Name 5 people who you think are among the most influential in the world.

Let's see. In no particular order.

Barack Obama, Mark Zuckerberg, Oprah Winfrey, Rupert Murdoch and the pope.

Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Manny Pacquiao, Mark Zuckerberg, Justin Bieber

Xi Jinping, Sam Johnson, Barack Obama, Kate Middleton, lady Gaga

Jon Stewart, Barack Obama, Rupert Murdoch, the US Supreme Court (counts as 1 in my book), and Steve Jobs.

Barack Obama, Gaga, Steve Jobs, Joseph Blatter, the Clintons.

Vladimir Putin, Aung San Suu Kyi, I.M. Pei, B. Obama, Steve Jobs

Most of the so-called most influential people list of the world is always a subject of intense debate and questionable. They don't know what is worth celebrating, noting or memorializing in the world. I don't know what important means to them. There will aways be all sorts of people that don't belong on the list. Whether these people deserve to be better known, I don't know. I guess so? But are they worthy of being included in such lists? Nope, Maybe so. Good question. Now don't ask me for my list. Too many influential people. Wakarimasen. This is just food for thought.

Short 5 Current: Barrack Obama, Ben Bernanke, Hillary Clinton, Stephen Hawking, Google Founders. Long 10 Current: Barrack Obama, Ben Bernanke, Hillary Clinton, Stephen Hawking, Google Founders, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Lloyd Blankfien, The Japanese people, Bill Clinton.

All time 10: George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Charles Darwin, Galileo Galilei, Jesus Christ, Noam Chomsky

Influence is a hard thing to define - cultural, poltical, economic, religious...? And influence carries on posthumously - someone like Einstein is maybe more influential than almost all the world leaders, more so now than when he was alive. Some people are only influential in combination with others and I also couldn't include any politician from a country with free elections as they're only as influential as the people allow, and CEOs are just employees.

At the moment top three would be Rupert Murdoch, Colonel Gaddafi, OPEC leaders, then it's hard to pick after that.

Hu Jintao, Obama, Pope Benedict XVI, Ben Laden, Steve Jobs.

Mohamed Bouazizi, Obama, Netanyahu, Hu Jin Tao, AKB48

Madoff, Horiemon, Mike Tyson, Tiger Woods, Michael Jackson.

Ben Bernanke, Osama Bin Laden, Dick Chaney, Vladimir Putin, Joe the plumber

Ichiro, Matsui, Matsuzaka, Fukudome, Uehara in that order--at least their faces appear on NHK more than any other

I would say the top minds in the following fields: Art, Science, Industry, Politics and IT.- possibly philanthropy could squeeze in front of one.

Hmm...the term "influential" does not necessarily mean "celebrity" or what media consider as powerful. Thus, i would definitely characterize as influential: the Israeli lobby in the U.S., the financial institutions, the oil/energy lobby, the church, and 2-3 corporations such as Microsoft, Coca-Cola, GM and Toyota. As for 5 people: George Soros, Bill Gates, Abdullah Abdul-Aziz, the pope and the U.S. president just for being who they are regardless of their actual level of influence in social and political matters.

I'm assuming it must be Mino Monta, Tanoshingo, That World Champion sex-change thing, that fat transvestite and the bloke who says "Ehhhh?" and falls over laughing and clapping.

They must be, or there wouldn't be any point having them on TV all day every day.

Yoko Kumada, Angelina Jolie, Norika Fujiwara, Ko Shibasaki, Yumiko Shaku.

The Pope, Princess Diana, Yasser Arafat, Bin Laden, Mahathir Mohamed.

seesaw - Princess Diana and Yasser Arafat are "in the ground", not "in the world".

President Obama, PM Putin, The Dali Lama, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Steve Jobs. Unfortunately, Putin and Netanyahu are not necessarily using their influence in the best manner.

Stan, Kyle, Cartman, Kenny, and Butters

Also, should be noted that here in Japan, the top five members of AKB48. Whoever they are.

Masayoshi Son and Aung San Suu Kyi as positive examples.

Unfortunately also ones like Mayo Ishihara, Putin and the leaders of European nationalist right-wing parties have also too much influence.

President Obama, PM Valdimir Putin, Steve Jobs, Kenny from South Park, and Weird Al Yankovic.

Darren Ambrose, John Lydon, Stephen Lewis, Boris Johnson, Timmy Mallet.

I am afraid I don't know their REAL, alien, lizard names. But we know them as Obama, Hu Jintao, The Pope, Putin and Lionel Messi.....

Maitake: YES! I loled at that :D

Osama binladen, Obama, Sarkozy, Lady Gaga, Bernard Madoff.

The Fukushima 50 - I guess they count as one person as they made the TIME list.

...along with Obama, Osama, The Pope and the Chinese Politburo.

How many members of SMAP are there in this forever simplistic, irrelevant country of ours?

Ha ha - I was thinking of also nominating those, ummm, "flamboyant" Jonnies boyyysss SMAP, KansaiTruth....although they would only have 1 brain between them (at most) so count as only one person.

Rush Limbaugh, millions of dead head followers. millions of dead head haters pulling the US into the toilet together. Bill Gates, tech and philantrophic goliath. Hu Jintao, billions following his leadership out of the toilet. Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Saud, his reign will set the path for middle eastern stability or lack of. Richie McCaw, he is the benchmark all men aspire to be like.