In order to measure the power within somebody, Revenue alone doesnt define it, nor does seniority.  Most powerful can be a CEO who oversees a $20 billion enterprise; AI genius who founds paradigm-shifting startup; Farsighted venture capitalist who inks a term sheet to fund said startup; or, the feared short-seller who bets against the aging tech giant. Such a measurement varies from day to day. In fact, Power is hard-won as well as easily lost. Its never static.

In such a latest list one can find leaders from 40 industries, ranging in age from 30s to 90s. These are very recognizable founders, chief executives of great businesses, disrupters, and innovators. Also, one can slip here fossilized billionaires who are no longer active in business; nor will you find politicians, regulators, or seconds-in-command. The people who earned places on the Most Powerful People list share vital traits, including their words, deeds, wealth shape and what others around them think and do.

Some of the 100 Most Powerful People in Business, chronologically for first ones include Elon Musk; Jensen Huang; Satya Nadella; Warren Buffett; Jamie Dimon; Tim Cook; Mark Zuckerberg; Sam Altman; and, many other. Some of the Indians also have coveted positions in this prestigious list.

Standing at number 3, in the list, is Satya Nadella. He has successfully led Microsoft through not one but two major transformations in his decade at the helm of the worlds largest software companyfirst from PCs to the cloud, and now to AI. He has helped put Microsoft at the pinnacle of Big Techs upper echelon, with a market capitalizationat $3.1 trillionto match. Under his leadership, Microsofts Azure cloud computing service steadily gained market share from Amazons AWS and Microsofts 365 suite of business productivity software remains ubiquitous across industries.

Microsofts GitHub Copilot meanwhile has become a must-have tool for every software developer. And Nadella is not sitting still, continuing to invest in Microsofts internal AI capabilities as well as placing savvy bets on up-and-coming startups in fields from driverless cars to quantum computing. Considered one of the sharpest strategic minds in management today as well as a charismatic and empathetic leader, he has the ear of Fortune 500 CEOs, startup founders, investors, and presidents and prime ministers.

At number 10, Sundar Pichai-the CEO of Alphabet helms one of the world’s most powerful tech conglomerates, with best-of-breed businesses such as Google, YouTube, Android, and Waymo self-driving cars under its flag, along with a market cap in excess of $2 trillion. But Pichai, who joined Google in 2004 and rose through the ranks to succeed cofounder Larry Page at the top job, knows that he cant sit still.

At number 12, Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Indias Reliance Industries, knows how to throw a party. Business leaders (and fellow MPP candidates) like Metas Mark Zuckerberg and Samsungs Jay Lee made the trek to India this year to attend some of the monthslong wedding festivities of Ambanis youngest son, Anant. As of early November, Ambani was Asias richest person, with an estimated net worth of around $100 billion.

Reliance is one of Indias most important conglomerates, with interests in petrochemicals, retail, entertainment, and telecommunications (and much more). Ambani is trying to groom the next generation to take over the lumbering conglomerate: Akash, his eldest son, is the chairman of the telecoms business Reliance Jio, while his daughter Isha is driving the growth of Reliances retail arm.

At number 69, Neal Mohan wasnt exactly a household name earlier when he was appointed YouTube CEO in 2023, taking the baton from Susan Wojcicki. Within tech circles, however, Mohan had a reputation as an advertising-savvy executive whose steady hand and focus on internal processes were instrumental to the success of YouTube, where he served as head of product and policy.

As CEO, the blazer-wearing Mohan has doubled down on Shorts, YouTubes short-form video clips product that competes with TikTok and Instagram Reels, adding new AI capabilities and courting creators through revenue sharing. YouTube Music and Premium, meanwhile, have now surpassed 100 million subscribers, while YouTube TV now counts more than 8 million paid subscribers.

At number 74, Vinod Khosla (69) is one of the most influential investors in Silicon Valley. Originally from India, Khosla in 1982 cofounded Sun Microsystems, which pioneered a range of open-source software. He then spent 18 years at venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins, where he invested in successful fiber-optic and internet companies during the 1990s. One of the more noteworthy was Juniper Networks, which went public in 1999, generating a 2,500-times return for Kleiner.

In 2004, Khosla launched his own firm, which has invested in health care, sustainability, and AI startups. Khosla made perhaps his biggest bet in 2019 when his firm wrote a $50 million check to OpenAI. He was also one of the first to demand that OpenAI rehire CEO Sam Altman after the startups board fired him late last year. More recently, Khosla has gained notice for predicting that most jobs will be replaced by AI.

At number 94, Tarang Amin has followed a most unusual path. He’s of Indian ethnicity, was born in East Africa, and immigrated to the US, picking up a lot of lessons about diversity along the way. It’s notoriously hard for a startup to disrupt the beauty giants, but thats exactly what Tarang Amin, the CEO and chairman of elf Beauty, has done.

Over a decade leading the beauty brand he has struck fear in the hearts of global rivals by selling simply branded elf (which stands for eyes, lips, face). Under his leadership, the business has notched a stunning 22 straight quarters of sales growth. In fiscal 2024, the company brought in more than $1 billion in total revenue, around 77% higher than the previous year. The business agreed to acquire skin-care brand Naturium in 2023 for $355 million.