Time’s 2012 Most Influential List Includes Tebow, Obama, Colbert, Rihanna


Time Magazine’s list of 2012’s Most Influential people features an eclectic mix of personalities. This year’s list includes entertainers like Stephen Colbert, athletes like Tim Tebow and Jeremy Lin, politicians like President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, and singers like Rihanna.

CBS reports that this is the ninth time that Time has released its “100 Most Influential List.” The list is divided into five categories; Moguls, Breakouts, Icons, Pioneers and Leaders. It features people from 37 countries and includes 38 women (the most in list history).

From the sports world, Tim Tebow and Jeremy Lin both made the list.

Lin wrote about Tebow:

“He is unashamed of his convictions and faith, and he lives a life that consistently reflects his values, day in and day out. As athletes, we pour our hearts into winning games. Tim is a reminder that life is about much more than that.”

Lin, who is currently on the sidelines with an injury, had his tribute written by US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who, like Lin, is a graduate of Harvard. Duncan wrote:

“Often it’s the bling, the glam, the individual that gets celebrated — not the team and working together to advance a goal bigger than oneself. Jeremy cares only about one thing — winning. And I don’t care whether you are an Asian-American kid, white, black or Hispanic, Jeremy’s story tells you that if you show grit, discipline and integrity, you too can get an opportunity to overcome the odds.”

Warren Buffet also made the list this year. The “Buffet Rule” has been a hot topic on capitol hill lately and its biggest backer, Barack Obama, wrote Buffet’s tribute in Time Magazine. Obama writes:

“[Warren] uses his stature as a leader to press others of great means to do the same. The Sage of Omaha has handed down plenty of lessons over the years. Today, at 81, he reminds us that life is not just about the value you seek. It’s about the values you stand for.”

Here’s the complete list from Time Magazine’s “The 100 Most Influential People In The World.”

Jeremy Lin / Christian Marclay / Viola Davis / Salman Khan / Tim Tebow / E.L. James / Louis CK / Rihanna / Marco Rubio / Ali Ferzat / René Redzepi / Kristen Wiig / Anthony Kennedy / Novak Djokovic / Ben Rattray / Jessica Chastain / Yani Tseng / Raphael Saadiq / Elinor Ostrom / Samira Ibrahim / José André / Ann Patchett /Dulce Matuz / Henrik Schärfe /Freeman Hrabowski / Maryam Durani / Manal al-Sharif / Anjali Gopalan /Rached Ghannouchi / Barbara Van Dahlen / Ron Fouchier / Donald Sadoway / Hans Rosling / Asghar Farhadi / Sarah Burton / Anonymous / Pete Cashmore / Cami Anderson / Ali Babacan and Ahmet Davutoglu / Ai-jen Poo / Marc Andreessen / Preet Bharara / Robert Grant / Andrew Lo / Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy / Alexei Navalny / Ray Dalio / Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani / Chelsea Handler / Harvey Weinstein / Chen Lihua / Warren Buffett / Alice Walton / Harold Hamm / Sheryl Sandberg / Sara Blakely / Tim Cook / Eike Batista / Daniel Ek / Virginia Rometty / Barack Obama / Goodluck Jonathan / Xi Jinping /Fatou Bensouda / Christine Lagarde / Mario Draghi / U Thein Sein /Ayatullah Ali Khamenei / Mitt Romney / Juan Manuel Santos / Timothy Dolan /Portia Simpson Miller / Mario Monti / Wang Yang / Maria das Graças Silva Foster /Andrew Cuomo / Iftikhar Chaudhry / Mamata Banerjee / Walter Isaacson / Ron Paul / Benjamin Netanyahu / Dilma Rousseff / Erik Martin /Cecile Richards / Angela Merkel / Lionel Messi / Tilda Swinton / Hillary Clinton / Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and Pippa Middleton / Adele / Matt Lauer / Oscar Pistorius /Claire Danes / Stephen Colbert

Are you surprised by anyone on the list?

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