Every December, like clockwork, the internet collectively loses its mind. Someone gets named "Person of the Year" by Time magazine, and suddenly, everyone is a media critic. "How could they pick him?" or "She doesn't deserve it!" The thing is, most people don't actually get what this list is. It isn't a popularity contest. It’s not a Nobel Prize. It is basically a snapshot of who—or what—had the biggest footprint on our lives over the last twelve months. For better, or honestly, for worse.
The list of Time Person of the Year is a wild, 99-year-old tradition that started because some editors were bored during a slow news week in 1927. Since then, it’s evolved from a simple "Man of the Year" title to a massive cultural touchstone that has included everyone from pop stars to literal dictators.
Why the List of Time Person of the Year is Often Misunderstood
The biggest misconception is that being on the list is an endorsement. It isn't. Time defines the title as the person, group, or concept that has had the most influence on the news and our lives "for better or worse." That last part is key. You've got names like Martin Luther King Jr. and Pope John Paul II on here, sure. But you also have Adolf Hitler (1938) and Joseph Stalin (1939 and 1942).
Stalin won twice. Think about that.
When the magazine picked Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979, the backlash was so intense that Time arguably started playing it a bit safer in the decades that followed. They realized that putting a "villain" on the cover, even if they were the most influential person of the year, was bad for business. People started seeing the cover as a trophy. If you look at the recent winners, they tend to be much more "heroic" or at least less universally loathed than the mid-century choices.
The Most Recent Winners (2020–2025)
The last few years have been a roller coaster. We went from a global pandemic to a tech revolution that feels like it’s moving faster than we can keep up with.
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- 2025: The Architects of AI – Just a few weeks ago, Time gave the nod to the people building the future. They didn't just pick "AI" as a concept; they picked the people behind it like Jensen Huang (Nvidia), Sam Altman (OpenAI), and even Elon Musk (xAI). It was about how 2025 was the year AI stopped being a "cool tool" and became the infrastructure of everything.
- 2024: Donald Trump – After his historic election win, Trump took the title for the second time. Love him or hate him, his influence on the global political stage in 2024 was undeniable.
- 2023: Taylor Swift – This one felt like a victory lap for the Eras Tour. She was the first person from the arts to be honored for her success as an entertainer, rather than for a political or social movement.
- 2022: Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Spirit of Ukraine – A choice that felt almost inevitable given the invasion and the global shift in geopolitics that followed.
- 2021: Elon Musk – Love the tweets or not, between SpaceX and Tesla’s market dominance, 2021 was the year Musk was everywhere.
- 2020: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris – They were named together following the 2020 election, marking the first time a Vice President-elect was included in the pick.
The First and the Famous: 1927 to 1950
It all started with Charles Lindbergh. In 1927, he flew across the Atlantic, and the world went nuts. Time had actually missed putting him on the cover when it happened, so they invented "Man of the Year" as a way to fix the oversight at the end of the year. He remains the youngest individual to ever win the title at age 25.
The early years were dominated by businessmen and politicians. Walter Chrysler (1928) and Owen D. Young (1929) weren't exactly household names today, but they were the titans of their era. Then came the heavy hitters. Franklin D. Roosevelt is the only person to ever win the title three times (1932, 1934, and 1941). He was basically the face of American resilience during the Depression and World War II.
Interestingly, the first woman to ever get the title wasn't a world leader. It was Wallis Simpson in 1936. She was the American socialite for whom King Edward VIII abdicated the British throne. It was a scandal that rocked the planet, so it made total sense for the editors to pick her.
When the "Person" Isn't a Person
Sometimes, the most influential "thing" in the world isn't human. Time has leaned into this a few times, and it usually causes a bit of a stir.
In 1982, they named "The Computer" as Machine of the Year. It was a bold move that recognized the PC was about to change how every human on earth functioned. Then there was 1988, where "The Endangered Earth" took the cover. It was a precursor to the climate conversations we’re still having today.
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Of course, we can't forget 2006. "You."
That was the year of the mirror on the cover. The idea was that user-generated content (think YouTube, Wikipedia, and MySpace) was the new power. Honestly, it felt a little gimmicky at the time, and a lot of people mocked it. But looking back at the social media hellscape—or paradise, depending on the day—we live in now, they weren't wrong.
Controversies and Slips of the Pen
The list of Time Person of the Year has some dark corners. People still argue about 2001. After the 9/11 attacks, everyone assumed Osama bin Laden would be the choice. He fit the "for better or worse" criteria perfectly. But Time chose Rudy Giuliani instead. They called him "The Mayor of the World."
The editors later admitted they shied away from bin Laden because of the raw emotion in America at the time. It showed that the "influence" rule isn't always followed to the letter—sometimes, the editorial board lets public sentiment guide the pen.
Similarly, in 1938, when Hitler was named, the magazine was very clear that he was a menace. The cover wasn't a portrait; it was a drawing of him playing a "hymn of hate" on an organ with bodies hanging from a wheel in the background. It was a warning, not a celebration.
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Key Facts About the List of Time Person of the Year
If you're looking for the data, here are some quick hitters to keep in your back pocket:
- Most Frequent Winners: U.S. Presidents. Almost every president since the list began has been named at least once. The only exceptions? Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, and Gerald Ford.
- The Gender Gap: For a long time, it was very male-centric. It was "Man of the Year" until 1999. Since the name change, we've seen more women and groups like "The Silence Breakers" (2017) and "The Guardians" (2018).
- Group Wins: The first group to win was "The American Fighting-Man" in 1950, honoring the troops in the Korean War. Other groups include "American Women" (1975) and "The Ebola Fighters" (2014).
- Double Winners: Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump have all won twice. Winston Churchill won in 1940 and again in 1949 (as "Man of the Half-Century").
Actionable Insights for the Curious
If you are following the list of Time Person of the Year to understand global trends, don't just look at the names. Look at the "why" behind the choice.
First, check the runners-up. Often, the person who didn't win tells you more about the cultural tension of that year than the winner does. For example, in 2025, Sam Altman was a runner-up individually, but the group win for the "Architects of AI" showed that the movement was bigger than just one CEO.
Second, use the list as a historical map. If you want to know what mattered to people in 1966, look at the winner: "The Inheritor" (the generation of people under 25). It tells you that the youth counterculture was the biggest story in the world that year.
Finally, ignore the "honor" aspect. When the next winner is announced this coming December, don't ask if they are a "good person." Ask if they were the most unavoidable person. That’s the only way to accurately judge the list.
Explore the full archives through the Time digital vault if you want to see the original essays. Reading the 1938 Hitler article or the 1979 Khomeini piece provides a fascinating look at how journalists tried to make sense of "evil" in real-time. It’s a lot more nuanced than a simple Wikipedia list.