TIME Magazine just released its annual list of 100 most influential people and on it are a variety of people, from Bollywood’s Ranbir Kapoor, K-pop sweetheart Jennie and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
The list celebrates 100 artists, pioneers, titans, icons, leaders and innovators whom the magazine’s editors believe are the most influential people in the world.
The artists category featured Jennie, actor Keke Palmer, Noah Wyle of the show The Pitt , Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, Benicio Del Toro and Kapoor, among others. The note accompanying Panahi’s name included a quote from him — “I’m going to go to prison for a year, and I’ll come out with a new script.” It also spoke of his decades of “turning censorship into cinematic resistance, using his craft to pull back the curtain on the realities of life in Iran”.
The list of pioneers included YouTube sensation MrBeast.
The list of titans included actors Ben Stiller and Zoe Saldana, model Anok Yai, designer Ralph Lauren, Microsoft’s Sundar Pichai and co-chairs of the World Health Organisation’s Intergovernmental Negotiating Body during the Covid pandemic, Precious Matsoso and Anne-Claire Amprou, among many others.
Hollywood star power was also on display in the icons list, with the inclusion of Kate Hudson, Hilary Duff and Ethan Hawke. Olympic figure skating gold medalist Alysa Liu and Victoria Beckham were also on the list. Duff’s inclusion note, written by Nicole Richie, describes her as “the girl we danced with in our bedrooms then and the woman we all want to have dinner with now”.
The leaders list began with Pope Leo XIV and featured Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, President Donald Trump, New York Mayor Mamdani, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu, Steve Witikoff, who was recently in Islamabad as part of the US’ negotiation team with Iran and Prime Minister of Nepal Balendra Shah.
The note accompanying Netanyahu’s name speaks of “Israel’s devastation of Hezbollah’s military infrastructure, its crippling strikes alongside the US on Iran’s nuclear programme in the 12-Day War, and the eventual extraction of all remaining hostages from Gaza have boosted his standing with the Israeli public”.
It notes, however, that “this same legacy may also poison international attitudes toward his country”.
The list of innovators included Hilary Knight of the US Women’s Olympic Hockey Team, chef Vikas Khanna and F1 driver Lando Norris, among others.
