50 People Who Matter 2011
From pop stars and dissident activists to tech gurus and heads of state, the people doing most to sh
By Staff blogger Published 26 September 2011
1. (8) Angela Merkel
2. (12) David Petraeus
3. (-) Ai Wei Wei
4. (-) Tim Cook
5. (2) Barack Obama
6. (9) Larry Page, Sergey Brin
and Eric Schmidt
7. (-) Christine Lagarde
8. (-) Liang Guanglie
9. (1) Rupert Murdoch
10. (-) Wael Ghonim
11. (-) Recep Tayyip Erdogan
12. (-) Nicolas Sarkozy
13. (-) Ben Bernanke
14. (7) Ashfaq Kayani
15. (-) Paul Krugman
16. (15) David Cameron
17. (16) Bill Gates
18. (11) Binyamin Netanyahu
19. (-) Jack Dorsey
20. (-) Mario Draghi
21. (-) Dilma Rousseff
22. (19) Warren Buffett
23. (-) Usain Bolt
24. (20) Vladimir Putin
25. (-) Richard Dawkins
26. (44) Lady Gaga
27. (25) Hillary Clinton
28. (27) Ratan Tata
29. (29) Sonia Gandhi
30. (3) Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
31. (-) David Beers
32. (-) Michele Bachmann
33. (-) J K Rowling
34. (33) Moqtada al-Sadr
35. (-) Jon Stewart
36. (-) Jacob Zuma
37. (-) Anwar al-Awlaki
38. (6) Pope Benedict XVI
39. (41) Simon Cowell
40. (23) Julian Assange
41. (-) Mark Thompson
42. (34) Aung San Suu Kyi
43. (-) Roger Ailes
44. (-) Robin Li
45. (-) The Koch brothers
46. (-) Nicki Minaj
47. (48) Han Han
48. (49) Paul Kagame
49. (-) Matt Damon
50. (-) Lionel Messi
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35 comments
The inclusion of the Rwandan Leader President Kagame the man, many Africans regard as a continental figure, is a big credit for this survey_how I wish he was ranked No. 1.
I discovered fifteen out of fifty who were not known by me.
Perhaps that is my failing but I think not. It is more to do with the joumo crowd expressing what they know which is not so interesting -- for anyone with half a mind it is boring.. Which leaves Hilary and her short legacy of
making an impact. There are 5 completely silly people listed. Can you spot them?
The list should start from the end and PKagame comes first or second.
Paul Rusesabagina and Theogene Rudasingwa are gonna run and hide on finding Kagame in position 48.
How I wished H.E the President of Rwanda Paul Kagame to be ranked number one. He transformed Rwanda and beyond. We love his leadership. Thumbs up to our visionary Leaders, we shall always be there to support your initiatives. BK
me own darling mother...gawd bless her.
1. Mr. Divine
Oh yeeesssss! For sure Paul Kagame is one of the best leaders worldwide . If u have some hesitation just visit Rwanda and see how he is changing the country .
The trans formative and pro-people leader of Rwanda Paul Kagame deserves this recognition actually should have been no.1 coz his work speaks loud in the central african region and the East, actually in the whole of Africa. Thumbs up sir.
I could not agree more with most of you guys..Paul Kagame is not only a visionary leader but the greatest leader of our time.He has done sooo much for Rwanda in a short period of time..Live longer Mr. President.