http://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k9/nov/nov110.php
Forbes' ranks Rupert Murdoch 7th in most powerful people list Indiantelevision.com Team (13 November 2009 6:35 pm) MUMBAI: US media conglomerate News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch has been ranked number seven in Forbes' list of the most powerful people. US President Barack Obama is number one followed by China's President Hu Jintao. Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is in fourth spot. Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergei Brin are in fifth spot followed by Mexican telecom tycoon Carlos Slim. Bill Gates occupies the 10th position. Forbes notes that Murdoch is a man who owns the news, still believes in print and is not afraid to use vast media holdings to further personal political views. His media empire includes leading British (the Times), Australian (The Australian), American (The Wall Street Journal) newspapers, in addition to tabloids like the New York Post and The Sun (UK). His empire also covers movies (20th Century Fox), books (HarperCollins), television (Fox, BSkyB) and online media (MySpace). However, the weak ad-marketing is hurting News Corp. It has had net loss of $3.4 billion in fiscal 2009, stock off March lows, but still well below 2007 levels, when he made a $5.6 billion gamble on Dow Jones. Murdoch had accused Google of stealing content; threatened to block search engine from indexing his websites. "Quality journalism isn't cheap" he says. India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is down the list at number 36. He is followed by Osama Bin Laden at number 37. Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani is at number 44 followed by Oprah Winfrey. Winfrey made $275 million in 2008. Fifa president Joseph Blatter is at number 53. He is followed by Al Jazeera DG Wadah Khanfar. Apple CEO Steve Jobs is at number 57. BBC DG Mark Thompson is at number 63.
