Artists top the charts

This image released by Time Inc. shows entertainer Beyonce on the cover of Time magazine's 100 most influential people issue. (AP Photo/Time Magazine)

TIME magazine’s 11th annual collection of the 100 most influential people in the world comprised primarily artists, politicians and business people.

Each person selected had a few paragraphs about their influence written by recognizable names, including U.S. president Barack Obama, who wrote about Pope Francis, IMF managing director Christine Lagarde, who wrote about Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen, and actor Lupita Nyong’o, who wrote about director Steve McQueen.

Beyonce graces the cover of the 2014 Time 100 issue. “Beyonce doesn’t just sit at the table,” said Facebook COO and

Lean In author Sheryl Sandberg. “She builds a better one.” This year’s list includes 41 women, a new record.

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden appears on the list for exposing the global surveillance system by leaking NSA documents to journalists.

“Snowden has given us a window of opportunity in which to make an informed, self-determined choice about this system,” said Daniel Domscheit-Berg, a technology activist best known for working with Wikileaks. “Our responsibility is to make sure it will not be the last choice we make.” At 30, Mr. Snowden is one of the youngest people on the list.

Younger still is education activist Malala Yousafzai, who is 16. Ms. Yousafzai also wrote for the magazine, to honour fellow influential person Hillary Clinton. Businessman Carl Icahn is the oldest person on the list at 78.

While Mr. Icahn was one of 18 business people, TIME’s breakdown by professional affiliation shows that most honorees — 27 of them — work in the arts. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2014