It is generally considered an honor to be included on the list, but Time makes it clear that entrants are recognized for changing the world, regardless of the consequences of their actions.

Think of Ali Husaini Sistani, the Grand Ayatullah of Iraq's Shi'ites, who in effect has a veto on plans to transfer power from those who occupy his country to its people.

Consider Nelson Mandela's forgiveness of his captors and his willingness to walk away from the South African presidency after a single term.

Yes, there are Presidents and dictators who can change the world through fiat, but we're more interested in innovators like Monty Jones, the Sierra Leone scientist who has developed a strain of rice that can save African agriculture.

Or heroes like the great chess master Garry Kasparov, who is leading the lonely fight for greater democracy in Russia.

The 2010 list included many expected names and some surprises such as Scott Brown, who HuffPost described as a premature selection at that point in his career.

[18] The list included familiar leaders, particularly U.S. president Barack Obama and German chancellor Angela Merkel, as well as "newcomers" to the global press.

Power, as we've seen this year, can be crude and implacable, from Vladimir Putin's mugging of Crimea to North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un's summary execution of his uncle and mentor Jang Song-thaek.

[29] The 2020 list included Indian actor Ayushmann Khurrana, rapper Megan Thee Stallion, comedian Phoebe Waller-Bridge, tennis champion Naomi Osaka (her second time being included), F1 driver Lewis Hamilton, attorney Nury Turkel, American football player Patrick Mahomes, and environmental justice advocate Cecilia Martinez.

[30] On September 15, Time revealed the 2021 list, distributed into the categories Icons, Pioneers, Titans, Artists, Leaders and Innovators.

Each category has a highlighted section of personalities being featured on the Time magazine cover, naming Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as Icons, Billie Eilish as Pioneer, Simone Biles as Titan, Kate Winslet as Artist, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as Leader and Jensen Huang as Innovator.

It was overseen for the fifth year by Dan Macsai, editorial director of the Time100, working with Ng, as well as Jennifer Duggan, Merrill Fabry, Lucy Feldman, Cate Matthews, Nadia Suleman and designer Katie Kalupson.

Time editor-at-large Michael J. Elliott defended the decision to consistently exclude Blair, saying that "Gerhard Schröder and Jacques Chirac are not there either.

Former Senator Rick Santorum (R–PA) said on Fox News:The fact of the matter is, the president of the United States, I don't care who's in that office, is the most powerful man on the face of the Earth and has more influence over various aspects of lives, not just in this country, but around the world.

In 2005, conservative commentator Ann Coulter was listed, which led Salon to observe: When Time magazine named Ann Coulter among its 100 "most influential people" last week, alongside such heavyweights as Ariel Sharon, Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela, and the Dalai Lama, the choice produced guffaws online.

"[37]Time defended Coulter as a best-selling author whose controversial commentary strongly affected political debates in the United States.

In February 2016, Time included the male British author Evelyn Waugh on its "100 Most Read Female Writers in College Classes" list, generating media attention and concerns regarding fact-checking at the magazine.

In a BBC interview with Justin Webb, Oxford professor Valentine Cunningham said the mistake was "a piece of profound ignorance on the part of Time magazine".

[39] Since 2014, in partnership with Rolex, Time has published a class of young pioneers "in politics, business, culture, science and sports" who are reshaping the world around them.

People who have been listed range from political figures, such as Donald Trump and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, to teenage YouTubers, such as JoJo Siwa and Emma Chamberlain.

[44] Others who have been listed include Lil Nas X, whose debut hit broke the record for most weeks spent atop the Billboard Hot 100 after being created and distributed on the Internet,[45] and actress and presenter Jameela Jamil, who is known widely beyond her profession for her online activism.

[48] In 2021, Time solicited company nominations from industry and journalistic sources, which were then evaluated on relevance, impact, innovation, leadership, ambition and success.

[51] Its first edition included public figures such as American singer Billie Eilish, British rock band Coldplay and Brazilian politician Marina Silva.

The first edition included CEOs of AI companies such as Sam Altman and Dario Amodei, neural network pioneer Geoffrey Hinton, and Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker, amongst others.