The FT Influence List 2025
21 min read
What is influence? Unlike financial performance or political shifts, real influence can be difficult to measure. This is why so many efforts to identify and rank it end up focusing on the same group of people who hold particular offices. The FT’s inaugural Influence List attempts something trickier. We consulted with FT reporters, columnists and editors and asked them: who’s really made a difference this year?
The resulting list gathers people from the worlds of politics, business, media, the arts and sports, whose talent, discoveries, ideas and examples are transforming the world we live in. And we’ve invited the most high-profile people in their sectors, plus fans from different industries, to write about the nominees.
Some names on this list have cast long shadows in their fields; some are just starting out. Some have a global reach; others inspire their peers within close-knit circles. Some are household names and others exert influence away from the limelight. But for better or worse (and we leave it to you, readers, to decide) these 25 people are shaping the way we live today.
(2024), Challengers (2024) and Artificial (2026) — he’s focused on making sure everything he does is in service of the narrative. He would never put his own personality on top of the characters’.
I’ve been a great admirer of Jonathan’s since he came on to the scene with his debut collection for his label JW Anderson after he left college. We first met, years ago now, over a coffee in Milan that lasted for many hours. It became a conversation that never stopped. We are kindred spirits. Both of us put our creative processes at the forefront of our lives. Jonathan has a relentless curiosity, a passion for craft, an ambition not to leave any stone unturned and a real interest in others.
Luca Guadagnino is a filmmaker
Ryan Coogler
by Wunmi Mosaku
When you experience Ryan’s work you experience his heart, his purpose, his respect. He’s been gifted with a unique vision and ability to express so many complicated, ugly and beautiful truths that you can’t help but feel seen because he truly sees humanity. Whether that’s through the arguments of retribution or grace within the Marvel Cinematic Universe; the bold, artistically enlightened surreal montage in Sinners that visually and audibly connects us to our ancestors, our present, our future and ultimately our individual purpose; or the heartbreak of a life loved and brutally taken in Fruitvale Station.
And Sinners, didn’t just move audiences — it changed the rules. Not only was it built on original IP in a moment when that’s increasingly rare, the film also represents a generational shift in who gets to own their stories. Ryan secured creative control, long-term ownership and box-office earnings from the moment it entered cinemas.
He’s a protector of truth and culture, he binds communities globally, he empowers the people he meets and he makes those he hasn’t feel seen and valued through his work. The things I’ve learnt about myself and the human experience through him and his work have changed me profoundly and I know I’m not alone.
Wunmi Mosaku is an actor
Helen Garner
by Colm Tóibín
I saw them coming into the room; both of them were novelists. I could never have imagined what I now know was going on between them. It was 1997, a literary party in Sydney. The writers were Helen Garner and her then-husband Murray Bail, identified as V in her diaries, which were published this spring as How To End a Story: Collected Diaries 1978-1998, and won this year’s Baillie Gifford Prize.
Bail had just finished his masterpiece, the novel Eucalyptus. But Garner was writing a masterpiece too, the masterpiece that is her diary. It begins in a tone that is casual, nonchalant; these are the days, almost ordinary, of a writer, a mother, a daughter; this is Melbourne and then Sydney; there are exquisite and loving descriptions of the Australian landscape. And then the book darkens and deepens. Garner is trapped in that marriage. The daily grind of nourishing her own talent and preserving her sense of self gives way at times to an astonishing joy at the gift of life. At the core of her book is an intensely rich and complex sensibility at work, captured and cultivated as though she were a heroine in a classic novel.
Colm Tóibín is a novelist
Rosalía
by Horatia Harrod
From the moment the strings of the London Symphony Orchestra kicked in at full tilt in the opening bars of Rosalía’s “Berghain”, the first single from her fourth album Lux, I felt something like . . . hope. Here, with impeccable timing, was a riposte to the chuntering tide of AI-generated music that has slid effortlessly into Spotify playlists: a juddering, bombastic track that refuses to become background noise, to announce an album that is defiantly an album. Lux’s themes are sacred — drawing on the lives of female saints — and profane (the ex whose “masterpiece” is his “collection of bras”), but the overall feeling is almost utopian, a multilingual collaboration with orchestral players and a fado singer and a Mexican-American trio just out of their teens, all underpinned by Rosalía’s questing voice. In making a record that sounds nothing like its predecessors, she’s achieved one of pop’s most stirring reinventions — and laid down the gauntlet to her peers.
