Forbes has published its list of the most powerful people in the world today, and the podfather Steve Jobs, squints down on Mark Zuckerberg, who is a full 23 slots behind him. Jobs slips in at #17, after Obama, Bill Gates, Cameron and the Pope, and Zuckerberg sits at #40. But should Zuckerberg be so far behind Jobs? Zuckerberg surely has more of our data at his fingertips. What do you think? Click and tell…


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  • Stiloboy

    Pretty much a no brainer this… Marky boy has 1 website…. albeit a large one with a lot of people using it. Whereas Steveo runs a company churning out very pretty bauble devices which are also very functionable, desirable and most importantly to Steveo pricey making him, his firm, and his shareholders bucket loads of money.

    If one of Stevos “Miracle” devices fails in any given market it might sting a bit but the firm will continue. When the general public fall out of love with Facebook then Zuckerboy is up the brown creek without a paddle.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Greg-Dixon/625935120 Greg Dixon

    The fact that either of these men are classed as powerful is a little odd. Steve Jobs basically sells things, if we don't buy them then he goes out of business, if he or his company disappeared tomorrow the world would carry on and nothing would change, the same goes for Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg. When is the last time either of them introduced a life saving medical advancement or social policy?

    Who makes these list? People who need therapy if their iPhone gets a scratch?

    • bensillis

      Leisure's an important part of life Greg – surely the people behind how we choose to spend our time and money on fun thus have influence?

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Greg-Dixon/625935120 Greg Dixon

        Exactly, leisure.

        Look 2 places down from Steve Jobs and there's Nicolas Sarkozy. Ask 65 million Frenchmen what they worry about, the delayed white iPhone or retirement age. I think you'll find who out of the 2 is the most powerful then.

    • Chris

      I actually think you are grossly underestimating their power. No, they haven't introduced life saving medical technologies or social policies but who actually does that and those that do certainly don't have that much power!? Jobs and Zuckerberg are powerful because of the huge influence they exert over their respective industries.

      Whether you are a fan of Apple or not you can't deny that something like the iPod and iTunes have completely transformed the way we buy and listen to music. Whilst Facebook has completely revolutionised social networking and how we communicate and interact with eachother. As you say they are simply businesses with customers but they have the ability to influence tens of millions of customers, changing markets, societies, the way we work and live. To dismiss them as anything but powerful is very naive.

      • bensillis

        Well said Chris.

        • Chris

          Thanks. Any chance of an ElectricPig mug!? lol

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Greg-Dixon/625935120 Greg Dixon

        I appriciate your point, but what they have is influence, not power. Can Steve Jobs make you buy an iPod? No. Can a world leader make you pay 2.5% more VAT? Yes.

        If this was a list of most influential I'd probably agree with most of the people in it, but it's not, it's a list of most powerful.

        • Chris

          I don't think you appreciate that influence is power, especially in the context of business and politics. Politicians aren't especially powerful but they are influencial, they influence us as voters (customers) persuading us to agree with them so that we will in turn support and vote for them. Jobs and Zuckerburg influence us as consumers and that gives them power and most importantly money.

          • Jenniferlucyallan

            Power/influence/importance. How to tell the three apart?!

      • Jenniferlucyallan

        I'll second that.

    • Jenniferlucyallan

      Greg, check the link, Forbes makes these lists. I also think you're confusing power and importance, no, what these men do is not as important in the wide scheme of things as saving hundreds and thousands of people's lives, but it's not about whether it's important, it's about power, and Mark Zuckerberg has all our information, and that is a very valuable thing, maybe one of the most valuable things you can have: masses of personal information about individuals and their daily habits, likes, dislikes etc.

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Greg-Dixon/625935120 Greg Dixon

        Yeah, I know it's Forbes, sorry I wasn't knocking ElectricPig.

        My point is over choice. Some one who is truely powerful can force their will on you, others can only influence you.

        Mark Zuckerberg may have some of my information but he can't force me or anyone directly or through his actions, to do something they don't want, therefore he has no power over me or them.

        • Jenniferlucyallan

          I see your point Greg, and yeah, Sarkozy for example, as a world leader, has power over a set of individuals in a different way than zuckerberg, but zuckerberg has serious leverage – we're riding on the hope that he plays nice.

          • http://www.facebook.com/people/Greg-Dixon/625935120 Greg Dixon

            Hmmm, have you seen The Social Network? ;-)

          • Chris

            However, it is that set of individuals that have the power not Sarkozy. A leader may impose his will upon you but it is only by choosing to submit to that will does he become powerful. The French people are rioting because they have chosen not submit to a rise in the retirment age. What if the rioters are using Facebook to influence other French people, inspiring them to join their cause and reject Sarkozy's plans!? Does that not make Facebook, a social network that has access to tens if not hundreds of millions of people and ignores geography, status and wealth more powerful than any world leader when it comes to influencing choice!?

          • http://www.facebook.com/people/Greg-Dixon/625935120 Greg Dixon

            Maybe, but they're still going to be retiring at 62 :-)

          • Chris

            So they should! Bunch of 'cheese eating surrender monkeys'! They'll need to work longer to ensure a better quality of life after they retire as they will live longer, whiling away their days drinking wine, eating cheese and using Facebook…

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