Top 10 Most Influential People You’ve Never Heard Of

watchMOJO.WORLD

Not all powerful people are famous. Behind the scenes, there are influential leaders, hidden power brokers, and decision-makers shaping the world that most people don’t even know exist. 🌍✨  In this video, we’re revealing the Top 10 most powerful people you’ve never heard of—from politics and business to technology and global affairs. These are the secret influencers pulling the strings behind the spotlight.  👉 If you love documentaries, global politics, or untold stories, this countdown is for you.  Don’t forget to like 👍, share 🔁, and subscribe 🔔 for more Top 10 history and power rankings.

Transcript

00:00I'm very appreciative of the recognition.

00:03Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're discussing some of the world's most influential figures

00:07who are largely unknown in the Western world.

00:13We'll only be looking at people from the modern era and recent history.

00:18Number 10. Fahed Mazid Al-Rajan

00:20He was a banker from Kuwait, a tiny nation on the northern corner of the Arabian Peninsula.

00:25In the finance industry, Al-Rajan was a major player, holding various senior roles like

00:30director of the Ahri United Bank. His investment decisions had a massive influence on global

00:36economics. Despite his power, he had a relatively low public profile. Eventually, he had his assets

00:42frozen due to corruption. As a result, he and his family fled abroad until eventually being arrested

00:48in London in 2017. By 2019, he and his wife were given life sentences. Then he died only three

00:55years later in London.

00:57Number 9. Alisher Usmanov

00:58His net worth is over $16 billion, making him one of the planet's richest people.

01:04I am a businessman who has interest in European countries and do everything by the law.

01:10It's legal, legitimate. And in terms of taxes in Russia and other countries where we invest our

01:16money, for example, the United States, where we invest in the Internet.

01:20After the Soviet Union fell, Usmanov earned immense riches, becoming one of Russia's most prominent

01:25oligarchs. He owns 49% of MetalloInvest, a Russian mining company that makes tons of steel.

01:32Other properties of his include Kommersant Publishing House,

01:34Utakon Copper, and one of Russia's largest cell phone operators, Megaphone.

01:38I have a presence in the U.S. market, in the Chinese market. We invest a lot in Europe. In Russia,

01:45we also have large, have made large investments, and they are primary to us. They are most fundamental.

01:52He's suspected of having strong ties to the Kremlin. So when the war with Ukraine broke out,

01:57the EU responded by freezing all his assets, plus banning him from European travel.

02:01The U.S. had a similar reaction, which shows just how powerful he is.

02:06But I think everybody will stick to international law, agreements, and their promises. Everything

02:12will be okay in the end.

02:14Number 8. Kaushik Basu

02:15Between 2012 and 2016, Indian economist Basu was the World Bank's chief economist.

02:22In this role, he would have been a key figure guiding global economic policies.

02:26Historically, India's tariffs used to be much higher. So it has been brought down, paradoxical

02:33though that may sound, to where it is. I feel a little bit of pressure to lower it further is

02:41worthwhile. He's had an immensely successful career as an economist, even working as India's

02:46chief economic advisor in 2009. Although he's barely known outside of academic and economic circles,

02:51he's regarded as one of his generation's leading economists.

02:55I feel that this new approach gives us much deeper insights into law, into economics,

03:01and also helps us and hopefully will help us in the future to design our laws and policies better.

03:08He's written numerous books and papers, providing deep insight into economic development and policies.

03:14Basu's influence even goes into mathematics, with him publishing a paper on a brand new proof

03:19for the Pythagorean theorem. Getting up in the morning, one of the first things that I would

03:22always check up is what's happening in the United States, what's happening in the Eurozone,

03:27because you'd know that the effect of that would be felt within days, and not even days.

03:31By evening, the stock market could react, the exchange rate could react.

03:36You might never have heard of Gazprom. Based in St. Petersburg, it's a multinational

03:41corporation and the largest state-owned company in Russia.

03:44The Bovan and Kovo gas field. Operated by Gazprom, the biggest extraction company in the world.

03:52The business of blue gold has been about politics, money, and above all, power, for decades.

03:58They have their fingers in every element of the gas industry. Plus, they also have about

04:022 billion tons of oil in reserves, meaning overall, they're the biggest public energy supplier in the world.

04:08He was a guy that Putin knew from St. Petersburg. I remember saying to somebody in Gazprom,

04:14a little bit irritated, who is this guy? What does he know about anything? God,

04:18are these the only people that can run Gazprom? People from St. Petersburg?

04:22And the answer was, no, these are the only people that Putin trusts.

04:26Their CEO is Alexei Miller, and if you haven't guessed by now, he is a ridiculously powerful individual.

04:33He's had this role since the early 2000s, meaning he's wielded influence over multiple

04:37continents for more than two decades. Despite this, he's quite a niche name,

04:42only well-known among specific circles.

04:45Shortly before the annexation of Crimea, Miller visited Berlin. Once again, he blamed Ukraine.

04:53Yes, Ukraine is in deep political crisis, but the gas still has to be paid for.

04:58Number 6. Ali Al-Naimi

05:00Also known as the king of oil, there are no prizes for guessing what this Saudi Arabian politician was in charge of.

05:06I have been asked to talk today briefly on two points.

05:13First, my book.

05:16And second, my views on future energy trends for the region and the world.

05:23Between 1995 and 2016, he was their minister of petroleum and mineral resources.

05:28For those unaware, Saudi Arabia is one of the world's largest suppliers of oil,

05:33with Al-Naimi being one of their longest-serving energy ministers.

