My Top 20 Most Influential People in the World

First of, This is a collection of people whom I think are influential to me or to other people. Got it? Then proceed

20 Corazon Aquino

This lady is one of the most important people in Philippine history. Changing the way Filipinos see freedom by democratically elected as the first female president in the Philippines. She’s best remembered by leading the People Power revolution which celebrates their 25^th year of commemoration, remembering their revolution which toppled Ferdinand Marcos and restored democracy in the Philippines. “Tita Cory” as she is affectionately called, is revered by many Filipinos as an icon of democracy and was hailed by TIME magazine as “woman of the year” last 1986 the same year Cory lead the EDSA revolution. Cory is one powerful lady. Influencing almost 2,000,000 people to a nonviolent revolution and prayerful mass street demonstration in the Philippines.

19 Lucio Tan

This here Chinese-Filipino businessman is the second richest businessman in the country with an amount of $2.1 billion of fortune. Owning Asia Brewery, Fortune tobacco, Philippine Airlines, University of the East, Philippine National Bank, Allied Bank, Eton Properties Philippines, Allied Savings Bank and Autonomous Jeep Organization.  He is one rich dude alright. Controlling the Philippine Business with the palm of his hand together with the other Filipino tycoons in the Philippines.

18 Ellen DeGeneres

With Oprah out of the spotlight, Ellen is one of the candidates for the next queen of daytime. She is a lesbian and a proud one too marrying her spouse, Portia Lee James DeGeneres after the overturning of same-sex marriage ban was released. Her talk show is also booming with positive criticism. Being the most “Outstanding Talk Show” for four consecutive years (2004-2007). She’s Ellen DeGeneres, one of the most funniest and powerful ladies in the industry.

17 Gisele Bündchen

Gisele is the ONLY true remaining “supermodel” in the world according to models, Claudia Schiffer and Naomi Campbell. Since 2004, she has been the highest-paid model in the world with an estimated fortune of $150 million. No wonder Ipanema is pricier than Havaianas. This Brazilian girl is a proud mother giving birth to her son last 2009. 

16 Henry Sy

Henry Sy is the richest businessman in the county. Acknowledged as the country’s “retail king” owning shopping malls operated in the country. He has become Asia’s biggest shopping mall operator in the Philippines with over 30 malls throughout the Philippines. This Chinese Filipino business man has come a long way from the modest shoe store he set in Quiapo. 

15 David Beckham

Beckham was the first England player ever to collect two red cards and the first England Captain to be sent off and has amassed 41 yellow cards and four red cards for Real Madrid. This bad boy here has caught a lot of trouble while on play and even caught more trouble while out of the field. There were many accounts were in many girls confess that they have slept with Beckham which Beckham denies afterwards. Besides football, he’s also recognizable from the multinational companies like cola-cola and IBM. Beckham's relationship and marriage to Victoria, who has been famous in her own right as part of the musical group Spice Girls, contributed to David's celebrity beyond football. Beckham became known as a fashion plate, and together with Victoria, the couple became lucrative spokespeople sought after by clothing designers, health and fitness specialists, fashion magazines, perfume and cosmetics manufacturers, hair stylists, exercise promoters, and spa and recreation companies. One recent example is a new line of aftershave and fragrances called David Beckham Instinct. The search engine Ask Jeeves named Beckham in December 2009 as the third most online searched person in the last decade. The findings are based on online activity by British users of the search engine.

14 Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant is a known basketball legend and all-time scorer in Lakers franchise History. With his passion for basketball, he has come a long way from a normal basketball player in Pennsylvania to becoming the all-time crowd favorite and high-flyer rookie in history. He is recognizable through endorsing big companies like Adidas, McDonalds, and Coca-Cola. Aside from basketball, he’s also a kind-hearted dude. Bryant is the official ambassador for After-School All-Stars (ASAS), an American non-profit organization that provides comprehensive after-school programs to children in 13 US cities. Bryant also started the Kobe Bryant China Fund which will partner with the Soong Ching Ling Foundation, a charity backed by the Chinese government. The Kobe Bryant China Fund will raise money within China earmarked for education and health programs. No doubt that this guy is one of the MVPs in basketball history.

13 SUPER JUNIOR

They are one of the largest boy bands in the world and probably one of the most amazing. These guys have blown the entire Asia with their serenading voices, cool moves and angelic faces. Even if some people can’t understand the lyrics of their song, still, it wasn’t a hindrance for them to like their songs. Other K-pop groups were also influenced by the Super Junior imitating the same number of members in their group. But still, Super Junior is leading the entire K-pop to stardom. 

12 Rick Riordan

Rick Riordan, one of the most outstanding authors today. His Percy Jackson Series became a word-of-mouth sensation right after hitting the shelves last 2005. He has shown great work in this book, mixing Greek mythology with modern places. Who would ever imagine Mt. Olympus resides at the 600^th floor of the Empire State building in New York or Hades in Los Angeles. Sometimes I even wonder if he is also a demigod because he writes the series with perfect clarity portraying every scene like you’re in it. No wonder people like his works. His other series like “The Heroes of Olympus” and “The Kane Chronicles” are also showing positive feedbacks from critics. 

11 Tyra Banks

With her own talk show and uber-addictive reality series, the former Cover Girl and Sports Illustrated swimsuit model is on track to becoming the next Oprah Winfrey. Her show,  ‘America’s Next Top Model” is one of the highest rated show since its first cycle last 2003 and is still on the top shelf even in it’s seventh cycle. Although this girl retired from modeling last 2005 to concentrate on her talk shows, she’s still one of the icons in modeling. Even as a young girl, Banks wanted to be a model and when she saw the opportunity, she grabbed it. There’s no doubt that every model wants to be like Tyra Banks, a successful woman who was passionate to her work.

