Forbes names Putin world’s ‘most powerful person’

The White House should be cancelling its subscription to Forbes right about now.

The magazine name Russian President Vladimir Putin as theworld’ most powerful person on Wednesday — displacing the previous top dog, President Obama who came in second.

Forbes gave Putin an edge based on his role in getting Syria to surrender its chemical weapons and the diplomatic blow suffered by Obama when Russia offered asylum to NSA leaker Edward Snowden.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Pope Francis and German Chancellor Angela Merkel followed in the third, fourth and fifth spots, respectively.

Pope Francis, spiritual leader of 1.2 billion Catholics across the planet, was the top newcomer to Forbes’ annual list of 75 power brokers.

Philanthropist and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke, Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, European Central Bank president Mario Draghi and Wal-Mart CEO Michael Duke rounded out the top 10.

The magazine measured the power players based on the number of people they had authority to oversee, financial resources under their control, influence on multiple populations and how they used this total clout in the past year.

This year marks the first time Putin has led the Forbes power list.

Obama had been No. 1 every year in office, except for now and in 2010 when Chinese leader Hu Jintao was tops.

Women made steady gains in Forbes rankings, though females still accounted for just 12 percent of the rankings. The 2011 and 2012 lists had just six women, while there are nine this year.