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Who are the 100 most influential people in the world? Its more complicated than you think
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Time just released it's annual list of the 100 most influential people. Here's who made the cut. - photo by Brittany Binowski
Time recently released its annual list of the world's 100 most influential people.

However, while past lists may have been slightly less controversial, Time says this year's list is a little bit "more complicated."

"In divisive times, it's tempting to nestle in a comfort zone, surrounded by people who look like us, think like us, pray like us, vote like us," Nancy Gibbs wrote for Time magazine. "Yet many of the men and women on this year's list are calling us out, using the technologies that connect us to expand how we see the world."

The list includes polarizing political figures such as Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Donald Trump, Elizabeth Warren, Reince Priebus and Valdimir Putin, as well as other less controversial names such as Emma Stone, Pope Francis and Evan Spiegel.

To create this list of people who are changing the world, Time editors counseled with alumni from previous years. Some alumni even wrote letters as a tribute and testament to the people that made the list this year.

"It's not every day you're working with writers like Taylor Swift, Tim Cook and Mikhail Gorbachev," Time's assistant managing editor Dan Macsai said. "But that's what's so great about the Time 100. It's not just a list of the world's most influential people it's a conversation among them."

This year, Wendi Murdoch praised Ivanka Trump, one of the leading pioneers in this year's installment, for her work advancing women's rights and ending human trafficking. Henry Kissinger praised Jared Kushner for his ability to help a new president navigate the complexities of government.

Check out the others who made the list here.
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