The 2009 TIME 100 Finalists

Cast your votes for the leaders, artists, entrepreneurs and thinkers who deserve a spot on this year's TIME 100. — By Brian Raftery

Damien Hirst

Suzanne Plunkett / Reuters
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AGE: 43
OCCUPATION: Wealthy art provocateur
PREVIOUS APPEARANCES ON THE TIME 100: 0

PRO: The acerbic British artist — creator of the formaldehyde shark and diamond-encrusted skull — sold nearly $200 million worth of highbrow artifacts last fall.

CON: His decision to bypass galleries and go straight to Sotheby's struck some art experts as greedy, even for him.

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