NEW YORK (Kyodo) Toyota Motor Corp. Chairman Fujio Cho was ranked eighth on a list of the 50 most influential people in business by a U.S. business magazine.
Business 2.0, which released the 50 Who Matter Now list in its latest edition, said Cho, the only Japanese business leader to make the list, is regarded with respect and envy by his competitors for recording double-digit sales increases despite soaring gasoline prices.
Cho ranked higher than U.S. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke, who came in 20th, and Bill Gates, founder and chairman of software giant Microsoft Corp., who ranked 21st.
Consumers, described as those who constantly seek new services and products, took first place.
Sergey Brin and Larry Page, cofounders of major Internet search engine Google Inc., came in second.