bloomberg, CEO of Bloomberg

24. Charles Koch and David Koch, CEO and EVP of Koch Industries

25. Timothy Cook, CEO of Apple

For the full list, head to Forbes.