The world's financial system experienced a shock in 2008 from which it hasn't fully recovered. When it does, the world will be a different place. But in this new financial world order, who will be the major influencers? This is the question the inaugural economia Global Finance 50 seeks to answer. Included on this list are the people playing a part in the economic and financial lives of millions, whose daily decisions and actions influence the performance of the global economy and who in 2013 will make a major difference. These are the names we think will shape the finances of the world…
Angela Merkel: the most powerful person in finance?
1. Angela Merkel German chancellor
She may not be the most surprising choice for the person we think will have the greatest impact and influence on the financial community during 2013, but this will be another huge year for the German chancellor. With the eurozone crisis in some sort of temporary remission (but still a long way from a sustainable recovery), 2013 is an election year in Germany.
Incumbent leaders have generally not fared well in elections since the global financial crisis. Merkel faces extra pressure as perhaps the European leader with the most political capital invested in the future of the euro.
In the eyes of eurosceptic domestic opponents she has given up German wealth and power in order to bail out Greece and other ailing eurozone economies. This is countered by the positive political benefits of keeping these economies alive enough to prop up the currency and prevent any further dramatic financial collapse.
How this all plays with German voters remains to be seen. Her government may not be popular, but Merkel herself continues to bask in personal ratings of over 65%.
She will have to square the circle of proving to domestic voters that she is tough on these economies, without alienating politicians in those countries. It is to Merkel that non-European world leaders turn to as the de facto leader of Europe. That effectively puts her in charge of 300 million people and a budget of $17trn. She isn't universally popular among EU leaders and is a famously tough negotiator. Nevertheless, she has the ability to present her actions as being in Germany's best interest, while also able to present a deal as being for the benefit of the whole EU. A canny operator, it's more than likely that she will emerge from the elections even stronger.
2. Xi Jinping Chinese leader
Despite the reports of a slowdown in the Chinese "miracle", a growth rate of 7% puts China in a stronger economic position than most other world economies. The country's newly minted leader has the country's economy at the top of his busy in-tray when he assumes control. With the euro likely to continue its wobbles, the Chinese renminbi will increasingly be seen as one of the world's major currencies.
Xi is likely to continue the policy of combining a more liberal, open economy at home with the sort of financial imperialism that has seen China invest heavily in other developing economies, particularly in Africa. The population is now in excess of 1.3bn with a GDP of $7.3trn (it only reached $1trn in 1998). Xi Jinping will therefore influence much of the world's economic activity.
Behind these statistics is the nuanced story of an expanding financially independent middle class. Each day sees China's middle class expand by 25 million consumers. While this could be an opportunity for luxury goods firms, there is also increasing demand for homemade luxury goods to serve this new market.
3. Barack Obama President of the United States of America
After one of the hardest fought US elections for a long time, Washington has returned to business as before, almost. Obama's second-term in-tray doesn't look much easier to deal with than that of four years ago. Without question the major financial issue he faces is securing agreement on the US budget and avoiding the automatic raising of taxes and spending cuts that will tip the US over the fiscal cliff.
This alone is enough to earn Mr Obama such a high place on our list. The US budget is a long-term problem about to come to a painful head if Obama can't get a bi-partisan solution to fix it. Last October's G20 meeting in Mexico made it clear that should he fail it would not only put the brakes on the nascent US recovery, but could potentially tip the entire global economy back into recession. On the day he won the election, Obama spoke of having a renewed determination. He'll need it.
4. THE PIIGS (Struggling eurozone leaders)
It is easy to condemn having so many EU leaders at the top of the list as eurocentric. And it is a bit of a cheat to collect several names (this isn't the last instance). But the shadow of failure hanging over the eurozone and the single currency project has had huge consequences in 2012 and the possibility remains of it continuing to drag down global economies next year, too. This is not a European crisis, but a global one. Along with the US, the danger of one of these countries failing remains the biggest risk to the global economy. An Oxfam report claims the fallout from the euro is having an impact on developing countries. So the leaders of Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain can't afford to fail – for everyone's sake.
5. Christine Lagarde Managing director, IMF
This hasn't been the best year for the IMF, with developing countries (especially BRICs) pressing for more say on how it sets about its mission of preserving global stability. A recent Economist Intelligence Unit report showed how skewed it is compared to the pattern of world trade. The chief economist was forced to revise up predictions for the so-called "fiscal multiplier", namely the impact austerity (which the IMF has hailed) has on growth.
Despite these difficulties, the IMF remains at the heart of global policy and with a budget of $360bn has the firepower to back that up, hence the significance of its interventions. The degree to which it steps back from promoting austerity will have a huge impact on the world
6. Jim Yong Kim President of World Bank
A former Harvard Lecturer, community entrepreneur and president of Dartmouth College, Kim took on the top job at the World Bank with a mission to "deliver powerful results to support sustained growth, prioritise evidence-based solutions over ideology, and amplify the voices of developing countries". A year on, things are going well. The World Bank is more needed than ever. It performs vital long-term capacity-building work in several developing economies (including ICAEW projects to train ACAs).
