# Who is the most powerful woman currently alive? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 3, 2014, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-currently-alive/694716 "2014-08-03T14:39:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DingoelGringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@DingoelGringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DingoelGringo)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-currently-alive/694716/21 "2014-08-04T00:47:00Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > With reference to Angela Merkel, this brings up the whole question as to how much power leaders of democracies really have–there are so many checks and balances. > > But doesn’t anyone remember the charges of her phone being tapped by the NSA? Would the NSA actually tap the phone of someone who had that much power and was presumably friendly toward the U.S. and who could turn against the U.S. if the tapping was discovered? THose spying types are beyond the point where they can imagine being caught. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-currently-alive/694716/22 "2014-08-04T01:03:14Z")
Christine Lagarde, managing director of the Int’l Monetary Fund, is powerful. ---
**Author:** ![Krav\_Manga](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/krav_manga/32/3153_2.png) [@Krav\_Manga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krav_Manga)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-currently-alive/694716/23 "2014-08-04T01:18:54Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > There’s an Australian mining heiress who is in the 10s of billions as well. Slight hijack, but it is interesting that Rinehart is often referred to as a “mining heiress” rather than a mining magnate or baroness. She has been in charge of Hancock Prospecting for over 20 years, diversified its investments and seen a meteoric rise in profits (albeit assisted by the China led growth in demand). In contrast, Rupert Murdoch isn’t really referred to as a “media heir”. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-currently-alive/694716/24 "2014-08-04T01:57:27Z")
Merkel, so I wouldn’t call her a “gal” to her face. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-currently-alive/694716/25 "2014-08-04T02:41:18Z")
> [@Krav\_Manga](#): > > Slight hijack, but it is interesting that Rinehart is often referred to as a “mining heiress” rather than a mining magnate or baroness. She has been in charge of Hancock Prospecting for over 20 years, diversified its investments and seen a meteoric rise in profits (albeit assisted by the China led growth in demand). In contrast, Rupert Murdoch isn’t really referred to as a “media heir”. She’s grown what she inherited but ask yourself this question: if she hadn’t inherited what she did from her father would she be a billionaire? Please, let’s be serious. She’s an heiress. She’s done well with what she was given but if she had inherited nothing she’d be (at most) some sort of ordinary successful businesswoman who none of us would have heard of. ---
**Author:** ![Krav\_Manga](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/krav_manga/32/3153_2.png) [@Krav\_Manga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krav_Manga)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-currently-alive/694716/26 "2014-08-04T04:02:05Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > She’s grown what she inherited but ask yourself this question: if she hadn’t inherited what she did from her father would she be a billionaire? > > Please, let’s be serious. > > She’s an heiress. She’s done well with what she was given but if she had inherited nothing she’d be (at most) some sort of ordinary successful businesswoman who none of us would have heard of. That’s my point. Rupert Murdoch has done well with what he was given. Kerry Packer did well with what he was given. We don’t refer to them as ‘heirs’, we refer to them as businessmen, barons, magnates etc. Why do we refer to Reinhart as an heiress? ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-currently-alive/694716/27 "2014-08-04T04:29:34Z")
We are probably reaching the point of hijack. However, there may be some element of sexism in it and perhaps we should refer to a few more people as heirs rather than magnates, and to that extent your point is a good one. But I don’t think that your examples and Rinehart are very comparable. Murdoch inherited a couple of minor regional newspapers and turned that into a global media empire. What he has done with what he inherited is out of all proportion. I recognise that if he’d been born to a pauper he probably wouldn’t have built much of anything but what he’s done off his own bat is so enormous that it’s probably apt to refer to him other than by reference to his inheritance. Rinehart inherited massive iron ore deposit leases. What did she do? Put mines on them. Fuck me eh? Who would have thought of that but an entreprenerial genius? ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-currently-alive/694716/28 "2014-08-04T11:28:28Z")
> [@Stringbean](#): > > To expand: > > Merkel is the most powerful person in all of Europe right now. She may be the 2nd most powerful person in the world behind the US president. This is a hijack but I think there would be a valid question about whether the US Prez is actually the most powerful person. Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping may also lay claim to that. However, it depends whether “powerful” is meant as influential or wielding the largest military- and being prepared to use it. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-currently-alive/694716/29 "2014-08-04T11:34:16Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > We are probably reaching the point of hijack. However, there may be some element of sexism in it and perhaps we should refer to a few more people as heirs rather than magnates, and to that extent your point is a good one. > > But I don’t think that your examples and Rinehart are very comparable. Murdoch inherited a couple of minor regional newspapers and turned that into a global media empire. What he has done with what he inherited is out of all proportion. I recognise that if he’d been born to a pauper he probably wouldn’t have built much of anything but what he’s done off his own bat is so enormous that it’s probably apt to refer to him other than by reference to his inheritance. > > Rinehart inherited massive iron ore deposit leases. What did she do? Put mines on them. Fuck me eh? Who would have thought of that but an entreprenerial genius? Without buying into this, you could probably throw in Janet Holmes a Court as being very successful. However, I would expect there are many, many with similar credentials in other countries. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-currently-alive/694716/30 "2014-08-04T11:56:55Z")
Is Merkel the one that W Bush tried to give a shoulder massage to? ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-currently-alive/694716/31 "2014-08-04T14:28:02Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > Is Merkel the one that W Bush tried to give a shoulder massage to? Yes, that is she. And I also cast my vote for her. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-currently-alive/694716/32 "2014-08-04T17:41:35Z")
A dark horse (pun not intended) candidate would be Valerie Jarrett. Depending on how much sway you think she has over the Executive apparatus. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-currently-alive/694716/33 "2014-08-04T19:32:46Z")
Not so long ago, I’d have said Sandra Day O’COnnor, since she and Anthony Kennedy pretty much decided which way every SUpreme Court decision would go Now? Has to be Angela Merkel. After that? Janet Yellen. Then, the following women are vying for a distant 3rd place spot: General Motors CEO Mary Barra Brazilian President Dilma Rouseff South Korean President Geun-hye Park Argentine President CHristina Kirchner IBM CEO Virginia Rometty Pepsico CEO Indra Nooyi [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-currently-alive/694716.md?page=1)