Senior Adviser to the President
Last year's rank: 8
Jarrett is a charter member of the President's cadre of loyalists -- and the only senior advisor from his original inner circle remaining at the White House. That attrition has enhanced her standing, even as it's fuzzed the edges of her portfolio.
What's clear: she is still a key sounding board for Obama, and a powerful advocate for women in an administration accused of being a boy's club.
NEXT: Michele Bachmann