The World’s Most Influential People
Words: Guy Aubrey Devito
They influence the information we receive, the electricity we use, how we communicate and how we dress. Their fortunes are incomprehensible and their power unrivalled. These are the world’s fifty most influential people.
Elon Musk – Tech
, Perhaps the most exciting and ambitious magnate on the planet today, Musk’s passion for new technologies is inspiring. The CEO of Tesla Motors has dragged the automobile industry into the 21st century by aiming to provide cheap electric cars to the world. As if this isn’t enough, he’s also the CEO of SpaceX, a company whose mission is to provide easy access to space.
Neil and David Rimer – Finance
, The Rimer brothers have been setting the gold standard for venture capital as their company, Index Ventures goes from strength to strength. Their unwavering belief in biotechnology has encouraged others to follow suit, resulting in greater innovation within computer and life sciences.
Barack Obama – Politics
The president of the United States is always going to feature on a list of the world’s most influential people and Barack Obama has had a decent year. With his controversial domestic policy being overshadowed by events in Ukraine, Gaza and Iraq, Obama has been able to show his statesmanlike side, giving a strong showing on the world stage.
Marissa Mayer – Tech
The CEO of Yahoo! since 2012, Mayer has been credited with breathing new life into the company. She is considered to be one of the most powerful women in America and, at just 39, there seems to be no limit to what she can achieve.
Jimmy Wales – Tech
, Although Wikipedia may be a non-profit website, it is the fifth most visited website in the world and Wales’s influence is felt around the globe. In 2014 Wales has been prominent in his criticism of the European Court of Justice’s Google ruling concerning the right to be forgotten, maintaining his passion for unconditional free speech.
Mario Testino – Fashion
The man who famously photographed Diana – not to mention a host of glitterati including supermodels, politicians, pop stars and actors – is flavour of the month once again after a risqué photoshoot with a nude Cara Delevingne. Testino has been the world’s pre-eminent fashion photographer for the past twenty years and shows no signs of slowing down.
Travis Kalanick – Tech
The founder of Uber has had stiff opposition to his transportation network company and faces considerable competition from clone companies. Despite this he has ensured that Uber continues to grow and is making inroads (pun intended) in almost fifty countries.
Carl Icahn – Finance
, An old fashioned investor who has been an immensely important player in the world of finance since the 1970’s, Icahn continues to have a great deal of influence over the companies he invests in. His 2013 sale of Netflix shares is believed to be one of the largest stock gains in history and his fortune has been estimated at $26 billion.
Sir Richard Branson – Finance, Tech, Transport
, As one of the world’s most recognisable billionaires, Branson makes this list once again, despite a reduced public profile over the last couple of years. On the 21st of September 2014 Branson was named by The Sunday Times as the most admired business person of the last five decades.
Prince William and Prince Harry – Royalty
Nothing whips the media into a frenzy like the announcement of another royal baby and William seems to be more revered than ever. His brother meanwhile has been gaining plaudits for his tireless campaigning for soldiers seriously injured in battle, his major role in organising the Invictus Games was widely commended.
Simon Cowell – Music
Although there are signs that his long-held grip on the music industry may finally be diminishing, there’s no doubting that he remains the most powerful man in the business. One Direction, his most famous creation to date, continue to storm the charts around the world and one suspects he will be around for a while yet.
Jonah Peretti – Tech, Media
The founder of BuzzFeed continues to change the way we absorb news stories and information, and the importance of this site cannot be overstated. Peretti also had a hand in creating The Huffington Post and Reblog and he will, no doubt, continue to change the media landscape for years to come.
Jeff Bezos – Tech, Retail, Media
, The founder of amazon.com has had his wealth estimated at a staggering $32.3 billion and is showing no signs of slowing down. Astonishingly, Amazon only has ten international websites so far and the potential for growth in new and emerging markets is almost incomprehensible.
Samuel Irving Newhouse Jnr and Donald Newhouse – Media
The owners of Advance Publications – of which Conde Nast is a division – own Vogue, GQ, Wired, Vanity Fair and The New Yorker as well as countless other periodicals. To say that they had an enormous sphere of influence would be an understatement; few have had such influence over the western media.
Mark Zuckerberg – Tech, Philanthropy
The Facebook founder has predominately focused on philanthropy and politics of late and along with Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, was a signatory of ‘the giving pledge’. By the end of 2013 Zuckerberg was estimated to have been the most generous American of the year with his donations to charitable causes amounting to around $1 billion.
