Gaga, Bachmann, Clinton and Palin Make Forbes' List of Powerful Women

Lady Gaga, Michele Bachmann, and Sarah Palin scored places on Forbes’ list of the world’s 100 most powerful women, behind German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who took the top two spots.

Merkel and Clinton occupied first and second place on the annual list filled with heads of state, CEOs, and cultural movers and shakers. Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff came in third.

According to Reuters, “Merkel was cited as the head of the one real global economy in Europe. Clinton was lauded for deftly dealing with Middle East revolutions and WikiLeaks revelations in her second year on the job, while Rousseff made history as the first woman to lead Latin America's largest economic power.”

Lady Gaga occupied the 11th spot, behind First Lady Michelle Obama, who fell to 8th place after leading the rankings last year. Gaga was also the youngest woman on the list at age 25, while Queen Elizabeth, ranked at 49, was the oldest at age 85.

Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, who recently won the Iowa straw poll, was ranked at 22, with Fox News commentator and potential contender Sarah Palin at 34. Ellen DeGeneres took a spot at number 55.

In a statement reported by Reuters, Moira Forbes, president and publisher of ForbesWoman, said, "Across their multiple spheres of influence, these women have achieved power through connectivity, the ability to build a community around the organizations they oversee, the countries they lead, the causes they champion and their personal brands.”

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