U.S. Newsmaker

1. Donald Trump

American politician and businessman Donald Trump was elected in 2024 to be the 47th president after having served as the 45th president from 2017 to 2021. Following a presidential campaign beset by unprecedented challenges, including a courtroom trial in New York City and two assassination attempts, Trump achieved victory in both the Electoral College and the national popular vote in November. Ahead of his January inauguration, Trump is already starting to implement his agenda and meeting with world leaders.

2. Joe Biden

President Joe Biden will conclude more than 50 years of public service when he leaves the White House in January 2025. In July, Biden dropped out of the presidential race to make way for Vice President Kamala Harris to become the Democratic nominee. Internationally, his administration oversaw the U.S. response to the ongoing Russia–Ukraine and Israel–Hamas wars. He also imposed tariffs and sanctions to target China's unfair trading practices.

3. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. began his presidential run on the Democratic ticket, before switching to independent. In August, he dropped out of the race and threw his support behind Trump. In November, Trump selected Kennedy to head the Department of Health and Human Services, pending Senate confirmation. The department manages a budget of nearly $2 trillion. Kennedy has been a fierce advocate for vaccine safety and clean food. He has been active in the environmental movement for decades. 

4. Kamala Harris

An American politician and attorney, Vice President Kamala Harris ran an abridged campaign for president after Biden withdrew his reelection campaign in July and endorsed Harris. She formally accepted the Democratic nomination a month later and enjoyed a short bump in the polls, but ultimately lost the election to Trump.

Please rank the nominees in order of importance, with 1 being the most important and 4 being the least important. Use the dropdown menus to assign a rank to each nominee. You may also write in your own nomination below.

International Newsmaker

1. Javier Milei

Economist and politician Javier Milei has served as president of Argentina since 2023. In his first year in office, Milei implemented a series of tough austerity and deregulation measures. Government subsidies for energy and transportation have been slashed, tens of thousands of government employees have been laid off, public infrastructure projects have been cut, and wages and pensions have been frozen. As a result, inflation has decreased from 25 percent a year ago to 2.4 percent last month, and Argentina’s country-risk index has dropped to its lowest point in five years. In January, Argentina had its first monthly surplus in 12 years and maintained that surplus for the next 10 months.

2. Mark Rutte
After becoming the longest-serving Dutch prime minister in history, Mark Rutte took over as NATO secretary-general on Oct. 1. In that role, Rutte is responsible for steering the process of consultation and decision-making in the alliance. In December, Rutte warned that NATO must "shift to a wartime mindset," urging member states to increase military spending, something incoming U.S. President Trump has called for throughout his first presidency and beyond.

3. Claudia Sheinbaum 

A Nobel prize-winning climate scientist, Claudia Sheinbaum won by a landslide in June to become Mexico’s first female president. The 61-year-old former Mexico City mayor garnered the highest vote percentage in the history of Mexico's democracy, with her party securing a supermajority that allows it to pass controversial constitutional reforms. When she took office in October, Sheinbaum immediately announced a package of reforms to require gender parity in government cabinets at the state and federal levels. Her administration has kept the judicial reforms passed under her predecessor. 

4. Narendra Modi

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi won reelection this year, and as of November, he had a 75 percent approval rating, one of the highest among global leaders. Modi, who belongs to the conservative Bharatiya Janata Party, has led the country for a decade. Under Modi, the country has sought a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council, with backing from the United States. 

Innovation Newsmaker

1. Elon Musk

American businessman Elon Musk is the CEO of Tesla; founder of SpaceX, Starlink, and the Boring Company; cofounder of Neuralink, and owner of social media platform X. In 2024, SpaceX made a significant breakthrough by using metal pincers to catch the 233-foot booster rocket of its Starship upon its descent. Neuralink, meanwhile, saw its first clinical trial with a patient who had a chip implanted in their brain. As of Dec. 15, Musk is the wealthiest person in the world, with a net worth of $486 billion.

2. Jen-Hsun 'Jensen' Huang

Jensen Huang is the founder, president, and CEO of Nvidia, the world's largest semiconductor company and the leader in artificial intelligence computing. In 2024, the demand for graphics processing units (GPUs), which are crucial for powering AI applications across industries, continues to grow at a rapid rate. Nvidia dominates the GPU market, with approximately 80 percent of market share. Huang’s net worth is estimated to be $114 billion, making him the 15th-richest person in the world.

3. Sam Altman

An American entrepreneur and investor, Sam Altman is best known as CEO of OpenAI, an American artificial intelligence research firm. The development of AI has rapidly reshaped industries, while also sparking debate on its ethical and societal impacts.

4. Mads Krogsgaard

Danish scientist and businessman Mads Krogsgaard is head of R&D and chief scientific officer at the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, which produces diabetes and weight-loss medications Ozempic and Wegovy. Krogsgaard played a key role in the development of the drugs. In March, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded the approved use of Wegovy to treat overweight adults with cardiovascular disease.

Please rank the nominees in order of importance, with 1 being the most important and 4 being the least important. Use the dropdown menus to assign a rank to each nominee. You may also write in your own nomination below

Sports Newsmaker

1. Novak Djokovic

Serbian professional tennis player Novak Djokovic has won 24 Grand Slam men's singles titles and is considered by many to be the greatest of all time. In August, Djokovic won the Olympic gold medal in the men's singles, becoming the oldest Olympic champion in the game. With this win, he became the only player to achieve both the career Super Slam and career Golden Slam. In 2024, Djokovic also broke the record for the most Grand Slam wins and most Grand Slam quarterfinals.

2. Katie Ledecky

American swimmer Katie Ledecky is widely regarded as the most successful female swimmer of all time. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Ledecky won gold in both the 1,500-meter freestyle and 800-meter freestyle events. She is also the world record-holder in both categories. In her career, she has won nine Olympic gold medals and 21 world championship gold medals, the most in history for a female swimmer.

3. Caitlin Clark

Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) star Caitlin Clark thrust the league into the spotlight in 2024 after years of small audiences compared to its NBA counterpart. Clark, 22, was selected out of the University of Iowa by the Indiana Fever as the top overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft after having the greatest women’s college basketball season in history, setting a new NCAA Division I scoring record. Known for her heart-shaped gesture after games, Clark led the Fever to a .500 record and its first playoff berth since 2017, after a slow start to the season. 

4. Simone Biles

One of the greatest Olympians of all time, gymnast Simone Biles has won 11 Olympic medals, seven of them gold. She also has 23 World Championships. Known for her routines that leave fans in awe, Biles, 27, made an Olympic comeback in 2024 after opting out of the women’s all-around final in the 2020 Olympics for mental health reasons. In the Paris Olympics, Biles won three gold medals and one silver medal. 

Please rank the nominees in order of importance, with 1 being the most important and 4 being the least important. Use the dropdown menus to assign a rank to each nominee. You may also write in your own nomination below.