Time 's Top 100 influencers includes Asian and Asian American standouts

On Time's Top 100 are, from left: Jon M. Chu, Lisa Su and Daniel Dae Kim.

Time magazine named its 2025 Top 100 influencers; a list that includes 14 individuals of Asian heritage.

From artists, chefs to CEOs and performers, Asian influence is widespread throughout society. They include familiar names such as movie producer and director Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians, Wicked) and actor/activist Daniel Dae Kim; and some less well-known individuals from business and the arts, such as Liang Wenfeng and Lisa Su.

"The 2025 Time100 list of the world's most influential people recognizes the leaders shaping the world today and defining its future," said Time Chief Executive Officer Jessica Sibley. 

Following are the 14 individuals of Asian heritage recognized by the weekly news magazine:

• Ma Yansong, architect
• Jon M. Chu, motion picture producer/director
• Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon, chef and restaurant owner
• Lisa Su, AMD CEO
• Bonnie Y Chan, COO of the Hong Kong Exchange and Clearing
• Daniel Dae Kim, actor, producer
• Nicole Scherzinger, actress, singer
• Yoshitomo Nara, artist
• Hiroyuki Sanada, actor
• Yoshiki, musician
• Lee Jae-myung, politician
• Demis Hassabis, scientist
• Rosé, singer (Black Pink)
• Liang Wenfeng, computer scientist

        FYI: For more details about Time's influencers, click here.

Influencers picked by Time could have a negative impact on the world as well as a positive one. For example, Donald Trump is on the list for the 7th time, more than any other person on the list this year.

Time will convene the 2025 Time100 list of the world’s most influential people in New York City at the Time100 Summit on April 23 and the Time100 Gala on April 24, which will air as a primetime television special on May 4 on ABC.

Of the 2025 Time 100 list, Time  Editor in Chief Sam Jacobs writes in his letter to readers: "Time's founders knew that focusing on the individuals who are transforming the world is the best way to help readers understand it. That belief animates much of what we do at Time.

"What does the 2025Time 100 tell us about the forces shaping our lives? he continues. "It includes six members of the Trump Administration; 16 corporate CEOs, a record, and a sign of the emergence of a class of business leaders who are filling a leadership void; nine leaders who are fighting for justice, equality, and democracy, at a moment when the rights of so many are at stake."

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X or at the blog Views From the Edge.

Time includes 14 Asians and AANHIPI among 100 top influencers

Actor Ke Hu Quan's popularity has exploded this year.

Time Magazine revealed the 2023 TIME100, its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. The list includes 14 Asians and Asian Americans in the arts, business and politics. 

Among the 100 are celebrities, world leaders, writers and less known, but impactful individuals including Oscar winner Ke Hue Quan, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Tik Tok CEO Shou Zi Chew and Hidetaka Miyazaki, who has sold millions of his popular video games worldwide.

Time Chief Executive Officer Jessica Sibley said: "We are thrilled to recognize this year's list of the world's most influential people. We look forward to convening the Time 100 community—one of the largest leadership communities in the world—to spotlight and hear from individuals who are wielding their influence to drive positive action toward a better world at the TIME100 Summit Featuring TimeTime CO2 and Gala this month in New York City."

Time publishes a list honoring the 100 most influential people each year who, in the opinions of the magazine editors, were most responsible for shaping the year.

The Asians and AANHPI on this year's list of the most influential are*:

• Ali Wong, actor
• Ke Hue Quan, actor
• Shah Rukh Khan, Indian actor
• Salman Rushdie, author
• Peng Lifa, Chinese activist
• S.S. Rajamouli, RRR director
• Robin Zeng, founder of Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL)
• Sherry Rehman, Pakistani environmentalist
• Fumio Kishida, Japan's Prime Minister
• Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmar leader
• Shou Zi Chew, TikTok CEO
• Hidetaka Miyazaki, video game creator
• Padma Lakshmi, Top Chef host
• General Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmar leader

Talking about the Ke Hu Quan, who won an Oscar for Everything Everywhere All at Once, Tom Hiddleston—who worked with Quan in Loki—said about him: “Waymond’s (Ke’s character) extraordinary sweetness, his kindness, and his patience all belong to Ke. His positivity—his fight to keep the dream alive—is the most profound kind of spiritual strength. These qualities are his unique gifts. At last, the world has recognized them.”

FYI: Complete list the Time100, most influential people in 2023

For the fourth year in a row, Time Studios and ABC will present a "TIME100" primetime television special, and for the second year in a row, the television special will bring viewers inside the 17th annual Time100 Gala, airing Sunday, April 30 (7 p.m. EDT), on ABC.

To celebrate the 2023 Time100 list of the World's Most Influential People, Time will host the annual Time100 Summit Featuring Time CO2 on April 25 and the Time100 Gala on April 26.

* We list those individuals who identify themselves as Asian or AANHPI that's why omit the individuals who identify Middle Eastern.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.