World's Most Powerful Black Women 2010

Forbes magazine has released it’s 2010 World's 100 Most Powerful Women list. The women were assessed based less on traditional titles and roles and more on creative influence and entrepreneurship. These power women have built distinctive companies and brands and championed weighty causes, sometimes through unconventional means; in other cases they have broken through gender barriers. This year there are seven black women on the list .

Topping the list, First Lady Michelle Obama is a true change-maker since taking lodge in the White House in 2008. The first African-American in the post, she's changed the face of the office (literally), and with consistently high approval ratings, she's given a new generation of girls and women around the world a role model. A former private attorney and public servant in Chicago, her interest in working with young people and advocating for healthy eating, among other issues, is evidenced by her Let's Move! campaign, which aims to solve the epidemic of childhood obesity within a generation.

Oprah Winfrey, who is the only black person to make the Forbes 400 list for the last several years, is ranked as the third most powerful woman. Singer Beyonce Knowles, at #9 is the only other black woman in the top ten.

The four remaining ladies on the list are Ursula Burns at #20, Serena Williams at #55, Venus Williams at #60 and Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of Liberia and the sole female elected African head of state at #86.