Queen Elizabeth rules over 2.3 billion people but Gina Rinehart’s $29 billion have seen her officially declared more powerful than the ageing monarch.
Rinehart comes in at number 37 on Forbes magazine’s annual list of The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women, while the Queen sits four places behind at number 41.
The top spot belongs to German Chancellor Angela Merkel for the fifth year running but her ninth appearance in the number one spot looks set to be her last.
US Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton, who has appeared on the list every year since it launched in 2004, is now “just a breath” behind Merkel, and seems almost certain to overtake her next year.
There are 19 newcomers to the list this year, including US singer Taylor Swift who, at 25, is the youngest person to crack the top 100. Swift (64) joins the list’s other celebrities Beyonce Knowles (21), Sofia Vergara (57), Angelina Jolie (54), Shakira (81), Ellen DeGeneres (50) and Oprah Winfrey (12).
The top 25 most powerful women in the world:
Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany
Hillary Clinton, Presidential Candidate, United States
Melinda Gates, Co-Chairman, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, United States
Janet Yellen, Chairwoman, Federal Reserve Bank, United States
Mary Barra, CEO, General Motors, United States
Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund, France
Dilma Rousseff, President of Brazil
Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, United States
Susan Wojcicki, CEO, Youtube, United States
Michelle Obama, First Lady, United States
Geun-hye Park, President of South Korea
Oprah Winfrey, media mogul, United States
Virginia Rometty, CEO, IBM, United States
Meg Whitman, CEO, HP, United States
Indra Nooyi, CEO, Pepsico, United States
Cristina Kirchner, President of Argentina
Irene Rosenfeld, CEO, Mondelez, United States
Ana Botin, Chairman, Banco Santander, Spain
Abigail Johnson, CEO, Fidelity Investments, United States
Marillyn Hewson, Chairwoman, Lockheed Martin, United States
Beyonce Knowles, Entertainer, United States
Marissa Mayer, CEO, Yahoo, United States
Helen Clark, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme, New Zealand
Safra Catz, Co-CEO, Oracle, United States
Angela Ahrendts, Senior Vice President, Apple, United States
