Influence is a weird thing. You can’t really touch it or measure it with a ruler, but you definitely feel it when it hits you. For over twenty years, the TIME 100 has tried to bottle that lightning by naming the time most influential people who actually move the needle on how we live, think, and even spend our money.
Some folks think it’s just a popularity contest for the elite. Honestly? Sometimes it feels that way. But if you look closer, there's a specific method to the madness that explains why we still care about a magazine list in an era of TikTok fame and viral memes.
What Does Influence Actually Mean Anyway?
According to the editors at TIME, influence isn't just about being a "good" person. That’s a huge misconception. They’ve put dictators on there alongside saints because, for better or worse, those people changed the world.
Think back to the "Person of the Century" issue in 1999. They chose Albert Einstein. Sure, he’s a genius, but the runners-up were Mahatma Gandhi and Franklin D. Roosevelt. That tells you everything you need to know about their criteria: it’s about whose ideas or actions reshaped the human experience.
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In 2025, we saw a massive shift toward "Titans" and "Innovators." We’re talking about people like Demis Hassabis from Google DeepMind and Lisa Su from AMD. It’s not just about politicians anymore; it’s about the people building the AI and the hardware that’s basically running our lives now.
The Secret Selection Process
People always ask: how do you even get on this thing? It’s not a vote. Well, there's a reader's poll, but the editors usually ignore it when making the final call.
Basically, it’s a year-long argument.
The process is led by people like Dan Macsai and Cate Matthews. They lean on "alumni"—people who’ve been on the list before—to nominate new names. It’s like a super-exclusive club where the current members get to blackball or invite the new ones.
The Five Pillars of the List
Usually, the list is broken down into these buckets:
- Artists: The ones making the stuff we watch and listen to (like Ed Sheeran or Demi Moore).
- Innovators: The techies and scientists.
- Titans: The business giants and CEOs.
- Icons: People who stand for something bigger than themselves.
- Leaders: The presidents, prime ministers, and activists.
It's interesting that in the 2025 list, a record 16 corporate CEOs made the cut. That's a huge jump. It kinda shows how much we’re looking to business leaders to fix things that governments are struggling with.
Why the "TIME 100 Next" is Actually More Interesting
If the main list is for the established "old guard," the TIME 100 Next is where the real action is. This is for the "rising stars."
Think about it. By the time someone makes the main list, they’re usually already a household name. But the "Next" list catches people like April Koh (Spring Health) or Tate McRae before they become untouchable. It’s the list you look at if you want to know who’s going to be running things in 2030.
The Critics: What the List Gets Wrong
Look, no list is perfect.
The biggest criticism is that it's too "Western-centric." Even though they try to include people from 30+ countries, the bias toward US and European figures is pretty obvious.
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There's also the "halo effect." When a famous actor writes the tribute for a scientist, does it actually tell us anything about the scientist? Or is it just a way to get more clicks? (I’m looking at you, Chris Hemsworth writing about Ed Sheeran).
Actionable Insights: How to Track True Influence
If you want to understand power dynamics today, don't just look at the names. Look at the reasons they were picked.
- Watch the "Innovators" section: This is your cheat sheet for which technologies will dominate the next three years. If three AI researchers are on there, pay attention to their specific field (like AI ethics or protein folding).
- Read the Tributes: Don't skip the short essays. Sometimes the person writing the tribute is just as influential as the person being honored. It shows you who is "aligned" with whom in the global power structure.
- Check the "Leaders" outliers: Every year, there’s a name from a country you might not be following. In 2025, seeing people like Duma Boko or María Corina Machado gives you a heads-up on geopolitical shifts before they hit the nightly news.
Influence is shifting from "who you are" to "what you can enable." Whether it's a singer like Rosé or a tech giant like Mark Zuckerberg, the time most influential people are those who create platforms for others to act.
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Next Steps for You:
Go to the official TIME website and look at the "Titans" category from the most recent year. Pick three names you’ve never heard of and look up their companies. You’ll likely find the "invisible" infrastructure that’s shaping your digital life right now.