7. Michel Barnier European commissioner for internal market regulations
Whenever accountants discuss the future of their profession, which they do ever more frequently, one name that always crops up is that of EU commissioner Michel Barnier. His reaction to the financial crisis was to criticise the "Anglo-Saxon model" of capitalism. He also took exception to the role auditors played (or didn't) in the crisis. This will be a big year for his planned reforms, not to mention his other input to influential changes in banking and financial services.
8. Anthony Jenkins CEO, Barclays
The new boss of the world's seventh largest bank has his work cut out. With total assets estimated at $2.4trn, its recent management shake-up, as a result of revelations of Libor-fixing, has seen it become a litmus paper for the industry. Replacing the brash, aggressive investment banker Bob Diamond with the supposedly mild-but-firm retail banker Jenkins is seen as part of the taming of the former Masters of the Universe and the start of the crawl back to respectability. For this alone, Jenkins will be in the limelight more than many other global banking bosses in the year ahead.
9. George Osborne Chancellor of the Exchequer
By sticking so rigidly to Plan A, Osborne has become a global poster boy for austerity. The full impact of this approach has yet to be understood. A third-quarter bounce out of recession (thanks to one-off factors) would be undermined if things dip back next quarter, as many economists are predicting. Thus the impact of how the UK economy behaves will resonate and influence policy on a broader stage. Should the economy drop into triple-dip recession, Osborne might rethink. His conference speech was notable for not including the word growth. So will he know what to do?
10. Peter Oppenheimer SVP and CFO, ApplE
Currently the world's largest company, there is potentially only one way for Apple to go, and that's down. But analysts have been predicting this for a few years now and yet the company's exponential rise continues. Under CEO Tim Cook, the company has survived the loss of founder and chief inspiration Steve Jobs. And the company has built up a formidable cashpile, most recently reported at $117bn. Having survived Cook's recent senior management reshuffle, and despite being a money man in a company where the emphasis is often on its shiny, sexy new products, Oppenheimer remains a low-profile figure. But 2013 will be a pivotal year for the company. One of the main issues for Oppenheimer is how to use that $117bn cashpile.
Like any CFO sitting on a lot of cash, he will face myriad calls to use it. There will be pressure to do something more than simply continue its announced stock buyback progamme.
As the head of the world's most influential central bank (over 90% of all global transactions are conducted in dollars), Bernanke's influence on global finance is beyond question. With Treasury secretary Tim Geithner due to step down any day, Bernanke will try to offer stability, continuity and consistency at the top of the US financial system.
12. The Big Four
These are both the best of times and the worst of times for the major accountancy firms. In 2013 their global dominance of the major audit market is doubtless set to continue, not least because there is some merit in the argument that a complex global audit requires the resources only the Big Four can call on. They will also come under greater scrutiny, notably in the US and the EU. How they react to proposed changes, such as mandatory rotation, will impact clients and the profession.
13. Mario Draghi President, ECB
It was not an obvious choice to put an Italian at the top of the ECB, with the Germans in particular needing convincing Draghi was the right man for the job. But he has played a solid hand in helping arrive at the current, temporary, fix for the eurozone crisis. The issuing of eurobonds was the decisive action that was needed. Throughout 2013 he will need to be on top of his game, as the consequences of the eurozone going wrong would be painful indeed.
14. Helena Morrissey CEO, Newton
With £47m of assets under management and nine children, it's amazing Morrissey has time for her tireless work on the 30% club (the campaign for boardroom equality). An inspirational figure for female professionals in all sectors, she is a City superwoman determined to make things better for others.
15. The CEOs of the top rating agencies
Whether it is major global economies or faltering banks, these ratings agencies seem to have been setting the market tone and either boosting or smashing market confidence. While some say their failure to anticipate and warn about the dangers of the financial crisis has weakened their position, they will continue to be one of the major influences on the cost of borrowing around the world.
16. Robin Freestone CFO, Pearson
Freestone is influential for several reasons. For a start he's CFO of Pearson, newly merged with Penguin Books and the publisher of the Financial Times. But he is also the incoming chairman of the low-key but extremely powerful lobbying group, the Hundred Group, taking over from Andy Halford. He is also recognised as a leading thinker on financial reporting.
17. Jürgen Fitschen and Anshu Jain Joint-CEOs, Deutsche Bank
Job sharing may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it seems to have worked well for the leaders of the world's largest bank. With the German economy at the heart of any recovery, all eyes will be on all the important German banks and Deutsche in particular.
