Perhaps giving Hillary Clinton another bone to pick with RT, the channel’s editor-in-chief, Margarita Simonyan, has been included on the Forbes list of the world’s most powerful women, a dozen spots higher than the US politician.
The 2017 edition of The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women according to Forbes, released on Wednesday, features two Russians: the head of the Central Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina, and Margarita Simonyan. While for Nabiullina it will be the fourth year in a row on the list, for Simonyan, who landed at No. 52, she is one of 23 newcomers.
Clinton suffered a remarkable fall from grace in comparison to her strong showing last year, tumbling 63 spots after her stunning defeat in the 2016 US presidential election. The former Democratic presidential candidate, whose victory was practically guaranteed by the US mainstream media in the run-up to the election, repeatedly accused Russia of robbing her of the win and swinging the vote in Donald Trump’s favor.
With Forbes may have now given her another reason to bash Russia, it is Hillary Clinton and her allies’ focus on making Russia the scapegoat that has given a boost to RT’s editor-in-chief, according to Forbes.
“A year ago, most people had no idea who Margarita Simonyan was. Now, she's being discussed in tech, media and political circles as the outsized influence of her Russian TV network, RT, comes into focus,” Forbes wrote.
The publication noted that Simonyan has succeeded in raising the network’s profile by turning RT into “an important media voice” while “verging between straight news and conspiracy theories.”
Commenting on Forbes’ list, Simonyan jokingly said that she would have preferred to appear in another Forbes rating, most likely referring to the world’s richest people list.
When drawing up the powerful women list, Forbes considered four criteria: money controlled, media presence, spheres of influence, and impact.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel once again topped the list, followed by UK Prime Minister Theresa May, and Bill Gates’ wife, Melinda Gates. Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka, who the publication calls “the de facto First Lady,” claimed 19th spot, while the actual first lady, Melania Trump, did not make the list.