Forbes: The World’s Most Powerful People

The 67 heads of state, criminals, financiers and philanthropists who really run the world.

Forbes— In its inaugural list of the world’s most powerful people, Forbes has the News Corp. chief at No. 7, ahead of such luminaries as the king of Saudi Arabia (No. 9), Pope Benedict XVI (No. 11) and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (No. 17),
Topping the list is President Obama, followed by China president Jintao Hu, Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton

Bill Gates, the richest man in the world, is No. 10. Murdoch is the only pure media mogul to crack the top 10, though Brin and Page certainly dabble in media, as does No. 6 on the list Carlos Slim Helu, the Telmex CEO who recently purchased a 6.4% stake in the New York Times.

Other media bigwigs on the Forbes list of the 67 most powerful people include No. 13 Jeff Immelt, the CEO and chairman of NBC Universal parent GE.

Prime Minister of Italy and media mogul Silvio Berlusconi is No. 12, while New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, founder of the business news service that bears his name, is No. 20.

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey is No. 45, New York Times editor William Keller is No. 51, Al Jazeera director-general Khanfar Wadah is No. 54, Apple founder and Disney director Steve Jobs is No. 57 and BBC director-general Mark Thompson is No. 65.

Forbes held its list to 67 “based on the conceit that one can reduce the world’s 6.7 billion people to the one in every 100 million that matter.”

Its criteria consisted of: the number of people one influences; one’s ability to project power beyond one’s immediate sphere of influence; control of or access to significant financial resources; and how actively one wields power.

The list even includes a few of the more notorious drug traffickers, terrorists and other assorted outlaws. Osama bin Laden, for example, is No. 37.


View the entire list @

Halle, Whoopi, Grier In New ‘Divas On Screen‘ Book

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Grier, Dandridge and Oprah also featured in examination of ‘Black Women in American Film’

Divas on Screen: Black Women in American Film by Mia Mask

Oscar pioneers Dorothy Dandridge and Halle Berry join Pam Grier, Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey as subjects of the new book “Divas on Screen: Black Women in American Film.”

Author Mia Mask, who teaches film and drama at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., said she was inspired to write the book after noticing the huge amount of attention given to black male stars, while their female counterparts were often looked over.

“These women have pushed the racial boundaries for audiences, setting new standards for beauty and body type,” Mask told the Associated Press.

Dorothy Dandridge

Dandridge received an Academy Award nomination for her lead role in the 1954 classic “Carmen Jones,” alongside Harry Belafonte. Berry won an Oscar in 2000 for playing the wife of an executed murderer in “Monster’s Ball.” She also had portrayed Dandridge as a stunning femme fatale in a 1999 HBO film about Dandridge’s life.

When Dandridge became a star, “she was working in an environment in which there were almost no women of color (in leading roles),” said Mask, and Dandridge “had to fit into the mold of shapely and svelte.”

Grier was chosen for her ability in the early 70s to break that mold with her forceful but hip physical presence as an action heroine. As for Winfrey, Mask said she chose her because the talk-show host’s television presence catapulted her film appearances to the level of global stardom, transcending any category.

In spite of vast changes, Mask said, sore points persist in casting black women for star roles: a paucity of quality parts, and a new trend of pairing black lead actors with female leads who are not.

“Studio heads don’t think two black characters will appeal to general audiences,” said Mask.

Oscar winner, Halle Berry

She chose Dandridge and Berry “as bookends” for the time span that transformed black women in commercial films.

“We’ve gone from the trope of the tragic (mulatto) to biracial beauty,” said Mask, who is taping a five-part series for National Public Radio to air in late October — each on one of the women in the book.

Introducing Dorothy Dandridge starring Halle Berry

'Introducing Dorothy Dandridge' movie poster

This bio-pic of Dorothy Dandridge follows her career through early days on the club circuit with her sister to her turn in movies, including becoming the first black actress to win a Best Actress Nomination in 1954 for “Carmen Jones“, to her final demise to prescription drugs, which was debated whether it was suicide or accidental. Brent Spiner plays her faithful manager who stood beside her through all of the roller coaster of her career. The film also examines her love affair with director Otto Preminger, which is shown to have probably initially helped her career, but later probably led her to some wrong decisions.~~John Sacksteder

‘Madea’ actor-director Tyler Perry reveals history of childhood abuse, molestation

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Writer, producer, and film director Tyler Perry (AP Photo/Shiho Fukada)

New York Daily News/Chrisena Coleman—Filmmaker Tyler Perry, who is promoting a new movie about an abused teenager, has gone public with brutal memories of his own childhood beatings and molestation.

In an email to fans that has Perry’s admirers buzzing, he recounts various examples of terrible childhood mistreatment – from his father beating him senseless to a neighbor woman molesting him at age 10.

Even his grandmother, the mother of his hated father, became a threat when she objected to his weekly allergy shot, he recalls.

“Ain’t nothing wrong with that damn boy – he just got germs on him. Stop wasting all that money,” she said, he recalled.

“She came and got me out of the living room leaving my Matchbox cars on the floor. She said she was going to kill these germs on me once and for all. She gave me a bath in ammonia.”

Perry, 38, fled his abusive home in New Orleans and, after a period of homelessness and struggle, became a writer, director, actor and producer.

He is now a mega-millionaire and one of the world’s most influential black filmmakers. He is the producer of “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne” on TV and his movies, including “Diary of a Mad Black Woman,” “Madea’s Family Reunion” and “I Can Do Bad All By Myself” have grossed $400 million.

Along with Oprah Winfrey, he executive produced “Precious,” the story of an illiterate obese teen mom struggling to rise above horrible sexual and mental abuse. The movie opens nationally Nov. 6.

More @

The movie Precious: Based On The Novel ‘Push‘ By Sapphire, is executive produced by Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Parry. Starring Mo’Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, Sherri Shepherd, and introducing Gabourey ‘Gabby’ Sidibe. The film is the Winner of the Grand Jury Award, Audience Award, and the Special Jury Prize at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.

(Video NSFW)

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