by Mark Silva
Sure, President Barack Obama made the list.
But so did Michelle Obama.
And Bernie Madoff, the billionaire king of Ponzi.
Rush Limbaugh, too, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and... "the founders of Twitter.''
Sarah Palin's on the list. John McCain is not.
The 100 most influential people in the world, according to Time magazine's assessment of the field out today -- (in the May issue on sale this weekend).
"The Time 100 is not a list of the most powerful people in the world, it's not a list of the smartest people in the world, it's a list of the most influential people in the world,'' explains Managing Editor Rick Stengel. "They're scientists, they're thinkers, they're philosophers, they're leaders, they're icons, they're artists, they're visionaries''
They've also asked some interesting people to contribute some essays about the most influential: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown writing on Barack Obama, Bono on George Clooney, Anne Coulter on Sarah Palin, Oprah Winfrey on Michelle Obama, Michael Moore on Bernie Madoff.
Brown writes of Obama: "It was said of Cicero that when people heard him, they turned to one another and said, 'Great speech'; but when Demosthenes spoke, people turned to one another and said, 'Let's march.' All around the world people are marching with Barack Obama."
Coulter on Palin: "The biggest red flag proving her popularity with normal Americans is that liberals won't shut up about her ... The only thing I have against her is that she threatens to surpass me in attracting the left's hatred."
Oprah Winfrey on Michelle Obama: "How sweet it is that America has a First Lady who embodies the vibrancy and confidence of a seriously prepared 21st century woman. A phenomenal woman indeed."
Oprah is enjoying a run - making the list for six years now, more than any other Time 100 "designee.'' Hillary Clinton has made it five times. Obama and Clooney four.
Here is another interesting tribute: Chelsey "Sully" Sullenberger, captain of the US Airways jet downed by geese to land on the Hudson River, on Richard Phillips, Navy SEAL-rescued captain of the container ship attacked by pirates. "My family and I have had the opportunity to think quite a bit about the word hero this year ...Captain Phillips offered himself up as a defenseless hostage in order to free his crew. He is a leader, a human being, and yes, a hero of the highest order. I salute him."
Here's the list:
Leaders & Revolutionaries
Norah al-Faiz, deputy minister for women's education, Saudi Arabia
Nouri al-Maliki, prime minister, Iraq
Gordon Brown, prime minister, Great Britain
Hillary Clinton, secretary of state, United States
Thomas Dart, sheriff, Cook County, Illinois
Joaquin Guzman, Mexican druglord
Xi Jinping, vice president, China
Boris Johnson, mayor, London
Paul Kagame, president, Rwanda
Edward Kennedy, US Senator
Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, chief of army staff, Pakistan
Christine Lagarde, minister of finance, France
Avigdor Lieberman, deputy prime minister, Israel
David McKiernan, commander, US Forces, Afghanistan
Angela Merkel, chancellor, Germany
Barack Obama, president, United States
Wang Qishan, vice premier, China
Nicolas Sarkozy, president, France
Elizabeth Warren, chair, TARP Congressional Oversight
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, president, Indonesia
Builders & Titans
Sheila Bair, chair, US Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Robin Chase, founder, Zipcar
Jamie Dimon, CEO, JP Morgan Chase & Company
Timothy Geithner, treasury secretary, United States
Jack Ma, founder and COO, Alibaba Group
Bernie Madoff, Ponzi scheme operator
Stella McCartney, fashion designer
Alexander Medvedev, deputy CEO, Gazprom
Moot, founder, 4chan.org
Alan Mulally, CEO, Ford Motor Company
Nandan Nilekani, co-founder and chair Infosys Technologies
Suze Orman, financial advisor
T.Boone Pickens, chairman, BP Capital Management
Brad Pitt, actor and producer
Tessa Ross, producer, Slumdog Millionaire
Carlos Slim, businessman and philanthropist
Ted Turner, philanthropist and founder, CNN
Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone, Evan Williams, founders, Twitter
Meredith Whitney, founder, Meredith Whitney LLC
Lauren Zalaznick, president, NBC Universal Women and Lifestyle Entertainment Networks
Scientists & Thinkers
Shai Agassi, founder and CEO, Better Place
Dan Barber, chef and creative director, Blue Hill
Nicholas Christakis, physician and sociologist, Harvard
Steven Chu, secretary of energy, United States
Paul Ekman, psychologist
Jon Favreau, chief speechwriter, President Obama
Roland Fryer, professor of economics, Harvard University
Barbara Hogan, minister of health, South Africa
Connie Hedegaard, climate and energy minister, Denmark
Paul Krugman, economist and author
Martin Lindstrom, CEO and chairman, LINDSTROM
Amory Lovins, founder, Rocky Mountain Institute
Douglas Melton, co-director, Harvard Stem Cell Institute
Dambisa Moyo, economist and author