Angela Merkel – Politics
, Undoubtedly the most powerful woman in the world, the German chancellor has had a busy year. Aside from the usual business of keeping other EU states from each others throat’s, she has had to contend with the recent Russian propensity for warmongering and masterfully handled the spying scandal that made a fool of the USA’s intelligence services.
Rupert Murdoch – Media
Since the News International phone hacking scandal Murdoch has taken a low profile in the UK, preferring to focus on his interests in the US. Murdoch’s company, 21 Century Fox failed with an $80 billion bid for Time Warner in August, but despite this he remains as busy – and ambitious – as ever.
Oprah Winfrey – Media
The talk show host continues to wield a good deal of influence in American liberal circles and the ‘queen of all media’ seems to be branching out more and more. In 2013 she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and her wealth is estimated at a cool $3 billion.
David and Victoria Beckham – Sport, Music, Fashion
Posh ‘n’ Becks may have given up the things that made them famous in the first place (music and football respectively) but despite this they remain an iconic couple. Victoria’s venture into fashion has been generally well received and David is in the process of getting a MLS franchise off the ground.
Tim Cook and Jonathan Ive – Tech
The men who were given the unenviable task of filling Steve Jobs’s shoes at Apple have been making a good go of it. The iPhone 6 has been generally well received and sales of the phones broke past Apple records. Between the two of them the world’s biggest company is in safe hands.
The Queen – Royalty
, It has been another very successful year for the British monarch, with the news of another great-grandchild and the defeat of the nationalists in the Scottish referendum. The Queen’s continued presence as the constitutional monarch of sixteen countries, the head of the commonwealth and the head of the Anglican church, ensures her status as one of the world’s most influential people.
Warren Buffett – Finance, Philanthropy
As someone who is consistently cited as the world’s richest – or one of the world’s richest – men, Warren Buffett’s place on the list is a given. As well as being one of the most successful investors of all time, the ‘sage of Omaha’ has also acted as a close confidant to Barack Obama. His wealth is estimated at $67 billion.
Vladimir Putin – Politics
The Russian president has probably been the most focused upon person in the world in 2014 and with good reason. The conflict in Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea has set Russia on a collision course with the west that is unnerving to say the least. Putin’s approval rating within Russia has been polled at 85% but with sanctions being imposed upon the country due to the Ukrainian instability, he may have overplayed his hand.
Jack Dorsey – Tech
, The co-founder and chairman of Twitter has not been sitting on his laurels and has been mainly focused on his mobile payments company ‘Square’ for the last couple of years. He has also intimated that he has a burgeoning interest in politics and expressed an interest in running for mayor of New York in the distant future.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi – Politics
, The mysterious leader of ISIL has come out of nowhere to be one of the biggest influencers of geopolitics in 2014. The estimated membership of the Islamic State is between 20,000 to 100,000 and these members are directly under al-Baghdadi’s control. The instability and war in Iraq and Syria makes it hard to predict whether he’ll be around for long, but for the time being he’s a major player in the Middle-East.
Christiano Ronaldo – Sport
, The two-time Ballon d’Or winner had a poor showing at the World Cup but, as the golden boy of the world’s biggest sports team, he wields huge global influence. Unlike his great rival, Lionel Messi, his looks and charm as well as his phenomenal talent ensure that he is the one of the world’s most recognisable people.
Bill Gates – Tech, Philanthropy
, The computer pioneer does not have much to do with Microsoft these days, rather he just sits back and lets the money role in as he concentrates on his philanthropic endeavours. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation continues to garner the majority of his attention and it has played a considerable role in alleviating poverty, famine and disease in many parts of the third world.
Pope Francis – Religion
The first Latin American pope has enjoyed a relatively calm start to his papacy and he is considerably more popular that his predecessor Benedict XVI whose papacy was dogged by the sex abuse cases. As the spiritual leader of 1.2 billion people on the globe, the head of the Catholic church will always command great respect and influence.
Drew Houston – Tech
, At 31 Houston is one of the youngest major players in Silicon Valley and Dropbox, only founded in 2008, continues to grow in popularity. It has so far managed to corner the storage market fairly unopposed and for the time being has few serious rivals.
