AGE: 50
OCCUPATION: Islamic militant, founder and leader of al-Qaeda
NUMBER OF TIME COVERS: 5
PREVIOUS APPEARANCES ON THE TIME 100: 1

PRO: Launched a global, radical Islamist movement and perpetrated terrorist attacks on the U.S., forever changing the global landscape of the 21st century.

CON: Presumed to be hiding in the mountains of Pakistan, bin Laden is rarely heard from and believed to be playing a less-active role in the organization. Most propaganda comes from his second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri.