Fortune: “How do you measure power, exactly? Revenue alone doesn’t define it, nor does seniority. Who is more powerful: the CEO who oversees a $20 billion enterprise? Or the AI genius who leaves that bureaucratic behemoth to found a nimble, paradigm-shifting startup? The farsighted venture capitalist who inks a term sheet to fund said startup? Or the feared short-seller who bets against the aging tech giant and forces out the CEO? The answer varies from day to day. Power is nuanced. It’s hard-won and easily lost. It’s never static. What you’ll find on this list: leaders from 40 industries, ranging in age from their 30s to their 90s. You’ll come across very recognizable founders, chief executives of great businesses, disrupters, and innovators. What you won’t find: fossilized billionaires who are no longer active in business; nor will you find politicians, regulators, or seconds-in-command. In the end, the people who earned places on the Most Powerful People list share a vital trait: Their words, deeds, and wealth shape what others around them think and do….

#1 Elon Musk may be CEO of Tesla, but his broad vision and engineering intuition have made him a recognized leader across several industries, even if his sometimes callous opinions or the rigid expectations he sets for employees have made him a polarizing figure. This fall, SpaceX—now reportedly valued at $210 billion—performed a historic engineering feat while testing its next-generation rocket Starship. Neuralink, last valued at $8 billion, successfully implanted its brain-computer-interface chip into a human for the first time, enabling a paralyzed man to use a computer mouse with his brain. Some Musk companies have had setbacks, too—whether it be the business struggles of social media site X (formerly known as Twitter), safety issues with Boring Company employees building tunnels in Las Vegas, or federal inquiries into the safety of Tesla’s self-driving software. Meanwhile, Musk has been spending increasing amounts of time focused on politics, becoming one of Donald Trump’s most visible—and largest-contributing—supporters.”