DemDaily: The World’s 100 Most Influential People

September 23, 2021 

Last week Time Magazine published its annual 100 Most Influential People, revealing an inspiring and sometimes controversial mix of celebrities, politicians, entrepreneurs and athletes.

The list, first published in 1999, arose from debate among American academics, politicians, and journalists about individuals who truly change the world, regardless of the consequences of their actions.

The nominations come from Time 100 alumni and the magazine's international writing staff, and the final 100 for the year is decided by Time editors.

The List

The recognized are divided into six categories: Icons, Pioneers, Titans, Artists, Leaders and Innovators. The tributes to each are written, uniquely, by colleagues and past recipients in the same category.

Icons

Prince Harry & Meghan, The Duke & Duchess of Sussex
Naomi Osaka, Japanese Tennis Champion
Alexei Navalny, Russian Opposition Leader, Lawyer, Anti-Corruption Activist
Britney Spears, American Singer-Songwriter
Sherrilyn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
Dolly Parton, American Singer-Songwriter, Businesswoman, Humanitarian
Shohei Ohtani, Japanese Baseball Player for Los Angeles Angels
Cathy Park Hong, Korean American Poet
Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, Cuban Performance Artist and Dissident
Nasrin Sotoudeh, Iranian Human Rights Lawyer
Manjusha P. Kulkarni, Russell Jeung, & Cynthia Choi, Co-Founders, Stop AAPI Hate
Muna El-Kurd & Mohammed El-Kurd, Palestinian Rights Activists

Pioneers

Billie Eilish, American Singer-Songwriter
Ben Crump, Trial Lawyer, Represents the Family of George Floyd
Adi Utarini, Indonesian Public Health Researcher
Sunisa Lee, American Olympic Gymnast
Felwine Sarr & Bénédicte Savoy, French Authors, Report on Art Restitution
Fatih Birol, Director of the International Energy Agency
Aurora James, Fashion Designer
Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India
Phyllis Omido, Goldman Environmental Foundation
Frans Timmermans, Vice President of the EU Commission
Indyra Mendoza & Claudia Spellmant, Latin American LGBTQ+ activists
Roger Cox, Dutch Climate Attorney, Author "Revolution Justified"
Olimpia Coral Melo Cruz, Mexican Women's Rights Activist
Dorottya Redai, Hungarian Academic and LGBTQ+ Activist
Esther Ze Naw Bamvo & Ei Thinzar Maung, Myanmar Human Rights Activists

Titans
Simone Biles, American Olympic Gymnast
Tim Cook, CEO, Apple
Shonda Rhimes, American Television Producer, Screenwriter, Author
Timbaland & Swizz Beatz, R&B/Hip-Hop Executives and Producers
Nikole Hannah-Jones, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter
Tom Brady, American Football Player and Quarterback
Youn Yuh Jung, South Korean Actress
Allyson Felix, American Olympic Track and Field Athlete
Angélique Kidjo, Beninese Singer-Songwriter, Actress, and Activist
Kenneth C. Frazier & Kenneth I. Chenault, Corporate CEOs and One-Ten Co-Founders
Luiza Trajano, Brazilian Billionaire Businesswoman, Chair Magazine Luiza

Artists
Kate Winslet, British Actress
Bad Bunny, Puerto Rican Rapper, Singer-Songwriter
Chloé Zhao, Chinese Film Director, Screenwriter, Producer
Jason Sudeikis, American Actor, Comedian, Producer, Writer
Scarlett Johansson, American Actress
Lil Nas X, American Rapper, Singer-Songwriter
Jessica B. Harris, American Culinary Historian, Author, Journalist
Bowen Yang, Australian-born American Actor, Comedian, Writer
Tracee Ellis Ross, American Actress, Singer, Producer, Director
Mark Bradford, American Artist
N.K. Jemisin, American Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer
Steven Yeun, American Actor and Producer
Daniel Kaluuya, Ugandan-British Actor
Omar Sy, French Actor
Barbara Kruger, American Conceptual Artist
Kane Brown, American Singer-Songwriter

Leaders
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General, World Trade Organization
Joe Biden, President of the United States
Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party
Liz Cheney, US Congresswoman from Wyoming
Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States
Mario Draghi, Prime Minister of Italy
Tucker Carlson, Conservative American Television Host, Commentator
Naftali Bennett, Prime Minister of Israel
Stacey Abrams, American Politician, Lawyer, Voting Rights Activist, Author
Nayib Bukele, President of El Salvador
Donald Trump, Former President of the United States
Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India
Mahbouba Seraj, Afghan Journalist, Women's Rights Advocate
Joe Manchin, US Senator from West Virginia
Ebrahim Raisi, President of Iran
Rochelle Walensky, Director of the Centers for Disease Control
Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of the Indian State of West Bengal
Ron Klain, White House Chief of Staff
Elisa Loncon Antileo, Mapuche Linguist, Indigenous Rights Activist
Abdul Ghani Baradar, Acting First Deputy Prime Minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Co-Founder of the Taliban

Innovators
Jensen Huang, Taiwanese-American Billionaire Businessman, President and CEO Nvidia Corporation
Elon Musk, Entrepreneur, Founder, CEO and Chief Engineer at SpaceX, CEO Tesla
Adrienne Banfield Norris, Willow Smith, & Jada Pinkett Smith, Hosts of Red Table Talk
Katalin Kariko, Hungarian Biochemist
Mary Barra, CEO, General Motors
John Nkengasong, Cameroonian Virologist, Director Africa Centres for Disease Control
MiMi Aung, Burmese-American Engineer, Project Manager NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Vitalik Buterin, Russian-Canadian Programmer, Co-Founder of Ethereum
Viya, Chinese On-Line Saleswoman and Influencer
Barney Graham, American Immunologist, Virologist, Deputy Director Vaccine Research Center
Friederike Otto & Geert Jan van Oldenborgh, Co-Founders World Weather Attribution initiative
Kengo Kuma, Japanese Architect
Sara Menker, Entrepreneur, CEO Gro Intelligence
Lidia Morawska, a Polish Physicist, Authority on Airborne Transmission of COVID-19

Read More: TIME's The Most Influential People of 2021

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