Horatia Harrod is the FT’s arts editor
Stephen Graham
by Jack Thorne
One of my favourite moments of Adolescence came during a script meeting. This was Stephen’s first writing project. A Netflix exec was asking an interesting question about Eddie, his character, and Stephen said, “Well, if someone came up to Eddie and said that, then he’d —” and Stephen switched from writer to actor and started improvising Eddie shouting at someone, really going. The exec slowly shrunk from the table. In that moment he’d been Stephen Grahamed.
Is it a verb? It should be. It means being met with the force of Stephen’s intensity and charisma. It means being met with an unbearably good actor who can slip into a role as easily as I can put on a pair of socks. For him, it’s never about what’s caught on film, it’s always about what’s felt. He loves actors, he loves the feeling when an actor meets him. He has a true soul and he’ll expose it constantly for the joy of making work.
I’ve worked with Stephen six times. I’d follow him into any battle. I’d know that what would be produced at the end would be something special.
Jack Thorne is a screenwriter and playwright
Bad Bunny
by Rita Moreno
When I started my career, being Latino in the United States meant facing barriers, prejudice and many closed doors. Opportunities were few, almost non-existent, and every small step was a victory. Today, I see in Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio an artist who carries that same strength, that same passion that helped me never to give up.
This summer, rather than tour the US, “Bad Bunny”, as he’s known, did a dazzling 30-day residency in Puerto Rico, giving voice to many Puerto Ricans who seek more autonomy for the territory from the US. When he plays the Super Bowl next year, he will be the first headline artist to perform entirely in Spanish. He is someone who continues to prove that Latinos are unstoppable.
Rita Moreno is an actor and singer. She presented Bad Bunny with the prize for Artist of the Century at the Billboard Latin Music Awards 2025
Jensen Huang
by Sam Altman
Jensen has spent years preparing for a moment most of the world is just catching up to. His early conviction in a new kind of computing architecture — and his willingness to bet Nvidia on it — laid the groundwork for the incredible digital intelligence we have today. What stands out even more is how he’s pursued that vision: with deep technical insight, relentless intensity and a commitment to investing in infrastructure for the long haul.
AI usage has grown faster than almost anyone expected. The demand is already here and, if this trajectory continues, amazing things will be possible. To meet that demand, we have to build. There’s really no one else who could do this at this kind of scale and at this kind of speed like Jensen and his team. It’s been special to work together for almost a decade. Time to keep building.
Sam Altman is the CEO of OpenAI
Susie Wiles
by Kellyanne Conway
Susie Wiles is the first woman in US history to serve as White House chief of staff. She is the fifth person to have that role under President Donald Trump, and has done far and away the best job. The president admiringly refers to Susie as “the most powerful woman in the world”, an accolade she denies, but one that aptly describes the trust, faith and respect he has. She is an unbroken thread in the past decade’s Age of Trump, seeing him through times of upheaval and uncertainty that would have broken most others. Transitioning from campaigning to governing is tough, yet Susie has accomplished this with acumen and aplomb, shifting from politics to policy, from swing states to heads of state.
Susie is equal parts grit and grace, helping the world’s most powerful leader to solve problems, resolve conflicts and deliver results, all while remaining calm, poised and steady. Like her boss, Susie is a builder. She invites different views, empowers others and shares credit. As a confident yet humble leader, Susie is willing to listen and to learn. She knows the difference between news and noise, a true gift in the current environment. Her influence is obvious, but it is her impact that is most consequential.
