| Rank | Leader | Country | Previous Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Xi Jiangping | China | 1 |
| 2 | Kim Jong-un | North Korea | 2 |
| 3 | Moon Jae-in | South Korea | 5 |
| 4 | Lee Hsien Loong | Singapore | Not Ranked |
| 5 | Vladimir Putin | Russia | 6 |
| 6 | Donald Trump | United States | 7 |
| 7 | Ali Khamenei | Iran | 3 |
| 8 | Benjamin Netanyahu | Israel | 4 |
| 9 | Mahathir bin Muhammad | Malaysia | 10 |
| 10 | Mohammad bin Salman | Saudi Arabia | 8 |
1. The big winner of the U.S.-North Korea summit? China. Nothing of substance came about, but tensions do seem to be thawing. The U.S. also promised to end joint military exercises with South Korea. Xi couldn't have drawn it up better.
2. Kim got his wish to sit down with a U.S. president and sign a joint declaration of friendship. The cherry on top came when the president called Kim "honorable" and "talented." Between the summit with South Korean president Moon and this summit with Trump, Kim is apparently the most popular belle at the ball.
3. Moon worked hard to restore the summit after Trump cancelled it over hurt feelings last month. While the summit didn't accomplish world peace, it did keep the process going, which is ultimately helpful to South Korea and Moon's legacy.
4. The summit put the spotlight on Singapore, one of the most successful countries in the world. Singapore has the rare distinction of being a trade partner with North Korea and also a close ally of the U.S.
5. Putin was kicked out of the G-7 for invading Crimea in 2014. Putin critics argue he never should've been invited in, but the invasion exposed him as the bad faith actor he is. Now U.S. president Donald Trump has inexplicably whined that Putin should be let back into the club, despite killing dissidents and breaking international laws by invading other sovereign nations. Putin should hire Trump as his agent. Plus, the World Cup is in Russia starting tomorrow.
6. The summit with Kim was a positive step. Despite his critics' fears, Trump didn't mess things up and induce nuclear war. It was a rare success for Trump, who hasn't seen much else go right- usually due to his own actions. He insulted America's allies at the G-7 meeting, initially cancelled the summit like a petulant child before looking ridiculous and making an about-face, and promised to end joint military exercises with South Korea without getting any concessions from the North Koreans or consulting the South Koreans. And that was just in the last few weeks. That doesn't include ripping up the Iran deal (a deal similar to the one he hopes to get with North Korea), moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem without getting any concessions from Israel, starting a trade war with China, starting a trade war with our allies, and walking away from the TPP before asking to get back in.
7. It looks like Iran will restart its nuclear weapons program if the other parties in the JCPOA can't save it. That favors the hardliners like the Grand Ayatollah in Iran over moderates like president Hassan Rouhani.
8. Despite being interviewed by police for corruption this week, Netanyahu is doing well thanks to Trump. The U.S. moved its embassy to Jerusalem and Israel didn't have to give anything up. Netanyahu also convinced Trump to get out of the JCPOA.
9. Prime Minister Mahathir hopes to reinvigorate his country and has invited Ali Baba head Jack Ma and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi to Malaysia in recent weeks in order to do just that.
10. MbS falls down the list as activist women were arrested last month showing that either MbS isn't the reformer he has tried to portray himself as or the crown prince doesn't have as much power as he hopes. His war in Yemen is a disaster, but he has become close to Trump.
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