Time 100 influential people

Friday, May 15, 2009

Here's Time Magazine's list of 100 most influential people.

Artists & Entertainers

  • Rush Limbaugh

- He is the American radio host of the nationally syndicated talk-radio show The Rush Limbaugh Show.
  • M.I.A.

- British-born songwriter, record producer, singer, fashion designer and artist of Sri Lankan Tamil origin.
  • Sam and Dan Houser

- the men behind the Grand Theft Auto Series
  • Kate Winslet

- English actress known for her award winning performance in the following movies: Titanic, Sense and Sensibility, Eternal Sunshine for the Spotless mind, Little Children, Revolutionary Road and The Reader.
  • Werner Herzog

- He is an Academy Award nominated German film director, screen writer, actor and opera director.
  • William Kentridge

- a world known South African artist
  • Penélope Cruz

- an award winning Spanish actress
  • Lang Lang

- chinese pianist
  • John Legend

- an American soul singer, songwriter, and pianist that won 6 Grammy Awards.
  • Elizabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofidio

- architects and founder of the Diller Scofidio + Renfo, a New YOrk based architectural firm known for their interdisciplinary approach to architecture.
  • Gustavo Dudamel

- a Venezuelan conductor and violinist
  • Jeff Kinney

- a game designer and author of children's book including The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.
  • Tavis Smiley

- African-American author, journalist, political commentator and talk show host
  • The View

- the Emmy Award-Winning American Talk Show which features a panel of women as co-hosts.
  • Zac Efron

-an American actor and singer known for his Disney roles such as High School Musical.
  • Tina Fey

-an award winning american actress, writer, comedian and producer. She was also known for her stint in Saturday Night Live portraying Sarah Palin.
  • Tom Hanks

- a well known American Actor
  • Jay Leno

-an American stand-up comedian, television host writer that succeeded the show, The Tonight Show.
  • A.R. Rahman

-an Indian film composer, record producer, musician and singer and referred by Time as "Mozart of Madras".
  • Judith Jamison

-an American dancer and choreographer best known as the artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

Scientists & Thinkers
  • Nouriel Roubini

-a professor in Economics at Stern School of Business, New York University and chairman of RGE Monitor, an economic consultancy firm.
  • Amory Lovins

-Chariman and Chief Scientist of Rocky Mountain Institute and a known author of many renewable energy and energy efficiency books.
  • Jon Favreau

-an American writer, actor and screenwriter well known for directing the two Iron Man and Zathura movies. He also co-stars in his Iron film movies and has been visible in the following movies: Iron Man, Iron Man II, Four Christmases, I love You Man, Daredevil and many other films.
  • Dambisa Moyo

- an economist and the author of Dead Aid: Why Aid is Not Working and How There is a Better Way For Africa.
  • Dan Barber

- chef and owner of several Blue Hill restaurants and was named top chef in America.
  • Yoichiro Nambu

- a Japanese-born American Physicist and professor at University of Chicago. Well known for his major contributions in theoretical physics and was awarded a Nobel Prize 2008 for discovering the mechanism of spontaneous broken symmetry in subatomic physics.
  • Roland Fryer

- a professor of Economics in Harvard University.
  • Martin Lindstrom

- author of the best selling Buyology - Truth and Lies About Why We Buy. A well known speaker and author for his work in science and marketing.
  • Barbara Hogan

- the Minister of Public Enterprises in the Cabinet of South Africa and former Minister of Health before resuming her new position.
  • David Sheff

- American author of the #1 New York best selling memoir Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey through his Son's Addiction.
  • Steven Chu

- American physicist and currently the US Secretary of Energy.His well known research is cooling and trapping of atoms with laser light which won a Nobel Prize in 1997.
  • Paul Krugman

-an American economist, columnist, intellectual and author. He won the Nobel Memorial prize in Economics for his analysis of trade pattens and location of economic activity.
  • Connie Hedegaard

- the current Minister of Climate and Energy and former Danish Minister for Environment
  • Daniel Nocera

-an American Chemist known for his researches on creating innovations towards the use of solar energy in large scale, mainstream applications such as Hydrogen gas production from acidic solutions using a Rhodium photocatalyst.
  • Stephan Schuster and Webb Miller

- known for their research in bioinfomatics of species extinction such as the woolly mamoth genome.
  • Nicholas Christakis

- American Physician and sociologist internationally recognized for his work on social networks and other factors affecting health, health care and longevity
  • Doug Melton

- the co director of Harvard Stem Cell Institute and chariperson of the Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology which he was known for his reseach of developmental biology of the pancreas.
  • Paul Ekman

- a psychologist who has been pioneer in the study of emotions and its relation to facial expression and was considered as one of the top 100 most eminent psychologists of the twentieth century.
  • Shai Agassi

- the founder and CEO of Better Place which focuses on green transportation infrastructure based on electric cars as an alternative to the basic fuel technologyand formerly the President of the Products and Technology Group (PTG) at SAP AG. He pursues his interests in alternative energy and climate change.
  • Nate Silver

- an American statistician, journalist and writer which he was known for inventing PECOTA(Player Empirical Comparison and Optimization Test Algorithm), a system for forecasting the performance and career development of Major League BAseball.

