The 2008 TIME 100

Our fifth annual list of the world's most influential people: leaders, thinkers, heroes, artists, scientists and more

Full List

Leaders & Revolutionaries

  1. Dalai Lama
  2. Vladimir Putin
  3. Barack Obama
  4. Hillary Clinton
  5. John McCain
  6. Hu Jintao
  7. George W. Bush
  8. Jacob Zuma
  9. Anwar Ibrahim
  10. Kevin Rudd
  11. Bartholomew I
  12. Ben Bernanke
  13. Muqtada al-Sadr
  14. Robert Gates
  15. Michelle Bachelet
  16. Sonia Gandhi
  17. Baitullah Mehsud
  18. Evo Morales
  19. Ma Ying-jeou
  20. Ashfaq Kayani

Heroes & Pioneers

  1. Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie
  2. Oprah Winfrey
  3. Oscar Pistorius
  4. Mia Farrow
  5. Andre Agassi
  6. Lance Armstrong
  7. Bob and Suzanne Wright
  8. Peter Gabriel
  9. Kaká
  10. Sheik Mohammed al-Maktoum
  11. Yoani Sánchez
  12. Madeeha Hasan Odhaib
  13. Randy Pausch
  14. Lorena Ochoa
  15. Tony Blair
  16. Alexis Sinduhije
  17. Aung San Suu Kyi
  18. George Mitchell

Scientists & Thinkers

  1. Michael Bloomberg
  2. Craig Venter
  3. Jill Bolte Taylor
  4. Larry Brilliant
  5. Jeff Han
  6. Mehmet Oz
  7. Nancy Brinker
  8. Harold McGee
  9. Peter Pronovost
  10. Eric Chivian & Richard Cizik
  11. Mary Lou Jepsen
  12. Paul Allen
  13. Nicholas Schiff
  14. Mark Zuckerberg
  15. Wendy Kopp
  16. Shinya Yamanaka & James Thomson
  17. Michael Griffin
  18. Susan Solomon
  19. Isaac Berzin

Artists & Entertainers

  1. Lorne Michaels
  2. Miley Cyrus
  3. Robert Downey Jr.
  4. Herbie Hancock
  5. Joel & Ethan Coen
  6. Bruce Springsteen
  7. Peter Gelb
  8. Mariah Carey
  9. Khaled Hosseini
  10. Elizabeth Gilbert
  11. Rem Koolhaas
  12. Judd Apatow
  13. Alex Rigopulos & Eran Egozy
  14. George Clooney
  15. Tim Russert
  16. Suze Orman
  17. Stephenie Meyer
  18. Tyler Perry
  19. Tom Stoppard
  20. Chris Rock
  21. Takashi Murakami

Builders & Titans

  1. Indra Nooyi
  2. Ali al-Naimi
  3. Rupert Murdoch
  4. Steve Jobs
  5. Radiohead
  6. John Chambers
  7. Jeff Bezos
  8. Jay Adelson
  9. Steve Ballmer
  10. Jamie Dimon
  11. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal
  12. Lou Jiwei
  13. Neelie Kroes
  14. Jeffrey Immelt
  15. Karl Lagerfeld
  16. Lloyd Blankfein
  17. Carlos Slim
  18. Mo Ibrahim
  19. Ratan Tata
  20. Cynthia Carroll
  21. Carine Roitfeld
  22. Michael Arrington

On The Red Carpet

  1. Joel Stein's TIME 100 Red Carpet

Essay

  1. For God's Sake, Rank the TIME 100

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  1. Want to Boost Your Memory? Try Sleeping on It
  2. The Growing Backlash Against Overparenting
  3. The '00s: Goodbye (at Last) to the Decade from Hell
  4. Dubai's Woes Are a Blow to Its Ambitious Ruler, Sheik Mo
  5. Will Private Equity Be the Next Meltdown?
  6. The Dark Side of Darwin's Legacy
  7. New Evidence That Early Therapy Helps Autistic Kids
  8. Wish Fulfillment? No. But Dreams Do Have Meaning
  9. Sex, Please, We're British: London's Erotica Expo
  10. Energizer Bunnies: Turning Rabbits into Green Fuel

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