Yoichiro Nambu, Nobel-prize winning physicist
Daniel Nocera, director, Solar Revolution Project at MIT
Nouriel Roubini, economist and chairman, RGE Monitor
Stephan Schuster & Webb Miller, Woolly Mammoth DNA,
biologists, Penn State University
David Sheff, author, Beautiful Boy
Nate Silver, statistician and journalist
Artists & Entertainers
Penelope Cruz, actress
Elizabeth Diller & Ricardo Scofidio, founders, Diller, Scofidio & Renfro architecture studio
Gustavo Dudamel, violinist and conductor
Zac Efron, actor and singer
Tina Fey, actress, writer and producer
Tom Hanks, actor, director and producer
Werner Herzog, film director and screen writer
Dan & Sam Houser, co-founders, Rockstar Games
Judith Jamison, artistic director, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
William Kentridge, artist
Jeff Kinney, author, Diary of a Wimpy Kid series
Lang Lang, concert pianist
John Legend, singer-songwriter
Jay Leno, television host
Rush Limbaugh, radio host
M.I.A., rapper, singer and producer
A.R. Rahman, film composer, Slumdog Millionaire
Tavis Smiley, television host
Barbara Walters, Whoopi Goldberg, Elisabeth Hasselbeck,
Sherri Shepherd, and Joy Behar, co-hosts, The View
Kate Winslet, actress
Heroes & Icons
Leonard Abess, CEO, City National Bank of Florida
Seth Berkley, founder and CEO, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative
Jeff Bezos, founder, president and CEO, Amazon.com
George Clooney, actor, director, producer and activist
Michael Eavis, founder, Glastonbury Festival
Van Jones, founder, Green for All
Marine Lance Cpl. Brady A. Gustafson, soldier
Somaly Mam, author and human rights activist
Hadizatou Mani, anti-slavery activist
Rafael Nadal, tennis player
Michelle Obama, First Lady
Manny Pacquiao, boxer
Suraya Pakzad, founder, Voice of Women Organization
Sarah Palin, governor, Alaska
Captain Richard Phillips, rescued hostage of Somali pirates
Sister Mary Scullion, founder, Project H.O.M.E.
Chelsey B. "Sully" Sullenberger III, pilot
Rick Warren, pastor
Oprah Winfrey, talk-show host and philanthropist
Tiger Woods, golfer
Comments
I guess they did not get the memo. Twitter is a fad, and is fading.
Posted by: JRPTOO | April 30, 2009 9:07 AM
Not a reader of Time but wonder if they mentioned Michelle hated America at one time.
Posted by: Inky | April 30, 2009 9:17 AM
Hey Tribune, is Twitter paying you to advertise for them in multiple "articles" on a daily basis? Give it a rest.
Posted by: Turbo | April 30, 2009 9:53 AM
She never said that, Inky.
I can see why they left you off the list.
Posted by: Flo | April 30, 2009 10:03 AM
Rush made the "Under the Influence" list too.
Posted by: Kenny Bunkport | April 30, 2009 10:27 AM
She never said that, Inky.
I can see why they left you off the list.
Posted by: Flo | April 30, 2009 10:03 AM\
Flo
Glad not on the list same as you, too many Socialist Liberals on the list, for me to be comfortable with.
But surprised Tombstone Burris and Blago didn't make the list.
Posted by: Inky | April 30, 2009 10:56 AM
What do obama and Twitter have in common.
Both are fads that hopefully will shortly fade !!!!
Posted by: Al in Chicago | April 30, 2009 11:51 AM
Will Elijah III the prophet be on that list when he comes before the 2nd Coming of Jesus Christ to turn hearts back to God the Father and set things straight?
Posted by: Harold Reimann | April 30, 2009 12:21 PM
Michelle Obama should also get the Jefferson Award after Louise Jefferson of Movin' On Up for movin' her mother into the biggest freebee around - the big White House.
Posted by: ron | April 30, 2009 12:24 PM
I'll tell you what they have in common. One is twitter, the other is just a twit.
Posted by: stinky | April 30, 2009 12:47 PM
It's amazing how much animosity the Obamas get from a tiny percentage of the population. I read those things and think to myself, "sore losers." And after eight years of someone truly deserving the epithet "twit", it just makes you wonder what these folks see when they look in their mirrors every morning. Self deception is the greatest of all sins. Twitter probably is a fad, but Obama will be with us for the next eight years.
Posted by: Tim O. | April 30, 2009 1:12 PM
Michelle Obama should also get the Jefferson Award after Louise Jefferson of Movin' On Up
Posted by: ron | April 30, 2009 12:24 PM
Well you win the "Bunker" award ...Archie.
Posted by: bill r. | April 30, 2009 1:14 PM
My brother, Jeff Kinney, just made the cover for his "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series. Hooray for underdogs everywhere! I am proud and in awe.
Posted by: Scott Kinney | April 30, 2009 4:15 PM
Forget Time magazine.
The most influential people in the ENTIRE world are those US citizens who vote in their states' presidential primaries and caucuses. For better or worse, every four years we set the global tone for all things to come.
Posted by: dom youngross | May 1, 2009 1:28 AM
From the “You Must Be Kidding Me Department” Palin Time 100 http://cli.gs/TgHdeJ
Posted by: Bob | May 2, 2009 4:21 PM