Turkish tycoon makes Forbes' most powerful women list

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish business tycoon Guler Sabanci is among the world's most powerful women, according to U.S. business magazine Forbes.

Sabanci, chairman and managing director of Sabanci Holding, Turkey's second-largest conglomerate, is ranked number 64 on Forbes' 100 Most Powerful Women list.

Sabanci is the first woman to run Sabanci Holding, whose holdings include banking, energy, retail, and insurance. She is also founding president of Sabanci University and chair of the Sabanci Foundation, Turkey’s largest private charity.

Despite the defeated coup attempt of 2016, that year the company helped construct a new coal-fired power plant, the largest in Turkey.

On the list, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was named the world's most powerful women for the eighth consecutive year, and 13 times in total. Merkel was followed by British Prime Minister Theresa May and Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund.

Sabanci leapfrogged over such figures as EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, pop star Taylor Swift, and 23-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams.

The annual list represents women in six categories: business, technology, finance, media and entertainment, politics and policy, and philanthropy. Forbes applied metrics of money, media, impact, and spheres of influence to determine their rank.