John Kerry – Politics
, Since Kerry became Secretary of State in 2013 his profile has been sizeable, mainly due to the various international crises of 2014. He has taken to his position with great aplomb and the one-time presidential candidate has given the US an assured presence on the world stage.
George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin – Showbiz, Politics
, The ‘it-couple’ of the moment were recently married in a Venetian wedding attended by some of the biggest stars in the world. Clooney is a Hollywood actor who is passionate about humanitarian work and has hinted at a future career in politics, while Alamuddin is one of the world’s top human rights lawyers – move over Brangelina.
Xi Jinping – Politics
The President of the People’s Republic of China has had a busy year implementing domestic reforms, strengthening international ties and cultivating new financial growth. Xi is probably more liberal than he lets on but is unlikely to significantly alter the current political system in China.
Carlos Slim – Finance, Philanthropy
, The world’s richest man is worth an estimated $82.9 billion and the Mexican had not compiled such a fortune without of controversy. Critics have complained that he has not helped ordinary Mexican’s as much as he should have, however he plays an active role in his charitable foundation and has given an estimated $4 billion of his fortune away.
Boris Johnson – Politics
, The Mayor of London has announced that he will stand in a safe Tory seat for the 2015 election and could end up leading the Conservative party if they loose the next election or fail to win an outright majority. He may find a return to Westminster trickier than he imagines though – George Osbourne and Michael Gove are thought to be similarly keen on leadership bids.
Anna Wintour – Fashion,
The editor of US Vogue and artistic director of Conde Nast remains the most important person in the fashion world bar none. With a formidable reputation and steely persona, Wintour is feared and respected in equal measure.
Sepp Blatter – Sport
The president of FIFA is 78 but maintains an iron grip on the presidency of FIFA (the International Federation of Association Football). Although he has been the subject of much controversy and several corruption scandals, no one has been able to oust him from FIFA and, after a relatively successful world cup this year, it looks like he’ll still be around for the next one.
Larry Ellison – Tech, Philanthropy
Although he has now stepped down as the CEO of Oracle, Ellison continues to wield a great deal of influence in the world of computing. A close friend of the late Steve Jobs, Ellison was never as well known as his competitors at Apple or Microsoft but still managed to compile a fortune estimated at $49.7 billion.
Jay-Z and Beyonce – Music, Showbiz
, The couple have amassed a large fortune and between them they have sold 200 million records (including Destiny’s Child). They are friends with the Obamas and are one of the most recognisable couples in the world.
Dilma Rousseff – Politics
, She may not be president for Brazil for much longer with the presidential elections in 2014 but the first female president of Brazil has had a prominent year. With Brazil hosting the world cup, the eyes of the world have been on the emerging super-power and the spectacle did not disappoint.
Thomas Piketty – Academia
Piketty gave the economic right something of a hammering with the English-language publication of his book Capital in the Twenty-First Century. Lauded by critics as one of the greatest economics books ever, Piketty has been tipped as a future Nobel laureate.
Justin Bieber – Music
, The pop brat is anathema to many and is showing signs of a breakdown at the tender age of 20, but Bieber remains an incredibly popular solo artist. He is commonly referenced as one of the most powerful celebrities in the world and is consolidating his position as the pre-eminent male solo artist in the world, unfortunately.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan – Politics
The newly elected president of Turkey and former prime minister is often compared with Putin due to his authoritarianism, disregard for the constitution and the fact that, like Putin, he has been both prime minister and president. His plans for Turkey are as yet unclear but he will be a major player both in the Mediterranean and the Middle East for years to come.
Malala Yousafzai – Philanthropy, Charity
The young Pakistani who tirelessly campaigned for the right to education, regardless of gender won the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the youngest ever Nobel laureate in the process. She has been shot, been subject to a fatwa, lived under Taliban rule and survived to tell the tale.
Paul Allen – Tech, Real Estate, Sport, Philanthropy
The co-founder of Microsoft has a multi billion dollar investment portfolio that includes media, tech and real estate companies. In addition to this, he also owns an NFL team, an NBA team and has founded scientific institutes for for brain science and artificial intelligence.
Become a Gentleman’s Journal Member?
Like the Gentleman’s Journal? Why not join the Clubhouse, a special kind of private club where members receive offers and experiences from hand-picked, premium brands. You will also receive invites to exclusive events, the quarterly print magazine delivered directly to your door and your own membership card.
