08 November 2010 | Author: J. Morton News Editor

Gates still lands ahead of Jobs, Zuckerberg in Forbes power rankings

Former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates has taken the top tech-related ranking in Forbes Magazine's most recent World's Most Powerful People listings, topping intermittent game-changer Steve Jobs of Apple and social upstart Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook.

Despite relinquishing his role as chief executive and chief software architect at Redmond, Gates maintained a fair lead over other techies in the rankings by heading up the "world's most influential charity", the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, according to the magazine.

Forbes noted that "coaxing tycoons to pledge half their fortunes to philanthropy is near impossible," but Gates has reportedly convinced 40 of the world's wealthiest people to do just that during his time heading up the philanthropic organisation. In addition, he has donated some $30 billion himself.

Apple's Jobs clocked in at number 17 on the list, after the magazine noted his knack for turning the tech industry on its ear every couple of years. Cupertino's latest venture, the iPad tablet computer, which the company released earlier this year, has garnered accolades and been heralded as a game-changer for the tech sector, much as the iPhone, iPod and iMac before it.

Noting he has helped diversify Apple's earnings to draw from online music and film sales, as well as devices such the iPhone and iPad, the magazine described the 55-year-old Jobs as "insanely creative."

Google's Larry Page and Sergey Brin nipped at Jobs' heels in the rankings - much as they antagonise each other in the tech sector - coming in at number 22, due to their ever-present search engine and ever-diversifying portfolio of products and services.

Mark Zuckerberg, perhaps the person with the most 'friends' on Earth, with Facebook now totalling near 600 million users, finished at number 40 after increasing his personal fortune to $6.9 billion at the ripe old age of 26.

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