TIME Magazine Unveils 100 Most Influential People 2026: Sundar Pichai, Ranbir Kapoor, Vikas Khanna Make It to the List

TIME Magazine has revealed its massive list of 100 most influential people for the year 2026. Surprisingly, three Indians have made it to the cut, including the CEO of Google/Alphabet, Sundar Pichai, Actor Ranbir Kapoor, and Chef Vikas Khanna. It is indeed a big moment for India to have made it to the list of influential people alongside global entities. 

The list is a mix of political heavyweights, cultural icons, musicians, and rising global voices. Whether it is global political figures like Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Xi Jinping, or policymakers like Marco Rubio, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, each of them represents influence across different arenas. For India, three familiar names have garnered all attention for their extraordinary contribution in their respective fields. Sundar Pichai continues to be recognised for steering Google’s massive push and cutting-edge tech, Ranbir Kapoor earns a spot, with actor Ayushmann Khurrana praising his ability to deliver powerful performances, and lastly, Chef Vikas Khanna represents India’s culinary influence on the global stage. 

Here’s the complete list of TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People 2026!

100 Most Influential People 2026

Time magazine’s latest list of the 100 most influential people in the world includes the usual mix of political figures, world leaders, business people, scientists, activists and entertainers, with this year’s choices for the latter group including Ben Stiller, Benicio Del Toro,… pic.twitter.com/2SD80NLoSr — Deadline (@DEADLINE) April 15, 2026

World Leaders

1. Pope Leo XIV (Head of the Catholic Church)
2. Xi Jinping (President of China)
3. Benjamin Netanyahu (Prime Minister of Israel)
4. Donald Trump (US President)
5. Mark Carney (Prime Minister of Canada)
6. Claudia Sheinbaum (President of Mexico)
7. Sanae Takaichi (Prime Minister of Japan)
8. Balendra Shah (Prime Minister of Nepal)
9. Marco Rubio (US Secretary of State)
10. Gavin Newsom (Governor of California)
11. Zohran Mamdani (New York City Assemblyman/Mayor)
12. Susie Wiles (White House Chief of Staff)
13. Tarique Rahman (Bangladeshi Leader)
14. Mette Frederiksen (Prime Minister of Denmark)
15. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah (Namibian Leader)
16. Rafael Mariano Grossi (IAEA Director General)
17. Henna Virkkunen (European Commission VP)
18. Jacob Frey (Mayor of Minneapolis)
19. Dan Caine (Joint Chiefs of Staff)
20. Steve Witkoff (US Special Envoy)
21. Mark Kelly (US Senator)

Innovators And AI leaders

1. Sundar Pichai (CEO of Google/Alphabet)
2. Neal Mohan (CEO of YouTube)
3. Gwynne Shotwell (SpaceX COO)
4. Dario Amodei & Daniela Amodei (Anthropic)
5. Michael Dell & Susan Dell (Philanthropists/Dell)
6. MrBeast (Content Creator/Entrepreneur)
7. CC Wei (CEO of TSMC)
8. Jeremy Allaire (Circle CEO)
9. Sarah Friar (OpenAI CFO)
10. John Furner (Walmart US CEO)
11. David Ellison (Skydance Media)
12. Josh D’Amaro (Disney Parks Chairman)
13. Aliko Dangote (Industrialist)
14. Lip-Bu Tan (Tech Investor)
15. Fatih Birol (IEA Executive Director)

Artists And Entertainers

1. Ranbir Kapoor (Actor)
2. Zoe Saldaña (Actor)
3. Ben Stiller (Actor/Humanitarian)
4. Benicio Del Toro (Actor)
5. Ethan Hawke (Actor/Director)
6. Kate Hudson (Actor/Entrepreneur)
7. Dakota Johnson (Actor)
8. Claire Danes (Actor)
9. Keke Palmer (Actor/Host)
10. Sterling K. Brown (Actor)
11. Alan Cumming (Actor)
12. Noah Wyle (Actor)
13. Jonathan Groff (Actor)
14. Wagner Moura (Actor)
15. Rhea Seehorn (Actor)
16. Jafar Panahi (Director)
17. Nikki Glaser (Comedian)
18. Tayari Jones (Novelist)
19. Yiyun Li (Author)
20. Freida McFadden (Author)

Musicians

1. Luke Combs (Country Star)
2. Jennie (Global Pop Icon)
3. Coco Jones (Singer/Actor)
4. Hilary Duff (Musician/Actor)
5. Rauw Alejandro (Musician)
6. Noah Kahan (Musician)
7. Anderson. Paak (Musician)

Athletes

1. Scottie Scheffler (Golfer)
2. Chloe Kim (Snowboarder)
3. Lando Norris (F1 Driver)
4. Noah Lyles (Sprinter)
5. Hilary Knight (Hockey Player)
6. Alysa Liu (Figure Skater)

Icons, Pioneers And Advocates

1. Vikas Khanna (Chef/Humanitarian)
2. Ralph Lauren (Fashion Designer)
3. Victoria Beckham (Fashion Designer)
4. Matthieu Blazy (Bottega Veneta Designer)
5. Anok Yai (Model)
6. Nancy Silverton (Chef)
7. Mashama Bailey (Chef)
8. Lynsey Addario (Photojournalist)
9. Cao Fei (Artist)
10. Walter Hood (Landscape Architect)
11. Shirin Ebadi (Nobel Laureate)
12. Dolores Huerta (Labor Leader)
13. Heather Gerken (Yale Law Dean)
14. Kica Matos (Advocate)
15. Shannon Minter (Legal Director)
16. Lauren Hersh (Advocate)
17. Mamadou Amadou Ly (Activist)
18. Zabib Musa Loro (Peacebuilder)
19. Rachel Foster (Advocate)
20. Sabrina Walter (Advocate)

Science, Space And Health

1. Reid Wiseman (Artemis II Commander)
2. Tony Tyson (Astrophysicist)
3. Kiran Musunuru & Rebecca Ahrens-Nicklas (Geneticists)
4. Precious Matsoso (Health Advocate)
5. Mari Luz Canaquiri Murayari (Environmentalist)
6. Mariangela Hungria (Agricultural Scientist)
7. Luciano Moreira (Scientist)
8. Anne-Claire Amprou (Health Policy)

Please note, some pairs, including the Amodei siblings or Dr Musunuru & Dr Ahrens-Nicklas, are counted as a single entry/influence profile by TIME, which completes the full roster of 100 names.