Kellyanne Conway is a former senior counsellor to the President of the United States
Safra Catz
by Sarah Friar
I’ve had the privilege of knowing Safra Catz for over 25 years — as a mentor, a sounding board and, most of all, as someone I’ve looked to for an example of what quiet, unwavering leadership looks like. Safra leads with clarity, decisiveness and a deep understanding that influence isn’t about being in the spotlight — it’s about knowing when to step forward, and when to let the work speak for itself.
While many have raced to declare themselves leaders in AI, Safra has been doing what she always does: putting the infrastructure in place, building for scale and forging partnerships that will shape the future. I admire Safra most for her steadiness. She listens carefully, moves purposefully and leads with lasting strength. It’s that rare kind of influence — the kind that reshapes industries and inspires people like me to lead with more conviction, more courage and more care. Congratulations, Safra.
Sarah Friar is the chief financial officer of OpenAI
Blaise Metreweli
by Avril Haines
As “C”, the head of the Secret Intelligence Service, Blaise Metreweli is one of Britain’s most consequential national-security leaders. Early in her career she served as an Arabist case officer with great élan in some of the most difficult places in the world. In senior roles, she modernised how the UK engages with rapidly developing technologies, deepened collaboration with allies and tirelessly pursued a whole-of-society effort to address fast-rising state threats with her MI5 colleagues. Blaise is known for her calm judgment, clarity and decisiveness — but she is so much more than an exceptional professional. She inspires those of us who have had the joy of working with her through her authenticity, integrity and grace.
The first woman to hold the position, Blaise is a force of nature, embodies selfless service, has a deep belief in the power of human agency and is as comfortable meeting world leaders as she is out on the river rowing with friends. You cannot spend time with Blaise without laughing — yet she is deeply serious about what matters and there is no one better at creating relationships of trust, which is fundamental to our profession.
She is the right leader for this moment: she has the foresight we need on how science and technology are likely to change our world, while applying the highest ethical standards to her work. In an uncertain time, she is the fearless spirit I trust to lead us into the future.
Avril Haines is the former US director of National Intelligence
Stella Li
by Jean-François Baril
I’ve known Stella Li for many years and, from the start, she stood out — bold and utterly unafraid to take on the impossible. I still remember driving one of BYD’s first cars through the factory in China in the early 2000s. Stella was already thinking 10 steps ahead. She had the guts to bet on the future and the passion to make it real.
What defines Stella is her leadership — humble, human and with a deeply customer-first approach. She has always understood that innovation begins with people: listening, learning fast and turning insight into action. Even under pressure, she radiates calm confidence and emotional intelligence. Stella bridges east and west with rare understanding, leading not through hierarchy but through trust and shared purpose. She reminds us that true leadership blends courage and care and that the best leaders put people at the heart of everything.
Jean-François Baril is chairman, founder and CEO of HMD
Peter Thiel
by Richard Waters
Before the reactionary turn in Silicon Valley saw some of the tech world’s most powerful figures throw their support behind Donald Trump, there was Peter Thiel.
An outspoken libertarian, Thiel has long played the role of house intellectual for a certain breed of rightwing technocrat.
Thiel’s wealth and influence, which can be traced back to his role as founder of PayPal and the first outside investor in Facebook, have only grown since Trump’s re-election. Palantir, a company he founded and chairs, and which is often condemned in leftwing circles as a tool of government surveillance, has soared in value, at one point reaching nearly $500bn.
It is as an intellectual bomb-thrower willing to challenge the dominant liberal culture of the tech establishment, however, that Thiel’s influence has been most acute. His pronouncements can seem intended to provoke, such as the recent interview in which he compared climate activist Greta Thunberg to the anti-Christ, and his questioning the value of democracy and whether women should be allowed to vote. His status in the new Maga establishment is assured thanks to his closeness to JD Vance, a former employee of one of Thiel’s investment funds and the recipient of Thiel’s financial support during his successful 2022 campaign for the US Senate.
