Top 100 Most Influential Asians

General Secretary of the Communist Party of China. With 1.3 billion subjects, the world's largest army and the second-la...

Chairperson of the National Advisory Council of India and President of the Indian National Congress. Forbes ranked her 9...

Premier of the People's Republic of China. Head of government and architect of economic policy. Second-ranked member of ...

13th Prime Minister of India and the first Sikh to hold the office. Renowned economist credited with liberalising India'...

Vice President of the Indian National Congress. Son of PM Rajiv Gandhi and grandson of PM Indira Gandhi. Member of Parli...

Hong Kong business tycoon. His companies account for 15% of the entire Hong Kong stock exchange. Known for extraordinary...

Secretary General of the United Nations since 2007. Former Korean Foreign Minister. Recipient of numerous international ...

Prime Minister of Japan. Grandson of a former Japanese PM. Hard-line economic policies — Abenomics — aimed at rescuing J...

Chairman of Reliance Industries — India's most valuable company. Built one of Asia's largest business empires spanning t...

President of South Korea — the first woman ever to hold the title. Economy-focused policies have helped South Korea main...

Chinese Minister of Finance and former President of CIC, China's sovereign investment fund with over $1 trillion in asse...

Governor of the Bank of Japan. Joined the bank in 1972 and has managed branches in both Japan and America. Led monetary ...

Nobel Peace Prize laureate and leader of Myanmar's National League for Democracy. Spent over 15 years under house arrest...

President of the Philippines. Son of President Corazon Aquino. Led the Philippines through a period of sustained economi...

President of Indonesia with over 242 million subjects. Former Army General. Led Indonesia as one of the world's most pop...

President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation — the world's largest automaker. Grandson of Toyota's founder. Led Toyota'...

Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons. Transformed the Tata Group from $5bn to $100bn+ in revenues through bold global acquisit...

Founder and Executive Chairman of Alibaba Group. Built China's largest e-commerce platform from scratch. One of the most...

The Little Master — greatest batsman in cricket history. 100 international centuries in 24 years. Awarded India's highes...

Academy Award-winning composer known as the Mozart of Madras. Two Oscars for Slumdog Millionaire. Three decades of defin...

The King of Bollywood. Over 80 films, 200+ awards. One of the most recognised entertainers in the world. Honoured with F...

Shot by the Taliban at 15 for advocating girls' education. Became a global symbol of courage and determination. Nobel Pe...

One of Bollywood's most prolific actors. Padma Shri in 2009. Over 100 films across three decades spanning action, comedy...

Former Miss World 2000. One of the most globally recognised Indian personalities. First South Asian to headline a US net...

CEO of Microsoft since 2014. Under his cloud-first leadership Microsoft became one of the world's most valuable companie...

Japanese tennis player and four-time Grand Slam champion. First Asian to hold the world No.1 ranking in women's singles ...

Former and future Prime Minister of Malaysia. Architect of Malaysia's economic transformation. Led the country for 22 ye...

Martial artist, actor and philosopher who became one of the most influential people of the 20th century. Transformed Asi...

Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Dedicated her life to democracy in Myanmar. International symbol of peaceful resistance....

Japan's most internationally celebrated author. Works include Norwegian Wood, Kafka on the Shore and 1Q84. Perennial Nob...

British actor who rose to global fame in Slumdog Millionaire at 18. BAFTA nominated for Slumdog and Lion. Now also a dir...

Director of Bend It Like Beckham. OBE for services to film. Champion of South Asian storytelling in global cinema....

Co-creator of Goodness Gracious Me and The Kumars at No. 42. Acclaimed novelist and playwright. One of the most influent...

The greatest wicket-taker in cricket history — 800 Test wickets and 534 ODI wickets. Both records remain unbroken....

Sri Lanka's greatest batsman. Over 12,000 Test runs. His Cowdrey Lecture at Lord's was widely praised as one of cricket'...

One of cricket's greatest captains. Led India to all three ICC trophies: T20 World Cup (2007), ODI World Cup (2011), Cha...

The greatest squash player of all time. Unbeaten in 555 consecutive matches. Six World Open titles. Ten British Open tit...

British world champion boxer. Silver medallist at Athens 2004 aged 17. WBA and IBF light-welterweight world champion....

The Turbaned Tornado. Completed the Toronto Waterfront Marathon aged 100. The world's oldest marathon runner....

Founder of Cobra Beer and peer of the realm. Chancellor of the University of Birmingham. Chair of the Asian Awards judgi...

Chairman and CEO of ArcelorMittal — the world's largest steel company. Built a global empire through bold acquisitions o...

Founder of Serum Institute of India — the world's largest vaccine manufacturer by doses. Delivering affordable vaccines ...

CEO of PepsiCo from 2006-2018. One of the few women to lead a Fortune 50 company. Revenue grew 80% under her leadership....

The Hinduja Group — one of the world's largest conglomerates. Operations across banking, media, oil, power and automotiv...

Founder of Amstrad. Life peer and one of Britain's most recognisable entrepreneurs. Star of BBC's The Apprentice....

One of the most recognised entertainers in the world. Actor, director and stuntman with a six-decade career. Honorary Ac...

Lead vocalist of the Pussycat Dolls — one of the bestselling girl groups in history. Global record sales exceeding 54 mi...

One of Bollywood's most celebrated character actors with 500+ film credits. Also appeared in Hollywood productions....

