New York’s Top 100 Most Influential People

Mar 25, 2013 | Articles

Top 100 Most Influential Peopl

There have been lots of influential people throughout history. Who are the 100 most influential New Yorkers of the past 25 years?
Image from Muy Interesante, 1993

The Observer recently released a list of the 100 Most Influential New Yorkers from the past 25 years. And while 100 people might sound like a lot, consider the fact that there are currently more than 8 million people living in New York City, and in the past 25 years many more have also lived—and died—there. Now let’s get back to those top 100 people. Sounds a little bit more impressive now.

To determine who would make the influential people cut, the Observer considered the following questions, a test of sorts. It helped sort out who was simply a successful person and who was really an influential dealmaker, dreamer, or visionary:

  1. Did this person move the needle somehow?
  2. Is there something of significance that he or she changed?

They then divided the winners up into several categories, including Arts, Business, City Life, Entertainment, Fashion, Media, Politics, Real Estate, Society, Spirit of the City, Sports, and Tech-VC. And one thing we’re proud about is that we’ve already talked about many of these influential people here on Cultivating Culture, whether simply mentioning their contributions to culture or writing a full profile on them. So who made the Observer’s list? Here are a few of the winners:

Anna Wintour

Anna Wintour is unquestionably one of the most influential people in fashion.
Image: kekkoz via Flickr CC

  1. Andy Warhol, Arts—one of America’s most influential artists, and a leading figure in the pop art movement.
  2. Henry Kravis, Business—co-founder and co-CEO of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), Henry Kravis is a pioneer of the private equity industry.
  3. Woody Allen, Entertainment—one of our time’s greatest filmmakers and writers, with almost 50 films to his name. He’s also written some of the best comics, books, short stories, stage plays, and stand-up acts.
  4. Anna Wintour, Fashion—Editor in Chief at Vogue and major fashion figure in New
    Jon Stewart, host of the Daily Show, uses humor to express his political opinions. He has inspired others to do the same, including Steve Carrell and Stephen Colbert.

    Jon Stewart, host of the Daily Show, uses humor to express his political opinions.
    Image from Comedy Central

    York and beyond. Some argue that Miranda Priestly from The Devil Wears Prada was heavily based on Ms. Wintour.

  5. Jon Stewart, Media—a comedian and powerful satirist, Stewart has done standup comedy, acting, and is now the host of the Daily Show. He has inspired the likes of Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell to let their political opinions shine through in their comedy.
  6. Lauren Santo Domingo, Society—she has all the makings and marks of a socialite except for the bad reputation and embarrassing episodes on reality television. Married to billionaire-heir Andres Santo Domingo, Lauren is witty, beautiful, fashion-forward, successful, and ever-present on Twitter and Instagram.

Interested in learning more? Be sure to check out our full profile spotlights on KKR’s Henry Kravis and Lauren’s husband, Andres Santo Domingo.