18. Governor of the Bank of England
With a newly expanded remit, Sir Mervyn King's successor will face an enormous task, with responsibility for banking supervision and macro prudential oversight on top of the MPC. He (for it will be a he) will oversee one hell of a change management project.
19. Zhou Xiaochuan President, People's Bank of China
China will soon be the world's biggest economy. Even with growth slowing to 7%, that much is obvious. This will focus minds on the renminbi and in particular on China's central bank. Early signs suggest the new leadership wants PBC to continue pursuing its aggressively expansionist policy.
20. Patrick Pichette SVP and CFO, Google
As the CFO of one of the world's wealthiest tech firms, Pichette is sitting on a huge cash reserve. Unlike his counterpart at Apple, Google watchers expect at least some of this cash pile to be spent on high-tech acquisitions.
21. Jim O'Neill Chairman, Goldman Sachs Asset Management
A rare mix of high-calibre thinker and extremely efficient doer, O'Neill is the man who coined the phrase BRICs to describe emerging economies Brazil, Russia, India and China. As chairman of one of the world's leading asset management firms his pronouncements carry added weight in financial markets.
22. Øystein Olsen Chairman, Norges Bank
People may not be surprised to hear Norway's oil-based sovereign wealth fund is quiet, efficient and risk-averse. The fact it may be the world's largest may surprise, though. Olsen runs it. Should he opt to invest for growth, it would have a huge impact.
23. Sir Martin Sorrell CEO, WPP
Technically a marketing man, Sir Martin manages to straddle the great (or fake) divide and is somehow also one of the world's consumate finance figures. His predictions for the economy also carry enormous weight and influence global confidence.
24. Pascal Lamy Director-General, WTO
Now into his second four-year term at the top of the World Trade Organisation, Lamy has major challenges ahead as recession continues to push world leaders toward more protectionist positions all across the world.
25. Paul Druckman CEO, International Integrated Reporting Council
A key member of the small, but enlightened, group of people leading the charge to make financial reporting both more meaningful and useful to a more diverse group of stakeholders, Druckman is also a leading thinker on making sustainability (including carbon accounting) central to financial reporting.
26. Andrew Gould Chairman, BG Group
These are challenging times for BG Group, with output in 2013 likely to disappoint analysts' expectations. Chartered accountant Gould will have his work cut out to keep the share price at the level investors will demand throughout 2013.
He proclaims to be an "accidental investor", but Heyns is a significant player in the emerging world of sustainable investing, and the success of Osmosis has certainly been no accident.
28. Warren Buffett Chairman, Berkshire Hathaway
Perhaps not the force he once was, Buffett is nevertheless an active investor and a source of inspiration. He is close to President Obama and his work with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will continue to resonate and encourage philanthropy.
29. Brian Gilvary CFO, BP
Having endured a torrid few years after the Deep Water Horizon disaster and its now concluded difficult Russian venture, BP is finally settling down and will be able to focus once again on its future development. The new deal with Gazprom will open up significant possibilities in Russia and the coming year will be a big one for Gilvary and indeed for all his fellow directors. The longer term pressure will be to develop a meaningful sustainability strategy that resonates.
30. Ray Dalio President & CIO, Bridgewater Associates
The man who runs the world's largest hedge fund has some $170bn of assets under management. He is best known for creating his now famous "alpha and beta" strategy. This may have been widely emulated elsewhere, but it has never really been done quite as successfully anywhere else.
31. Vernon Hill Founder, Metro Bank
Hill has a reputation as a high-octane entrepreneur who disrupted retail banking in the US, starting a small community bank in New Jersey and building it into an $8bn business. Now he is doing the same in the UK with his consumer-centric, retail focused business model. Metro boasts pet-friendy branches that are open seven days a week. What next? Serious lending to SMEs? Metro Bank will continue to be crazy and will become increasingly influential.
32. George Roberts and Henry Kravis Co-Chairmen & CEOs, KKR
Legends in the world of private equity and corporate finance, the KKR founders, joint CEOs and chairmen cast a big shadow across the industry, as many others look to them for inspiration. After a few relatively quiet years, the firm recently announced it was moving into the retail investment market, allowing smaller investors the chance to share in their success.
33. Keki Mistry Vice-chairman and CEO, HDFC
A pioneer in the provision of mortgage finance to India's middle classes, HDFC was founded by HT Parekh, a visionary entrepreneur and philanthropist. After his death it was run by his chartered accountant son Deepak (still honorary chairman) and is now overseen by Mistry.
34. Abigail Johnson President, Fidelity Investments
A regular on various Forbes power and wealth lists, Johnson is the latest family member to have a senior role at Fidelity and is tipped to succeed her father at the top. As president of Fidelity, Johnson oversees some $3.6trn of assets under management.