One of the most gifted actors of his generation. Slumdog Millionaire, Life of Pi, The Amazing Spider-Man, Jurassic World...

Canadian stand-up comedian of Indian heritage. One of the most globally recognised comedians. Pioneer of Asian comedy in...

First British Asian to top the US Billboard Hot 100 with Down in 2009. A landmark for Asian music in America....

Singer-songwriter and daughter of Ravi Shankar. Come Away With Me sold 26 million copies and won eight Grammys including...

British novelist of Pakistani heritage. My Beautiful Laundrette and The Buddha of Suburbia are landmark works of British...

Actress and comedian. Zainab Masood in EastEnders. Core cast member of Goodness Gracious Me. Beloved British Asian telev...

Co-creator of Goodness Gracious Me and The Kumars at No. 42. Stars in BBC's Unforgotten. OBE for services to drama....

Founder of China Club and Shanghai Tang. Wit, socialite and unique bridge between Eastern and Western cultures....

Founder of Biocon — India's largest biopharmaceutical company. One of India's most admired self-made businesswomen....

Former Chairman of ICBC — the world's largest bank by assets. Under his leadership ICBC expanded to 40+ countries....

Japanese Formula 1 driver celebrated for spectacular overtaking. A pioneering figure for Asian talent in global motorspo...

CEO of Alphabet and Google. Born in Chennai. Studied at IIT Kharagpur, Stanford and Wharton. One of tech's most powerful...

Chinese basketball icon at 7'6". Greatest Asian player in NBA history. Now President of the Chinese Basketball Associati...

First Asian to win a Grand Slam singles title — French Open 2011, Australian Open 2014. Tennis Hall of Fame 2019....

Indian badminton champion. First Indian to win an Olympic medal in badminton. Former world No.1....

Six-time World Amateur Boxing champion. Olympic bronze 2012. One of the most celebrated women's boxers in history....

Five-time Chess World Champion. One of the greatest players in history. Awarded the Padma Vibhushan....

Golfer of Thai heritage. 15 Major titles. Transformed golf into a global sport and inspired generations of Asian athlete...

Korean rapper whose Gangnam Style became the first YouTube video to reach one billion views. Opened the world to K-pop....

Actress, writer and producer of Indian heritage. Created and starred in The Mindy Project. Writer on The Office....

One of the greatest directors in Indian cinema. Deewar, Silsila, Chandni, Darr, Veer-Zaara. Founder of Yash Raj Films....

Eight-division world boxing champion. The only boxer to win titles in eight different weight divisions....

BBC News anchor. One of the first South Asian heritage journalists to present BBC News at Six. Beloved broadcaster....

The Shehenshah of Bollywood. Over 190 films across five decades. Dadasaheb Phalke Award. National icon....

The Nightingale of India. Over seven decades of playback singing. Recorded in 36 languages. Bharat Ratna recipient....

Born Farrokh Bulsara to Indian Parsi parents. Lead vocalist of Queen. Bohemian Rhapsody. One of the greatest performers ...

One of Bollywood's most iconic actresses. Legendary performances in Umrao Jaan, Silsila and Do Anjaane....

Two of India's most celebrated fashion designers. Masters of Indian textile arts and Bollywood costume design....

Former President of China (2003-2013). Oversaw China's rise to become the world's second-largest economy....

Former Premier of China (2003-2013). Known as Grandpa Wen for his reputation for grassroots engagement....

President of Afghanistan (2004-2014). Led reconstruction of Afghanistan through turbulent international engagement....

President of Pakistan (2008-2013). Led Pakistan through democratic transition after the Benazir Bhutto era....

Former Prime Minister of Japan. Led Japan's response to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, tsunami and Fukushima disaster....

14th President of the Philippines (2001-2010). Economist and political leader. Oversaw strong economic growth....

17th President of South Korea (2008-2013). Known as the Bulldozer. Oversaw South Korea's post-financial-crisis recovery....

British singer of Pakistani heritage and member of One Direction. First British Asian to chart at No.1 in UK and US simu...

Author, actress and comedian. Anita and Me. Goodness Gracious Me. One of Britain's most beloved Asian voices....

Longest-serving female Blue Peter presenter. Champion of digital literacy and creative education....

TV presenter and stylist. How to Look Good Naked. National champion of body confidence and self-acceptance....

India's most decorated tennis player. 18 Grand Slam doubles titles. Seven consecutive Olympic Games — most for any India...

One of India's most celebrated and fearless journalists. NDTV anchor renowned for frontline reporting in conflict zones....

Booker Prize-winning author of The God of Small Things. Celebrated novelist and political activist....

Spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. One of the world's most respected spiritual figures...

The Maestro — master of the sitar who introduced Indian classical music to the world. Father of Norah Jones....

One of the greatest painters of the 20th century. India's Picasso. His works have sold for millions at international auc...

One of the world's greatest conductors. Music Director of the Israel Philharmonic for over 50 years....

Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons. One of the most admired and ethical business leaders in the world....

Co-founder of Infosys. One of the architects of India's IT revolution. Father of Akshata Murty (Rishi Sunak's wife)....

Chairman of Wipro — one of India's largest IT companies. One of the world's most generous philanthropists....

Co-founder of La Petite Maison. One of Britain's most generous philanthropists. Major supporter of Moorfields Eye Hospit...

Chairman of Mahindra Group. One of India's most innovative conglomerates and respected business leaders....

Booker Prize-winning author of Midnight's Children and The Satanic Verses. One of the most celebrated and controversial ...