Fortune First-Ever 100 Most Powerful People in Business List

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Nov 14, 2024, 16:00 ET

Elon Musk, CEO and Founder of Tesla and SpaceX, is No. 1

Jensen Huang of NVIDIA, Satya Nadella of Microsoft, Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway, and Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase in Top 5

The Fortune MPP 100 spans 70 companies in U.S., 15 in Asia, 14 in Europe, 1 in the Middle East

18 of the 100 leaders on the MPP list are women

NEW YORK, Nov. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Fortune announced the inaugural list of the Fortune 100 Most Powerful People in Business, featuring agile disruptors, name-brand titans, Fortune 500 CEOs, and behind-the-scenes power players.

Representing 40 industries spanning the world, these are the world's most influential leaders shaping the global business landscape. The list includes 70 U.S.-based companies, 15 from Asia regions, 14 in Europe, and one from the Middle East. Eighteen of the list's CEOs and leaders are female.

Alyson Shontell, Fortune Editor in Chief and Chief Content Officer, said, "The Fortune 100 Most Powerful People list is the authoritative ranking of corporate power as it exists today. It includes global industry giants, mavericks, and disruptors who are reshaping entire sectors and broader society with their outsized leadership, wealth, innovation and influence."

Here are the 2024 Fortune Most Powerful People Top 10:

Elon Musk, CEO and Founder, Tesla and SpaceX
Jensen Huang, CEO and Founder, Nvidia
Satya Nadella, CEO and Chairman, Microsoft
Warren Buffett, CEO and Chairman, Berkshire Hathaway
Jamie Dimon, CEO and Chairman, JPMorgan Chase
Tim Cook, CEO, Apple
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO, Chairman and Founder, Meta
Sam Altman, CEO and Cofounder, OpenAI
Mary Barra, CEO and Chairman, General Motors
Sundar Pichai, CEO, Alphabet

Click here for the complete list.

At No. 1 is Elon Musk, CEO and founder of Tesla and SpaceX, known for his visionary leadership and engineering prowess across multiple industries. He is also the world's richest man. This fall, SpaceX, valued at $210 billion, achieved a historic milestone by testing its next-generation rocket, Starship. Neuralink, valued at $8 billion, successfully implanted its brain-computer interface chip into a human, allowing a paralyzed man to control a computer mouse with his mind. Musk has also been increasingly active in politics, emerging as a significant supporter of and informal advisor to U.S. president-elect Donald Trump.

For this inaugural list, Fortune used its proprietary methodology to identify individuals with significant power and influence. Key categories and criteria include the size and health of the leaders' business, and the inventiveness, influence, and impact of the leaders themselves. The full methodology can be found here.

Fortune Executive Editor Lee Clifford said, "Defining power is no simple task – it's more than revenue or seniority. The leaders on our inaugural 100 Most Powerful People in Business list share one defining trait: their actions and words influence what others think and do. With this ranking, Fortune captured the breadth of influence in business across industries and around the globe."

About Fortune:
Fortune is a global multi-platform media company built on a legacy of trusted, award-winning reporting and information for those who want to make business better. Independently owned, Fortune tells the stories of the world's biggest companies and their leaders as well as a new generation of innovators who are moving business forward. Digitally and in print, Fortune measures corporate performance through rigorous benchmarks, and holds companies accountable, in regions around the world. Its iconic rankings include Fortune 500, Fortune Global 500, Most Powerful Women, and World's Most Admired Companies. Fortune builds world-class communities by convening industry thought leaders for exclusive summits and conferences, including the Fortune Global Forum, Brainstorm Tech, Fortune Most Powerful Women. For more information, visit fortune.com.

Media Contacts:
Patrick Reilly
Fortune
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Chelsea Hudson
Fortune
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SOURCE Fortune Media (USA) Corporation