Richard Waters is the FT’s West Coast editor
Zohran Mamdani
by Bernie Sanders
Zohran Mamdani is modelling a different kind of politics. He will not run a top-down, billionaire-funded, consultant-driven administration. Instead, Zohran will fight for the working people of New York. That idea might frighten the establishment. It certainly inspired the billionaire class to spend tens of millions of dollars to try to buy the election for his opponents. But it is precisely why more than 100,000 volunteers turned out to enthusiastically support his campaign and more than one million New Yorkers cast their vote to elect him. Affordable rent, childcare and free public transit. These are not radical ideas. These are the kind of ideas we need to create a just and humane future.
Bernie Sanders is the senior US Senator from Vermont
Nigel Farage
by Michael Gove
Nigel Farage is a former public school boy who has become the tribune of the northern working class, a highly paid broadcast-news fixture who disdains the corruption of the “mainstream media” and a professional politician who has become the emblem of contempt for our political establishment. He is also the member of the House of Commons who bookies make the favourite to be UK prime minister after the next election.
Central to the appeal of Reform’s leader is a blunt speaking style, a capacity to articulate the anger of those who feel overlooked by Westminster and a resilience forged by seven previous failed attempts to become an MP. Farage was mentioned more often by the prime minister in his speech at the Labour party conference than any member of the government, and opposition to his ascent is perhaps the last tie that binds Liberal England together. He may never become PM, but he has already broken at least one (Theresa May), made another (Boris Johnson) and haunted both Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer throughout their time in Downing Street.
Michael Gove is editor of The Spectator
Margarita Simonyan
by Julia Ioffe
She is, perhaps, Vladimir Putin’s most fiercely loyal messenger, his Valkyrie of propaganda. Unlike some of the older men towing the Kremlin’s line, Simonyan never had a liberal phase, not even when she was an exchange student in the US. She was always a Putinist, which is why in 2005, at the tender age of 25, she became the founding editor-in-chief of Russia Today, the now multilingual, global Kremlin-controlled media network rechristened RT.
Since the 2014 Russian invasion of Ukraine, she has been an advocate for annexing Ukrainian territory. After the full-scale invasion in 2022, she has called for even more extreme measures, such as using Russia’s blockade of the Black Sea to starve the world into submission and detonating a nuclear bomb in the atmosphere above Siberia to paralyse the world’s communication systems.
Simonyan is an ostentatiously religious woman, and her most recent book is a novel reinterpreting the Gospel of St John and imagining how the Apocalypse will really happen. Her message hasn’t softened. The west, she says, is jealous of Russia, especially Britain, in her words, “a decomposed empire”.
Julia Ioffe is an author and journalist
David Solomon
by Brooke Masters
Not long ago, Wall Street observers were betting on how long David Solomon could last as Goldman Sachs chief executive. He had just pulled the plug on an ill-conceived consumer banking foray, and the shares were valued at less than the bank’s assets. Current and former partners were fomenting rebellion, mocking his blunt style and penchant for DJ-ing in his spare time.
What a difference two years make. Volatile markets and blockbuster dealmaking have played to Goldman’s strengths — profits are up sharply, and the bank is headed for its best M&A performance in nearly 25 years. Though efforts to grow the bank’s wealth business are very much a work in progress, Solomon got a big vote of confidence from Goldman’s board. They awarded him and right-hand man John Waldron $80mn in stock apiece if they stick around for five more years. Solomon will never be beloved, but a record high share price smooths out a lot of rough edges.
Brooke Masters is the FT’s US managing editor
Michele Kang
by Chelsea Clinton
Michele Kang doesn’t just believe, she bets on those beliefs. With every investment in Washington Spirit, her National Women’s Soccer League club, and the multiple clubs she owns across Europe, Michele recognised what others overlooked: that women’s sports aren’t a cause, they’re a growth market.
Investing in women’s sports lifts everyone, on the field and far beyond it. When players, coaches and referees all are backed with real capital, competition improves, value multiplies, minds change and culture itself evolves. The impact radiates outward, empowering athletes from kids to pros, inspiring fans and reminding us all that investing in women isn’t charity or symbolism, but a smart, sustaining strategy.
Michele leads by example and others are following — investors, teams and fans who now see what she saw all along: a thriving future for women’s sports. Her success is rewriting the playbook, and showing that investing in women isn’t actually a gamble at all. It’s a win.
Chelsea Clinton is an author, vice chair of the Clinton Foundation and an investor in Washington Spirit
Margaret Atwood
by Mark Carney
Margaret Atwood is that rarest of writers. As a master of poetry, satire and mythology, her fiction is inspired by the past to warn against a darker future. Her novels have often proven prophetic, but she is no Canadian Cassandra. Atwood has never sat idle, watching her fiction come to life. She is a fierce advocate for women’s rights, social justice and environmentalism. She has inspired us with her actions as much as she has moved us with words.
While her awards have been legion, her legacy will be shaped by the faithful readers who continue to mine her works for new meanings and hidden messages. She has redefined modern literature — enshrining speculative fiction as a serious genre and carving out a place for the feminist perspective through her narratives.
Canada is stronger for her brilliance as a writer and as an observer of human nature: so powerfully in her warnings of dystopian futures, the return of authoritarianism and the recidivism of misogyny. Thus advised and enriched, Canadians cherish our pluralism, freedoms and democracy as we heed Atwood’s calls to protect them.
Mark Carney is the prime minister of Canada
Rory McIlroy
by Luke Donald
Even for a generational talent such as Rory, 2025 was a year that will stand apart. By winning the Masters Tournament, he completed the Career Grand Slam — becoming the first European to join golf’s most exclusive club, and only the sixth men’s player in history to have won all four of our sport’s Major Championships.
I knew from the very first time I played with Rory that he was something special. He had that rare blend of freedom, speed and imagination that you simply can’t coach. What has perhaps impressed me even more, though, is his longevity. To stay at the top of the game for as long as he has, through different eras, rivalries and expectations, is a testament to a level of consistency that separates the great from the truly exceptional. His 2025 season, with four victories, a seventh Race to Dubai title and a Ryder Cup win on away soil in one of the toughest environments imaginable, only strengthened a legacy that was already remarkable.
Individually, Rory is extraordinary — an athlete whose natural gifts and athleticism are matched by a relentless work ethic and a resilience shaped by years in the spotlight. He has also been a thoughtful, articulate voice for our sport at a time when leadership has mattered most.
Within a team environment, he is everything you would want a leader to be — not someone who expects his teammates to look up to him, but someone who wants them to look across at him.
That quality resonated deeply with me as his captain. It spoke to humility, responsibility and a profound understanding of what leadership truly is.
When I was at the height of my own playing career, Rory was the prodigy emerging on the scene. Now firmly in his prime, his place in golf’s history is already assured.
Luke Donald is a former world number one golfer and a two-time winning Ryder Cup captain
Lotte Bjerre Knudsen
by Tim Spector
Lotte Bjerre Knudsen’s work sits at the centre of one of the most significant shifts in modern health science: the rise of GLP-1-based medications. As a key figure behind semaglutide’s development at Novo Nordisk, she helped turn decades of metabolic research into a class of drugs that are now reshaping how we think about weight, appetite and the biology of eating.
The influence of these medications extends far beyond the clinic. In a world where obesity has been framed largely as a failure of willpower, GLP-1 drugs have forced a rethink. They demonstrate, powerfully and publicly, that biology — not just behaviour — drives appetite and weight regulation. Their impact is cultural as much as medical. Food industries, healthcare systems and social attitudes towards eating are adjusting. While the long-term consequences (positive and negative) are still unfolding, Knudsen’s contribution marks a genuine turning point. Her work has helped catalyse a global re-evaluation.