Leaders & Revolutionaries
  • Edward Kennedy
- He is a US Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. He is also known as the Democratic Icon and for his several awards, Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Order of the Aztec Eagle, and so on and so forth.
  • Edward Gordon
- He is the Prime Minister of United Kingdom (successor after Tony Blair) and Leader of the Labour Party. He also became Chancellor of Exchequer under Blair.
  • Christine Lagarde
- She is the current Minister of Economy, Industry and Employment of France. Before that she was the Minister of Agriculture and Fishing. She ranked as 30th most powerful woman in Forbes Magazine. She was awarded France's highest honor, which is the Legion d'honneur.
  • Thomas Dart
-He is a Democrat and the sheriff of Cook County, Illionois.
  • Avigdor Lieberman
- an Israeli politician and Member of the Knesset as well as the current Israeli Minister of ForeignAffairs and Deputy Prime Minister of Israel. He is the founder and leader of the Yisrael Bienteinu Party, whose electoral basis are the immigrants from the former Soviet Union.
  • Joaquín Guzmán
- a Mexican Druglord who heads an international drug trafficking organization referred to as the Sinaloa Cartel which is named after the Mexican pacific coast state of Sinaloa it was initially formed. He was on the list of Forbes' list of wealthiest people in the world t 701 with an estimated worth of $1billion. He is wanted by the governments of Mexico, U.S.A. and by the INTERPOL.
  • Nouri al-Maliki
- the Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party. He also succeeded the Iraqi Transitional Government.
  • Hilary Clinton
- is thecurrent US Secretary of the State under Obama's regime. She also became a US Senator and was a former First Lady of the US when her husband Bill Clinton was the 42th US president.
  • Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

-an Indonesian retired miltary general and the President of Indonesia.
  • Boris Johnson

- an English politician and journalist and the current Mayor of London.
  • Norah al-Faiz

- the first female member of the Saudi Arabia Council of Ministers and was appointed deputy Minister for Women's Education.
  • Elizabeth Warren

-the Leo Gottlieb Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and became the chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel created to oversee the U.S. banking bailout, formally known as the Troubled Assets relief Program.
  • Paul Kagame

- the current President of the Republic of Rwanda.
  • Nicolas Sarkozy

- the current President of the French Republic and ex offico Co-Prince of Andorra.
  • Angela Merkel

- the current Chancellor of Germany and was Environment, Nature conservation and Nuclear Safety Minister and Women and Youth Minister.
  • Wang Qishan

- a Chinese politician and was elected 17th Politboro of the Communist Party of China and Vice-Premier in 2008.
  • Xi Jinping

- the Senior Leader of China and currnetly China's Vice President.
  • David McKiernan

- is the currently resigned Commander of ISAF (International Security Assisstance Force) and USFOR-A (US FOrces-Afghanistan).
  • Ashfaq Kayani

- a Pakistani General and the current Cheif of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army and was named by Newsweek as 20th most powerful people in the world.
  • Barack Obama

-is the 44th and first African-American current US President.

Heroes & Pioneers
  • Michelle Obama

- a lawyer and the first African-American First Lady of USA and also the wife of Pres. Barrack Obama.
  • Chesley B. Sullenberger

-an American Airline Transport Pilot(ATP), safety expert, and accident investigator who successfully carried out the emergencywater landing of US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River, offshore from Manhattan City.
  • Richard Phillips

- the rescued captain of the cargo ship MV Maersk Alabama who was held hostage by the Somali pirates that hijacked the ship.
  • Seth Berkley

-a medical epidemiologist and the current President, CEO and founder of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI).
  • Michael Eavis

-an English dairy farmer and the founder of the Glastonbury on his farm, in which profits from the festival supports the local projects and for charitable causes.
  • Leonard Abess

- the founder and CEO of City National Bank of Florida, in which he sold the bank and gave away a $60 million part of it to all his employees.
  • Hadizatou Mani

- a Nigerian human rights activist that fought to free herself from slavery and had been honored the 2009 International Women Courage Award.
  • Rick Warren

-an evangelican minister, founder and senior pastor of the Saddleback Church in California. He is also the author of the famous book "The Purpose Drive Life" which made him as one of New York's Best Selling author.
  • Van Jones

-an environmental advocate, civil rights activist, attorney and New York best selling author. He is also the Special Advisor on Green Jobs for the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ.
  • Somaly Mam

-a Cambodian author and human rights advocate focusing primarily on needs of victims of human sex trafficking due to the cruel past that she had gone through.
  • Rafael Nadal