10 Stephanie Meyer

The maker of the world-wide known Twilight Series. An author that has change the way people look at vampires and werewolf. She has given another perspective to look at, that even vampires too, fall in love and when they are in love, they love hard. No wonder everybody wants to marry Edward Cullen. One thing that inspires me is the fact that she writes with luminous clarity, never leaving something not vividly seen. She’s the real thing. But nobody has ever expected that her book would become famous world-wide. Not even Meyer. Some say luck was on her side. But for me, her self determination has lead her to her success.

9 Beyoncé Knowles

Here catchy songs like “Single Ladies” will surely be stuck in your head for at least a week. But she’s more than robot gloves and killer dance moves. She’s a hard core all out performer. Bootylicious is what others fondly call her because of her body curve which later on was added to the English dictionary. But she’s a different girl on stage and off stage. While she’s on stage, she’s sensual and more aggressive. That’s why she invented her alter ego, Sasha Fierce. She says it’s her alter ego while on stage. This girl has a powerful voice that will leave you with goose bumps after she’s done with her performance. If Taylor Swift is the new girl in town and Lady Gaga is pushing artistic boundaries, Beyoncé has become the star by which all others are judged.

8 J.K. Rowling

Joanne “Jo” Rowling is perhaps the author that all authors look up to. She has remarkably changed her status from rags to riches in which she progressed from living on benefits to multi-millionaire status within five years. She should thank Harry Potter for magically bringing her $ 1 Billion amount of fortune. She was also hailed “Most Influential Woman” in Britain last 2010. She is one genius lady. To think that Harry Potter was conceived during a train trip from Manchester to London. The Potter books have gained worldwide attention, won multiple awards, sold more than 400 million copies and been the basis for a popular series of films, in which Rowling had overall approval on the scripts as well as maintaining creative control by serving as a producer on the final installment. It’s a good thing she hid her true name because if she didn’t, mostly girls may have read the H. Potter series. 

7 Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs has changed the way the world listens to music and how the recording industry is ordered. Jobs is listed as either primary inventor or co-inventor in over 230 awarded patents or patent applications related to a range of technologies from actual computer and portable devices to user interfaces (including touch-based), speakers, keyboards, power adapters, staircases, clasps, sleeves, lanyards and packages. We should thank Jobs for our iPod, iPhones and iPad that we are enjoying up to this day. Not only he was part of the Apple Inc. but he was also part of Pixar Animation Studio and was given credits for Toy Story. This here dude is a computer geek. He might be the next Einstein. 

6 Oprah Winfrey

Many have tried to copy her success and many have failed. Twenty-four years into hosting “The Oprah Winfrey Show”, the queen of daytime has announced that she will end her talk show in 2011. She will end her show but not her thrown as the queen of day time because this one-woman media empire is rumored to be starting a new show on the Oprah Winfrey Network. She was once the only black billionaire in the world and recorded as the most Influential Woman as of 2007. She is one of the prides of the black race because she has changed the way we look at the African-American race. Being one of the most powerful ladies that ever existed.

5 Mark Zuckerberg

More than anyone else on the world’s stage, facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg is at the center of this. Born in 1984, the same year the Macintosh computer was launched, he is both a product of his generation and an architect of it. The social networking platform he invented in closing on 600 million users. In a single day, about a billion new pieces of content are posted on Facebook. It is the connective tissue for nearly a tenth of the planet. Facebook is now the third largest country on earth and surely has more information about its citizens than any government does.

4 Pope John Paul II

He was one of the most-traveled world leaders in history. Visiting over 129 countries and speaking almost 15 languages. He’s none other than our beloved, the late Pope John Paul II. No one can deny that he was one of the best popes we ever had in history. He has this special aura that makes you at peace whenever he’s present. Even on TV, whenever we see his face or hear his voice, we stop and listen to him to see what he has to say. No doubt that he’s one influential dude. Dead or alive.

3 Barack Obama

Barack Obama broke the record by becoming the first black American to ever been elected as a President of the Unites States of America. He won the election by winning first the hearts of his fellow country men. He represents a new hope for the entire American nation. The president’s first year in the oval office was rocky, as he struggled to fight two wars, right a listing economy and enact an ambitious domestic agenda. This is a big responsibility for just one person. He’s not just leading one nation but also indirectly leading the entire world to the right way.

2 Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift, when we hear this name, we always remember the lyrics from “Love story”, “You belong with me”. Those catchy lyrics have brought her to stardom. Singing, Composing songs, modeling, hosting, acting. She has it all. She is always true to herself. Telling what she really thinks and just showing who she really is. Even in her music, she tells the truth. Those catchy lyrics were not just form of imaginations. They are about her story, telling about her experiences in life mostly about boys and his relationship with boys. She inspires others to tell the world who they really are and not pretending who they want to be. She writes songs for the universal women and for the man who wants to know her. No wonder millions of people would go and watch all of her concerts and buying all of her albums that has been sold to millions of people world-wide. She is Taylor Swift; a country princess is pop music’s queen.

1 Lady Gaga

She’s currently the top of my list. You want to know why? It’s because an artist’s job is express art in every way possible. And Lady Gaga has done it all. You can see art exploding on the way she dresses, the way she looks, the way she dance, the way she sings, the way she compose songs and the way she performs on stage. You can’t guess what she will do next. She’s the most unpredictable girl you could ever imagine. The only person who dares to topple Lady Gaga’s works is none other than Lady Gaga herself. Many forget that she’s only 25 years young. But she’s done more things than you can expect from a 25 years old girl. Most of the stuff on radio is not very clever, but Lady Gaga presents her ideas in a sophisticated manner. She has an incredible pop sensibility. She isn’t a pop act. She is a performance artist. She herself is an art. She is the sculpture.