Tim Spector is a scientist and the author of “Ferment: the Transformative Power of Microbes” (Jonathan Cape)
Zak Brown
by Cindy Rose
Zak is a trailblazer, and his achievements at McLaren Racing during his tenure have been nothing short of extraordinary. From being a self-confessed high-school dropout who found his passion in motorsport and dealmaking, he went on to save one of Formula 1’s most storied teams from the brink of financial ruin during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Under Zak’s leadership, McLaren has achieved impressive on-track and commercial success, culminating in winning the Formula 1 Championship for the first time in 26 years last year. More importantly, Zak has nurtured a team culture based on honesty, transparency, true collaboration and fairness, which many leaders can only dream of. Zak’s influence extends far beyond McLaren Racing; he has been a champion of the sport, particularly in the US, and his fan‑first philosophy has earned him a huge following and admiration worldwide.
Cindy Rose is CEO of WPP
Jane Fonda
by Jamie Lee Curtis
Jane Fonda says it’s OK to be a late bloomer as long as you don’t miss the flower show. Well, after a life-long career of blending art and politics into a breathtaking, award-winning and policy-changing bouquet, she continues to bloom and grow. She excels at making good trouble, sounding the alarm about the climate crisis, and now spearheading the revival of The Committee for the First Amendment, which her father Henry Fonda helped set up, along with a group of other stars, in 1947.
Like them and many other concerned American citizens — me included — Jane has taken up the mantle of organising a group of people to link up again in order to protect that precious freedom. Her fearless dedication to a public life of service and activism and in doing the right thing, particularly in times of crisis, make her most deserving to be included in this list.
Jamie Lee Curtis is an actor and activist
Alexandre de Moraes
by Lilia Moritz Schwarcz
At a time when many supreme courts have capitulated to the power of autocrats, when democratic institutions have shown weakness in the face of populist and far‑right leaders, one Brazilian justice stands out. In 2025, Alexandre de Moraes became a symbol of democracy and justice in Brazil. Together with his colleagues on the First Panel of Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court, he refused to endorse the attempted coup d’état that took place on January 8 2023. Following a public and transparent trial, broadcasted nationwide, the former president Jair Bolsonaro and several high‑ranking military officers were jailed.
Moraes’ readiness to confront attacks on the electoral system, dismantle disinformation networks and hold public figures accountable has strengthened a collective understanding in Brazil that the Constitution is not a mere ornament. Yet the growing centrality of his decisions, the use of exceptional legal instruments and the broad scope of his judicial actions underscore a tension between firmness and excess. In democracies, power must always be subject to counterbalance, even when exercised in the name of protection. Remaining mindful of the risks inherent in wielding such broad powers is part of the democratic practice that Moraes has helped safeguard.
The struggle for democracy continues. In Brazil, at least, this year has shown how robust institutions can resist the authoritarian populism that afflicts an era that calls itself modern yet carries within it all forms of barbarism.
Lilia Moritz Schwarcz is a Brazilian historian and anthropologist
Ms Rachel
by Rob Delaney
When you enter Maine, the state where Rachel Anne Accurso, better known as Ms Rachel, grew up, you see a sign that reads, “Maine: The Way Life Should Be.” I feel like Ms Rachel could wear a sign that reads, “Ms Rachel: The Way People Should Be.” Her outrageously popular musical videos are merely wonderful for the average child, but they are a miracle for children with disabilities and their families, due to her clear, gentle combination of singing and signing. Ms Rachel’s talents have unlocked vital, genuine communication between countless disabled kids and the world around them.
But her compassion is not limited to the children who watch her YouTube channel while their parents get ready for work. Over the past two years, she has been a powerful advocate for children in Gaza and in other war zones, using her platform to call for an end to starvation and genocide. “I care deeply for all children,” she says. In May, Ms Rachel posted a video where she sings and cuddles with a beautiful three-year-old Gazan double amputee named Rahaf. Please watch it.
The more you learn about Ms Rachel, the deeper your gratitude becomes for her shining example of how we can — and should — be.
Rob Delaney is an actor and writer
Our Influence List is compiled by FT reporters and editors with the intention of finding illuminating pairings between author and subject, and generating discussion. All of our candidates have had an impactful year, as have many of the people writing about them. As ever, this year’s list is unranked and by no means definitive. Have a look at our readers’ choice list, and share your own nominations in the comments below, with a few words to explain why.
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