05:36The kingdom's objective for this COP is to make sure that the agreement will be balanced,

05:44comprehensive, and at the same time, advance sustainable development.

05:49During his 21 years in the role, he was a central figure in the global oil industry,

05:54one of Earth's largest industries.

05:56Al-Naimi was known for balancing stable oil prices with protecting Saudi Arabia's interests,

06:01with every one of his business decisions causing ripples in the global economy.

06:05Focusing on efficiency is really the name of the game.

06:10The more efficient we use any resource is very, very important.

06:16Number 5. Lei Jun

06:17He's the first Chinese billionaire to make it onto our list, but he won't be the last.

06:22In 2010, Lei teamed up with a former Google engineer and a few other accomplished founders,

06:28and Xiaomi was born.

06:29With a net worth of over $44 billion, he was the 36th richest person globally in 2025.

06:36What does he do that's made him so rich?

06:38He owns Xiaomi Corporation, the third largest smartphone manufacturing company on the planet,

06:43also called the Apple of China.

06:45Five years ago, we were determined to step up with innovation to further invest in car technology,

06:53and we planned at the time to invest in over $100 billion within five years,

06:59and now it has been five years, and we have surpassed that target.

07:03So, as you can expect, he's one of the leading figures in the tech industry.

07:07As a child, his father made only $7 monthly,

07:10but he encouraged him to pursue his passion for electronics.

07:13Thankfully for him, it turned into an extremely lucrative path to go down.

07:22Number 4. Vladimir Yakunin

07:25One of Putin's closest confidants is businessman Yakunin.

07:28You know, I suppose this is a high time to just try to calm down, to stop, and to sink.

07:36For 10 years, he was in charge of Russian railways,

07:39which is close to having a monopoly on the nation's long-distance rail surfaces.

07:43Even though he doesn't hold this role anymore,

07:46being part of Putin's inner circle allows him to wield significant power.

07:49Russian economy is part of the global economy, whether I like it or not.

07:54The two even served in the KGB at the same time,

07:57way back before the Soviet Union collapsed.

07:59Yakunin is so powerful that the 2014 Ukraine crisis

08:02has caused the U.S. and a plethora of other nations to sanction him,

08:06banning him from travel along with freezing all his assets.

08:09Both Australia and the U.K. have since followed suit.

08:12They did not actually influence my professional activity.

08:19And, you know, I'm not limited in communication in Europe.

08:23I'm doing business as usual.

08:25Number 3. Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud

08:28We've already discussed one of the longest-serving Saudi energy ministers.

08:32Now for the current one.

08:33People forget that climate change issue and sustainability is a global issue.

08:39It cannot be attended to in regional scopes.

08:45Al Saud is one of King Salman's sons, making him a Saudi royal by birthright,

08:49as well as the grandson of Ibn Saud, Saudi Arabia's founding father.

08:53So, he has immense influence over global oil markets,

08:57making regular decisions that influence the entire global economy.

09:00It has been a holistic approach, inclusive of our partners in OPEC and OPEC Plus,

09:12along with our partners at the G20.

09:15Oil prices affect everything.

09:17And since Saudi Arabia is the number one oil exporter,

09:20he has more power over economic stability than most heads of state.

09:24Regardless of this fact,

09:25he is much less well-known than the vast majority of state leaders.

09:28As the Intergovernment Panel on Climate Change has noted,

09:32even the most stringent mitigation effort would not be enough.

09:37We must be better prepared for physical impacts.

09:40Unfortunately, we are lagging behind in this respect.

09:44Number 2. Lee Jae-yong

09:45Also known as JY Lee

09:47Everybody knows Samsung Electronics.

09:50They've been a household name for years now.

09:52Roger that.

09:53They were first founded in South Korea in 1969,

09:55and have since become the second largest phone manufacturer globally.

10:00While the company is well-known,

10:01its CEO, Lee Jae-yong, is not.

10:04But by the end of 2024,

10:06he was the wealthiest person in South Korea.

10:09Samsung's parent company accounts for approximately 20% of South Korea's GDP.

10:13Well, you know, with Samsung, when it rains, it pours.

10:16That means that when Lee was jailed for corruption,

10:18they eventually had to pardon him because he was so important to the country.

10:22His ability to survive such a scandal,

10:24then return to power and keep expanding Samsung,

10:27is a testament to his influence.

10:29Lee's release is already being felt by markets.

10:32Samsung's share price spiked on Monday,

10:34a sign that investors are looking forward to seeing him back in charge.

10:38Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel

10:41and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.

10:44You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.

10:48If you're on your phone,

10:49make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.

10:54Number 1. Ding Shedong

10:56This Chinese politician is believed to have roughly $800 billion in assets.

11:01This means few individuals have controlled more financial power than he has.

11:05For four years, he was chairman and CEO of China Investment Corporation,

11:10managing China's sovereign wealth fund.

11:12It's one of the world's largest investment funds

11:14and has capital in almost every industry.

11:17Now, he is the Communist Party secretary

11:20as well as vice chair of the National Council for Social Security Fund,

11:23making him even more powerful than before.

11:26His influence hasn't just been to gain personal wealth.

11:29He's been shaping China's rise as an economic superpower.

11:32We need to leverage investment diversification

11:35to diversify risks

11:37and manage different uncertainties

11:40by maintaining a large portfolio.

11:43Which of these lesser-known powerful figures

11:45do you think is the most interesting?

11:46Let us know in the comments below.

11:48Listen, I'm very much concerned to tell the truth.

12:02We'll see you there again.

12:03Let's see.

12:03Listen, I have thebbins and I talked a little bit of a buck.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended