Rowling is most powerful woman in Britain |
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Sun, 31 Jul 2005 06:35
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LONDON: It cannot be just by a flick of a magical wand. It's can only be the result of sheer effort and dynamism. For, J.K. Rowling, the creator of Harry Potter and the author of the Harry Potter series, has replaced Cherie Blair as Britain's most powerful woman.
U.S. business magazine Forbes, which compiled the world's 100 top women gave Rowling, 39, the 40th rank, up from 85th last year. Cherie Blair, British prime minister Tony Blair's wife, took 62nd position dropping 50 places.
Miss Rowling, 39, has amassed a fortune of 650 million pounds from her Harry Potter books. The latest in the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, had a sale of more than two million copies in 24 hours in Britain alone when it was released on 16 July.
Forbes judges the women on the basis of their public visibility (in terms of press exposure) and economic impact.
The other British women in the top 100 are Burberry's chief executive Rose Marie Bravo at 63rd place and Queen Elizabeth II at 75th.
U.S. secretary of state Condoleezza Rice tops the list for the second consecutive year, followed by China's vice prime minister Yi Wu at second place and Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko at third. The others in the order are Philippines President Gloria Arroyo, chief executive of eBay Margaret Whitman, Xerox boss Anne Mulcahy, CFO of Citigroup Sallie Krawcheck, CEO of Sara Lee Brenda Barnes, chat show host Oprah Winfrey, and Bill Gates's wife Melinda.
While Irish president Mary McAleese is ranked 21st in the list, former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher has been dropped from the list of 100. She was ranked 21st last year.
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