In the high-stakes game of global business influence, 2025 belongs to Jensen Huang. The NVIDIA founder and CEO takes the crown as No. 1 on Fortune’s annual “100 Most Powerful People in Business” list, dethroning last year’s top dog, Elon Musk.
It’s no small feat. Under Huang’s watch, NVIDIA shattered market records this year, becoming the first company in history to surpass a $4 trillion market cap—fueled by insatiable demand for its AI chips. Those chips, by the way, power much of the generative AI revolution driving the ambitions (and stock prices) of many other leaders on this year’s list. As Fortune bluntly notes, competition exists, but “none pose a serious threat to NVIDIA’s dominance—yet.”
The top five also reads like a modern-day Mount Rushmore of tech and innovation:
- Jensen Huang, NVIDIA
- Satya Nadella, Microsoft
- Mark Zuckerberg, Meta
- Elon Musk, Tesla, SpaceX, xAI, and more
- Wang Chuanfu, BYD
This year’s list spans 28 industries and includes 62 U.S.-based companies, 17 from Asia, 13 from Europe, and 1 from the Middle East. The gender gap remains wide, but there’s notable progress: 19 women make the cut, including Julie Sweet of Accenture (No. 11), Jane Fraser of Citigroup (No. 12), Lisa Su of AMD (No. 14), and Ana Botín of Banco Santander (No. 20).
Fortune’s methodology is built on more than just balance sheets. Leaders are evaluated on business health, innovation, influence, and global impact—with the unspoken reality that today’s power is fleeting if you can’t keep reinventing. As Executive Editor Lee Clifford puts it, “Gone are the days when a leader can remain on this list without constantly reinventing their company, their strategy, everything.”
The list also welcomes some fresh influence, from Tan Su Shan of DBS Group (No. 28) to Vlad Tenev of Robinhood Markets (No. 73), proving the path to power still has room for rising disruptors.
For Musk, now sitting at No. 4, the year has been a mixed bag—juggling Tesla’s reputational hits and rising EV competition while recovering from the political spectacle of his “DOGE for President Trump” episode. Meanwhile, Huang’s NVIDIA is redefining what it means to hold power in the AI age.
Full list and methodology: Fortune’s 2025 Most Powerful People in Business
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