- world's number 1 professional tennis player. He has won 6 Grand Slam single titles and an Olympic Gold medal.
  • Suraya Pakzad

-founder of the Voice of Women Organization which helps and protects Afghan women in the time of crisis and constant war. She is also a recipient of International Women of Courage Award.
  • Jeff Bezos

- the founder, president, CEO and chairman of the board of Amazon.com
  • Tiger Woods

- an the number 1 and highest paid American professional golfer.
  • George Clooney

- an award winning actor, director, producer and screen writer. United Nations had named him as "Messenger of Peace".
  • Brady Gustafson

- one of the US Lance corpl that has been awarded the Navy Cross for their undying service in Afghanistan which made him lose his right leg during their escape in Afghan.
  • Sister Mary Scullion

- a Roman Catholic nun and activist who founded the Project HOME (the acronym stands for Housing, Opportunities for Employment, Medical Care, Education)
  • Oprah Winfrey

- a medi apersonality, actress, producer, literary critic, magazine publisher and considered the richest African-American woman of the 20th century. She was known for her self titled multi award winning show which is one of the highest rated program.
  • Sarah Palin

- the governor of Alaska and had runned for the vice president position last 2008 presidential election.
  • Manny Pacquiao

- a Filipino boxer known as the #1 pound per pound boxer which has 5 world titles in different weight divisions.

Builders & Titans
  • The Twitter Guys

- comprised of Stone, Williams and Dorsey, the men behind the now famous free microblogging andsocial networking service.
  • T. Boone Pickens

- chairman of the hedge fund BP Capital Management and was recognized by Forbes as 117th richest people in America with roughly $3 billion current net worth and plans to build a huge wind farm in a state known for oil.
  • Ted Turner

- an American media entrepreneur, philanthropist and founder of the cable television network, CNN.
  • Tessa Ross

- head of both Film4 and Channel 4 drama department of UK and one of the executive producers of Slumdog Millionare. Twelve of her films were nominated for Academy Awards this year.
  • Carlos Slim

- a Mexican businessman and philanthropist largely focused on the telecommunications industry and currently the third welthiest peron in the world with $35 billion net woth.
  • Brad Pitt

- an American actor and film producer and was famously known as one of the world's most attractive men. He has a knowledgeable interest in architecture which he employed to create the Make It Right foundation with the objective of financing and constructing 150 new houses in New Orleans Ninth Ward after the Hurricane Katrina tragedy.
  • Meredith Whitney

- a prominent banking analyst and manages her own advisory firm, Meredith Whitney Advisory Group LLC and married retired WWE professional wrestler John "Bradshow" Layfield.
  • Suze Orman

- an American financial advisor, author, motivational seaker and television host. She hosts the show in CNBC, The suze Orman Show and has written six consecutive New York best seller books.
  • Lauren Zalaznick

- a television host fo Tp Chef and was known as one of FORTUNE's Most Powerful Women.
  • Timothy Geithner

- the current US Secretary of Treasury and the former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
  • Nandan Nilekani

- an Indian software entrepreneur and currently the co-chairman of InfosysTechnologies Ltd.
  • Stella McCartney

-an English fashion designer and the daughter of the former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney. She is a member of the Royal British Legion and launched a skincare line called CARE
  • Jamie Dimon

- the current CEO and chairman of JP Morgan Chase and Co. as well as a Class A director of the Board of Directors of the New York Federal Reserve.
  • Sheila Bair

- the Chairman of US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and ranked by Forbes as second most powerful woman on earth.
  • moot

- the moderator of the world's famous 4chan.org. He is also known as "the most influential web entrepreneur you've never heard of" because of his 4chan site and it's fame.
  • Alexander Medvedev

- the Deputy Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of Russian energy company, GAzprom which was reported to reach market value of $1 trillion by 2014.
  • Alan Mulally

- an American engineer and businessman and the current president and Chief Executive officer of Ford Motor Company
  • Robin Chase

- co-founder and former CEO of Zipcar, an innovative car sharing service and currently the CEO of GoLoco.org, which combines carpooling and social networking.
  • Jack Ma

-the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Alibaba group, an Internet-based businesses that include business-to-business trade, online retail, a payment platform, business management software and regionalized classified listings.
  • Bernie Madoff

-former businessman and former non-executive chairman of NADAQ stock exchange who is convicted of the Ponzi scheme and was known as the largest investor fraud made by a single person.



On a fast note, I give credit to wikipedia for all the inforamtion I have gathered regarding these people. It was a good post because I get to know each one of them through their autobiographies in wiki. I think all of them deserved to be on Time's Top 100 influential people for most of them are the people who made an extra effort to extend their hand to those who are in need and to give better solutions in our world and I salute them for that. I got to know many significant people because of this post.

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