The Most Influential People in 2019

Sammy Leary
Updated July 24, 2019 48.1K votes 7.0K voters 107.8K views
Voting Rules
Vote up the individuals who have made the biggest impacts this year so far.

Oscar winners, musicians, political figures, and activists, just about any celebrities have the power to be the most influential people of the year. Many major changes have marked entertainment and politics in 2019, from groundbreaking films to new acmes of activism, the names on this list of the most influential people of the year have truly influenced much of the world. Who was the most important person of this year? Although it may seem like politicians and world leaders are the most influential public figures, given these tumultuous times, celebrities are sharing their perspectives more than ever. Many of them have also been featured on Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2019.

Who had the most influence this year overall? Vote up the 2019 influential people you feel truly made a difference.

  • Bill Gates
    1

    Bill Gates

    1,961 votes

    The Microsoft founder has left his days of programming and big business behind. Along with his wife Melinda, the Gates family has created the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a philantrophic group that helps fight hunger and poverty around the world.

  • Elon Musk
    2

    Elon Musk

    2,208 votes

    The billionaire has one eye on space exploration and the other on his electric car company Tesla.

    Elon Reeve Musk (; born June 28, 1971) is a technology entrepreneur, investor, and engineer. He holds South African, Canadian, and U.S. citizenship and is the founder, CEO, and lead designer of SpaceX; co-founder, CEO, and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; co-founder of Neuralink; founder of The Boring Company; co-founder and co-chairman of OpenAI; and co-founder of PayPal. In December 2016, he was ranked 21st on the Forbes list of The World's Most Powerful People. He has a net worth of $19.4 billion and is listed by Forbes as the 40th-richest person in the world.Born and raised in Pretoria, South Africa, Musk moved to Canada when he was 17 to attend Queen's University. He transferred to the University of Pennsylvania two years later, where he received an economics degree from the Wharton School and a degree in physics from the College of Arts and Sciences. He began a Ph.D. in applied physics and material sciences at Stanford University in 1995 but dropped out after two days to pursue an entrepreneurial career. He subsequently co-founded Zip2, a web software company, which was acquired by Compaq for $340 million in 1999. Musk then founded X.com, an online bank. It merged with Confinity in 2000 and later that year became PayPal, which was bought by eBay for $1.5 billion in October 2002.In May 2002, Musk founded SpaceX, an aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company, of which he is CEO and lead designer. He joined Tesla, Inc., an electric vehicle and solar panel manufacturer, in 2004, the year after it was founded, and became its CEO and product architect. In 2006, he inspired the creation of SolarCity, a solar energy services company (now a subsidiary of Tesla) and operates as its chairman. In 2015, Musk co-founded OpenAI, a nonprofit research company that aims to promote friendly artificial intelligence. In July 2016, he co-founded Neuralink, a neurotechnology company focused on developing brain–computer interfaces. In December 2016, Musk founded The Boring Company, an infrastructure and tunnel-construction company. In addition to his primary business pursuits, Musk has envisioned a high-speed transportation system known as the Hyperloop, and has proposed a vertical take-off and landing supersonic jet electric aircraft with electric fan propulsion, known as the Musk electric jet. Musk has stated that the goals of SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity revolve around his vision to change the world and humanity. His goals include reducing global warming through sustainable energy production and consumption, and reducing the risk of human extinction by establishing a human colony on Mars.
  • Dwayne Johnson
    3

    Dwayne Johnson

    1,929 votes

    Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson always has a project (or three) in the works at all times. The multihyphenate is sure to continue dominating box offices (and hearts) in 2019.

  • Michelle Obama
    4

    Michelle Obama

    2,011 votes

    The former first lady toured the country promoting her book, Becoming, and used the tour as a platform to speak with other influential leaders on issues close to her heart.

  • Billie Eilish
    5

    Billie Eilish

    2,000 votes

    Eilish became a bona fide rock star when she released her debut album, WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? in March. Her Coachella set had rabid fans screaming lyrics almost as loud as her.

  • Jeff Bezos
    6

    Jeff Bezos

    1,461 votes

    The richest man in the world has turned Amazon into the best shopping website on the internet.