Fortune unveils its 2025 list of the 100 Most Powerful People in Business, with NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang at No. 1 and OpenAI’s Sam Altman surging to the Top 10.
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| Fortune ranks Sam Altman and Elon Musk among the world’s most powerful in business for 2025, as Jensen Huang leads a list dominated by tech and AI giants. Image: Fortune |
New York, United States — August 6, 2025:
Fortune has released its highly anticipated 2025 list of the 100 Most Powerful People in Business, spotlighting a new era of influence dominated by artificial intelligence, transformative leadership, and global innovation. At the top of the list is Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA, followed closely by other titans of tech, including Sam Altman of OpenAI and Elon Musk of Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI.
Now in its second year, the ranking features leaders from 28 global industries, including finance, technology, retail, and energy. The list reflects seismic shifts in business leadership, where agility, innovation, and strategic risk-taking define influence more than sheer corporate size.
Sam Altman, who debuts in the Top 10 at No. 8, is credited with expanding OpenAI into one of the most transformative and controversial forces in global technology. Altman's role in democratizing AI access, shaping public discourse, and attracting multi-billion-dollar investments has elevated him to a new echelon of global influence.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk, who topped last year’s list, falls to No. 4 amid challenges at Tesla, intensifying EV competition from Asia, and reputational turbulence linked to his involvement in President Trump’s “DOGE” campaign.
The Top 10 Most Powerful People in Business (2025):
- Jensen Huang – CEO & Founder, NVIDIA
- Satya Nadella – CEO & Chairman, Microsoft
- Mark Zuckerberg – CEO & Founder, Meta
- Elon Musk – CEO & Cofounder, Tesla, SpaceX, xAI
- Wang Chuanfu – CEO & Chairman, BYD
- Sundar Pichai – CEO, Alphabet (Google)
- Ren Zhengfei – CEO & Founder, Huawei Technologies
- Sam Altman – CEO & Cofounder, OpenAI
- Jamie Dimon – CEO & Chairman, JPMorgan Chase
- Mary Barra – CEO & Chair, General Motors
The 2025 list includes 19 female leaders, such as Julie Sweet (Accenture, No. 11), Jane Fraser (Citigroup, No. 12), Lisa Su (AMD, No. 14), and Ana Botín (Banco Santander, No. 20). New entrants include Tan Su Shan of DBS Group (No. 28), Beth Ford of Land O’Lakes (No. 51), and Bonnie Chan of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (No. 53).
Out of the 100, 62 leaders represent U.S.-based companies, with 17 from Asia, 13 from Europe, and 1 from the Middle East. Seven companies—Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Palantir, Oracle, Blackstone, and Berkshire Hathaway—have multiple executives featured.
In her editorial foreword, Alyson Shontell, Editor-in-Chief of Fortune, wrote, “In this second edition, the AI revolution has reshaped power dynamics. Jensen Huang now stands as the most influential executive on the planet, while Sam Altman has emerged as the industry’s future-defining force.”
Fortune's Executive Editor Lee Clifford added, “Staying on this list requires constant reinvention—not only of the company but of the leader's own role and vision.”
The rankings are based on Fortune’s proprietary methodology, weighing corporate performance, innovation, global influence, and leadership impact.
The full list and profiles appear in Fortune’s August/September 2025 issue and on Fortune.com, capturing the leaders driving business forward in an increasingly AI-driven world.