Innovation and philanthropy landed several spots on Forbes’ 2013 list of the World’s Most Powerful Leaders.
The group includes a total of 72 people–one for every 100 million people on Earth–with a large scope of influence. Fifteen winners are entrepreneurs, including LinkedIn’s Reid Hoffman and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg.
“A room of 72 people is a really, really small room. To have 15 of those people–that are the most powerful people on the entire planet with 72 billion people on it–be entrepreneurs, is remarkable. One of the driving forces in society is dynamic capitalism, and that’s where innovation comes from,” Michael Noer, executive editor of Forbes, said Wednesday during an Afternoon MoJoe web-exclusive interview.
Entrepreneurship by definition is risky, and most new businesses fail, Noer said. But it has become easier for innovators in the past 20 years because the Internet has lowered the cost of entry for new ventures.
“Most things that are difficult in life and that are important to do in life are scary. I think that easy things are easy for a reason,” he said.
The main categories in the list, revealed Wednesday, include heads of state, entrepreneurs, businessmen, billionaires, major religious figures, and a criminal.
Related: Forbes releases power list
Be sure to watch other web-exclusive interviews and roundtable discussions right here in the Afternoon MoJoe section of the website.
Michele Richinick