Top 10 influential men of the decade: 2010s' list include Obama, Trump, Bill Gates and Pope Francis
The world has witnessed revolutionary changes in the past ten years. From the seemingly invincible world leaders ever closer to the people through social media, to the head of the Vatican being accepting of homosexuality and contraception, the world, as we knew it a decade ago, has reformed.
With people aspiring to take trips to space, social media as our main news source, and climate change on every agenda, there are some leaders whose influence on our routine lives cannot be discounted.
As we head into the new year, here's a list of men who have made a significant impact in the decade gone by.
Barack Obama
The 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, made history when he became the first African American president of the country. However, during his eight-year term as the most powerful man in the world, the Democrat was known for much more.
Touted as the millennial whisperer, Obama brought politics into the mainstream for the millennial generation, garnering a majority of their support, not just from the U.S. but across the world. He connected with his younger voter base like no one had ever done before him — through social media, paving way for political leaders across the world to do the same. Obama featured in hilarious memes, vines, and was known for his "mic-drop" moments.
The former Illinois senator also became the first president in history to make significant strives in his efforts to combat climate change, particularly playing a key role in negotiating the Paris agreement. Known for his character and personality across the world, Obama became a positive force for social change, becoming the first sitting U.S. president to announce his support of gay marriage.
Donald Trump
If Obama knew how to swiftly navigate the internet to reach his voter base, President Donald Trump has mastered the art. The 45th U.S. President has changed the face of politics in the country, and across the world — mainly through his Twitter profile. Known for his tweeting, Trump's presidential win in 2016 sent shock waves around the globe.
For many, a Trump win seemed unlikely, however, he defied all the odds and played a significant role in ushering in a global wave of right populism. Although his three years in power have been riddled with controversy, Trump — a political novice — has evolved into a political giant.
Bill Gates
The second richest person in the world, Bill Gates, who has vowed to give away more than half of his fortune for charitable endeavors, has been changing the world for the better these past 10 years. Gates' contributions from his charitable organization, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, nearly eradicated polio from India.
The foundation, which spends millions promoting global health initiatives around the world, raised nearly $13 billion in an effort to eradicate AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. .The Microsoft co-founder's foundation has also given away $41.3 billion to various international and domestic causes to date.
Leonardo Di Caprio
Apart from the teenage eco-warrior Greta Thunberg, the other widely-known face fighting against climate change is Hollywood actor Leonardo Di Caprio. The actor has used his popularity to bring awareness to several endangered species, and the fast-depleting natural resources across the world. Di Caprio's environmental organization, called the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation (LDF), has been around since 1998.
The LDF has reportedly funded over 200 projects since it was founded 21 years ago and has awarded nearly $100 million in grants to 132 organizations across 50 countries.
Elon Musk
The Founder and CEO of Tesla Motors Inc., Elon Musk, has brought the future we generally read about in science fiction fantasies much closer to reality. Musk's inventions are revolutionizing the way we live, from his Paypal taking over the digital currency world, his SpaceX gearing up to providing space trips to people to Tesla building affordable electric vehicles, some with self-driving capabilities.
Mark Zuckerberg
With nearly 2.45 billion monthly Facebook users, the social media giant's CEO Mark Zuckerberg's power and influence are unprecedented. We witnessed how Facebook turned the United States 2016 presidential elections on its heels as millions of voters consumed their news through the social media site, with some information on the platform later identified as fake news.
The co-founder of Facebook, Chris Hughes, in a recent essay published in the New York Times, had made a personal case for breaking up the site, stating that although 33-year-old Zuckerberg is a "good, kind person" his "power is unprecedented and un-American” and whose “influence is staggering, far beyond that of anyone else in the private sector or in government.”
Vladimir Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin, voted Forbes most powerful person for four consecutive years, paved the way for new-era strongmen like the Chinese President Xi Jinping, and U.S. President Donald Trump. Putin, along with China, also stands up to western hegemony and acts as a check to America's political and military might. The Kremlin leader's massive influence across the world is helped by Europe's dependency on Russian oil and gas.
U.S. intelligence agencies, in 2017, confirmed Russia attempted to interfere and influence its 2016 presidential elections. Although Russia denies doing so, Facebook, in 2018, admitted that 126 million Americans saw political ads purchased by Russian organizations. Putin, who has ruled Russia since May of 2000, was re-elected to a fourth term last year.
Xi Jinping
Putin's four-year streak of being voted the most powerful man was broken by the Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2018. Xi, in March last year, removed presidential term limits from the Chinese constitution, allowing him to rule indefinitely.
China, which emerged as an economic superpower under Xi, now gives tough competition to the United States and has had a significant impact on the geopolitics of the world. Presiding over 1.4 billion people in his country, Xi also enjoys a cult of personality not witnessed since the Chinese Communist leader Chairman Mao.
Pope Francis
The Catholic Church, as a whole, has a global influence, even on global politics in a way considering the Holy See has special non-member status in the United Nations. Never has the Vatican had a more influential and approachable leader than its 266th pope, Francis, who is the first Jesuit pope and the first from the Americas.
Pope Francis has changed the way the world looks at the papacy with his push for openness and acceptance towards homosexuality, migrants and Muslims. Pope Francis actively participates in the current political environment, commenting on President Trump and his anti-immigrant policies.
Julian Assange
The most famous whistleblower in the world, Julius Assange, is widely known for publishing classified government documents. His whistleblowing website WikiLeaks garnered international attention after publishing a series of leaks provided by U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in 2010. Often deemed the most persecuted whistleblower, Assange saw a criminal investigation launched against him by the U.S. government after his site released confidential government records.
The whistleblower, throughout the decade, leaked documents ranging from operating procedures at Guantanamo Bay, Church of Scientology's controversial documents, and thousands of other documents exposing unethical practices by private entities and governments. He also paved way for other whistleblowers like Manning and Edward Snowden. Assange was arrested earlier this year after the London Ecuadorean embassy he had been taking refuge at withdrew his asylum.