United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May tops
Bloomberg's "50 Most Influential"
list following the Brexit vote that eventually brought her into office, and is followed by presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, who tied for second place on the list.
The list, now in its sixth edition, outlines those people who command the most power in the national and world financial markets, and is timed to coincide with Bloomberg's Most Influential Summits in New York, London, and Hong Kong on Sunday.
May was chosen to top the list because the Brexit move, which will separate the United Kingdom from the European Union will affect markets worldwide, "and it's May who has to manage this messy divorce," Bloomberg reports.
And even though May was against the separation, agreed upon in a June referendum vote, she has declared that "Brexit means Brexit," the publication reports.
"She has everything to gain if she can negotiate thorny matters, such as whether banks, insurers, and investment firms will be able to continue doing business in the EU from their London bases," Bloomberg reports. "At stake is the city's status as Europe's premier financial center."
Trump and Clinton tied for second place because of the potential for how they'll each affect Wall Street, the publication notes.
If Trump wins, "the financial world will be watching to see how sincere he is in his opposition to free trade, which the Republican Party has embraced for decades, and in his commitment to tackle the national debt (without cutting Social Security)," the list reports. "Another key question is whether he'll follow through on his pledge to dismantle the Dodd-Frank bank regulations."
Meanwhile, if Clinton wins the White House, "the financial world will be watching to see who has greater influence over her policy making — Clinton's Wall Street benefactors or the Bernie Sanders supporters she's been trying to woo."
Also, she will face a test on how she fulfills her vow to "make sure the wealthy, Wall Street, and corporations pay their fair share in taxes," said Bloomberg.
The annual list, being published for the first time in Bloomberg Businessweek, also contains several obvious choices, including China's Zhou Xiaochuan, who as Governor of the People's Bank of China, could "go down in history as the man who turned the yuan into a global currency."
Another on the list, Jamie Dimon, is CEO of the world's most valuable bank, JPMorgan Chase, and has opposed Brexit while remaining in favor of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact.
Others, such as Fed Chair Janet Yellen, can "soothe or ruffle markets with a phrase," and corporate leaders like Warren Buffet, can "push a stock up or down just by talking."
The list wrapped up with comedian John Oliver, an unlikely choice among the financiers and politicians that shaped the rest of the list, but Bloomberg explained the HBO star is shaping public opinion through his top-rated program, "Last Week Tonight."
The show this year covered many financial topics, including subprime auto lending, and his segment on Puerto Rico's debt issues brought in more than 5 million YouTube views, notes Bloomberg.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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