35. Paul Krugman Professor, Princeton University
As well as his Princeton University role, this influential Nobel-prize winning liberal economist is also an op-ed writer for The New York Times. As a result he seems to have a louder voice than many of his contemporaries, just as the debates on economics is at the front of many people's minds.
36. Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Hamed Bin President, UAE
The man in charge of the richest of the Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds, is getting ever more active and will play an increasing role in global business deals.
37. Dambisa Moyo Economist
She may not yet be a household name yet but Moyo's work, and in particular her book Dead Aid, which argues eloquently that the economics of the current model of international aid need rethinking, will resonate across the world. At a time when six out of 10 of the world's fastest-growing economies are in Africa, the shake-up could happen sooner than some expect.
38. Vinod Khosla Founder, Khosla Ventures
Khosla is one of those relentlessly impressive Stanford graduate entrepreneurs who starts an influential tech business and then goes on to do it again and again. In his case he helped set-up computer-aided design firm Daisy Systems and then Sun Microsystems. He founded Khosla Ventures in 2004 with the aim of boosting entrepreneurship, innovation and social business, not least back home in India. He is also a founding board member of the Indian School of Business.
39. Wolfgang Schäuble Federal Minister of Finance, Germany
With a reputation for strict budget discipline, Schäuble recently named the Financial Times EU Finance Minister of the Year. He has played an enormous part in guiding the German economy and the eurozone through difficult times, and yet maintains a cheery disposition.
40. Sheik Khalida Al Thani Chair, Qatar's Sovereign Wealth Fund
Having set itself the objective of minimising the country's reliance on oil revenues, the Qatari sovereign wealth fund has been a particularly active strategic investor in recent years. It played a significant role in the merger deal between Glencore and Xstrata, successfully pressuring Glencore to increase its all-share offer. HBJ, as he's known, is prime minister. According to some commentators there is a local saying that "all roads and sea lanes lead to HBJ."
41. Lou Jiwei Chairman, CIC
Another extremely active sovereign wealth fund, and certainly one of the most politically strategic, is China's. It was to the China Investment Corporation that European leaders turned to help get the bailout fund in place. And CIC has also been busy carefully building significant strategic investments across Africa and throughout other developing economies. Serving China's booming middle-class consumers means the country is resource hungry and CIC is particularly active in mineral and mining operations.
42. The Tax Justice Network
Few governments are unaffected by austerity. Deficit reduction requires more active tax collection. The increasingly global focus on getting everyone to pay the right amount of tax in the right place at the right time, has lent moral force to the TJN, which seems capable of annoying and delighting in equal measure.
43. Angel Gurria Secretary-general, OECD
Representing 34 advanced and developing economies, the OECD is clearly a major force in international finance. Gurría has taken an intelligent approach to dealing with the aftermath of the financial crisis. Its secretary-general is a bookish and intelligent economist who rarely grabs the limelight, but manages to exert a quiet authority just the same.
44. Hans Hoogervorst Chairman, IASB
If there's one issue that continues to divide the accountancy profession it's the desire for convergence in international standards. Hoogervorst has been a standard bearer for uniform international standards, in the form of IFRS. While some think IFRS to be unworkable, others think it undesirable. Achieving some sort of global consensus and certainty of future direction would be a major coup.
45. Nouriel Roubini Economist
The leading economist and heavy Twitter user (he topped the economia Twitter Finance 100) is also a professor of economics at New York University's Stern School of Business. He has a reputation as being one of the few who accurately predicted the financial crisis.
46. Alexandre Antonio Tombini Chair, Banco Central Do Brasil
The world order is changing, with the south and east overtaking the north and west. Thus the head of the central bank in one of the fastest-emerging economies in the world is someone to watch. Brazil is also hosting major sporting events in coming years, so plenty of eyes will be looking this way.
47. Joaquin Almunia Vice President, European Commission
As one of the key men in Europe responsible for competition policy, the single market and the euro, Mr Almunia will have a full in-tray during 2013.
48. Ann Marie Petach CFO, Blackrock
She regularly tops lists in the US as one of the most powerful women in finance. Petach is a formidable presence in the world of investing and asset management. As CFO and managing director of Blackrock she is effectively in charge of over $3.5trn of assets. Where Blackrock leads, others tend to follow and Petach remains an influential figure.
49. Janusz Lewandowski Member of the EC responsible for financial programming and budget
It's perhaps not surprising at a time of great austerity, but there has rarely been more focus on the EU budget. Spending on bureaucracy hasn't got any more popular and there's a long way to go before we reach a settlement on the budget. It appears Mr Lewandowski has much to do.
50. Daniel Kahneman Economist
There has been a major shift in thinking in recent years as researchers discovered that human behaviour is rarely as rational as traditional economic theory would have us believe. Out of this came the idea of behavioural economics. Kahneman has applied this idea specifically to the world of finance and his thinking and writing remains influential.
22. Øystein Olsen 
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