--- title: How We Chose the 2020 TIME100 List description: TIME's editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal explains the selection process for this year's list of the 100 most influential people. canonical: https://time.com/5891201/how-we-chose-time100-2020/ author: Edward Felsenthal article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2020-09-23T02:03:11.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:38:14.858Z article:section: World og:title: How We Chose the 2020 TIME100 og:description: TIME's editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal explains the selection process fo this year's list of the 100 most influential people og:url: https://time.com/5891201/how-we-chose-time100-2020/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltef587e3524100c22/698a1277929fade634bf6949/2020TIME100_GRID_16x9.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 2020TIME100_GRID_16x9 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How We Chose the 2020 TIME100 twitter:description: TIME's editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal explains the selection process fo this year's list of the 100 most influential people twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltef587e3524100c22/698a1277929fade634bf6949/2020TIME100_GRID_16x9.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How We Chose the 2020 TIME100 > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: TIME100 | See Everyone on the 2020 TIME100 List [Watch (HLS stream): TIME100 | See Everyone on the 2020 TIME100 List](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/vwNnhgWk.m3u8) (0:58)  _Published 2020-09-23. See every member of the 2020 TIME100 list in one minute_  by [Edward Felsenthal](https://time.com/author/edward-felsenthal/)  ## Edward Felsenthal Felsenthal is the Executive Chairman and former Editor in Chief of TIME. Sep 23, 2020 2:03 AM UTC  Fauci: Stefan Ruiz for TIME; Garza, Tometi and Cullors: Photograph by Kayla Reefer for TIME; O'Sullivan: Paola Kudacki for TIME; Megan Thee Stallion: Dana Scruggs for TIME; Pichai: Paola Kudacki for TIME; The Weeknd: Nabil Elderkin for TIME; Wade and Union: Texas Isaiah for TIME; Tsai: Nhu Xuan Hua for TIME  by [Edward Felsenthal](https://time.com/author/edward-felsenthal/)  ## Edward Felsenthal Felsenthal is the Executive Chairman and former Editor in Chief of TIME. Sep 23, 2020 2:03 AM UTC We’ve been doing the [TIME 100 list](https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2020/) of the world’s most influential people for nearly 20 years. But there has never been a year like this. A year of multiple crises, all over the world, all at once. And so this year’s list looks far different than any of us could have predicted just six months ago. The TIME 100 has always been a mirror of the world and those who shape it. While you will certainly find people who wield traditional power on this year’s list—heads of state, CEOs, major entertainers—it also includes many extraordinary, lesser-known individuals who seized the moment to save lives, build a movement, lift the spirit, repair the world. There are, for example, a record number of doctors, nurses and scientists. Among them: German infectious-disease specialist [Camilla Rothe](https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888186/camilla-rothe), who helped document that this coronavirus could be transmitted by people without symptoms; Chinese researcher [Zhang Yongzhen](https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888191/zhang-yongzhen/), who mapped in less than 40 hours the [genomic sequence of SARS-CoV-2](https://time.com/5882918/zhang-yongzhen-interview-china-coronavirus-genome/) and was the first to share it publicly; New York nurse [Amy O’Sullivan](https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888224/amy-osullivan/), who treated t[he first patient to die from COVID-19 in the state](https://time.com/wyckoff-hospital-brooklyn-coronavirus/), contracted the virus herself and was back at work within a few weeks; and of course [Anthony Fauci,](https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888309/anthony-fauci/) who became in many ways America’s doctor. The list also includes many activists fighting for equality, including [Black Lives Matter founders](https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888228/black-lives-matter-founders) [Alicia Garza](https://time.com/5867282/alicia-garza-black-lives-matter-biden/), [Patrisse Cullors](https://time.com/5171270/black-lives-matter-patrisse-cullors/) and [Opal Tometi](https://time.com/4463742/opal-tometi-american-voices/), who helped build an international movement for racial justice; and [Arussi Unda](https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888264/arussi-unda/), a feminist leader who helped spearhead a national strike in Mexico to protest gender violence. Fifty-four of the people on the list are women, more than ever before. Not only were many of the biggest grassroots movements of the year led by women, so were many of the world’s most effective responses to [COVID- 19](https://time.com/5820118/coronavirus-questions-answered/). As [Texas Senator Ted Cruz](https://time.com/tag/ted-cruz/) writes of [Tsai Ing-wen](https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888307/tsai-ing-wen/), the President of Taiwan, where [fewer than a dozen people (out of 23 million residents)](https://time.com/collection/finding-hope-coronavirus-pandemic/5820596/taiwan-coronavirus-lessons/) have died of the virus, “the virus can be controlled—without emulating China’s drastic policies.” [**SEE THE FULL LIST**](https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2020/) As a rule, the TIME 100 focuses on the living, but looming large over this year’s list is the impact of individuals such as [Ahmaud Arbery](https://time.com/5832731/ahmaud-arbery-shooting-georgia-murder/), [George Floyd](https://time.com/5847967/george-floyd-protests-trump/), [Breonna Taylor](https://time.com/5852654/breonna-taylor-police-killing-louisville/) and [Tony McDade](https://www.motherjones.com/crime-justice/2020/05/tony-mcdade-tallahassee-florida-police-shooting-death/), whose killings galvanized a reckoning around [police brutality and systemic racism](https://time.com/5851855/systemic-racism-america/); [Aimee Stephens](https://time.com/5834375/aimee-stephens-trans-activist-dies/), whose case led to a historic Supreme Court decision protecting the rights of LGBTQ Americans; and [Li Wenliang](https://time.com/5779678/li-wenliang-coronavirus-china-doctor-death/), the Wuhan physician who tried in vain to warn Chinese officials about the [coronavirus](https://time.com/5870481/coronavirus-origins/) and later died of it. The issue also includes a memorial to [Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://time.com/5660188/ruth-bader-ginsburg-dies/), including the tribute that [fellow Justice Antonin Scalia wrote](https://time.com/3823889/ruth-bader-ginsburg-2015-time-100/) when she was on the [TIME 100 in 2015](https://time.com/collection/2015-time-100/). With our staff still working remotely, the process of putting together this year’s TIME 100 was also unlike anything we’ve ever experienced. Led by TIME 100 editorial director Dan Macsai, it is the result of many hundreds of Zooms and Google Meets among many dozens of our global staff, as well as recommendations by TIME 100 alumni. “We see the TIME 100 as more than a list,” says Macsai. “It’s a community of hundreds of leaders from across the years and around the world whose visions can guide us and whose achievements can bring us hope.” We invite you to be part of the TIME 100 community as well, through our regular [TIME 100 Talks series](https://time.com/collection/time100-talks/) and other special events. You can sign up for regular updates at [time.com/talks-email](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/newsletter%5Fopt-in?qs=3a19a0aa35903a2d9f214b74f69a3791323835749bff933a61acc998b5c69b727f28c24a1bc13e30ae95d361ff3d747d3c7615f0d008c896df15c5f7d849815334bb837eb55ef5c0) This is a year of unimaginable challenges, but it is also an opportunity to re-evaluate and rebuild. I hope you’re as inspired as I am by the extraordinary TIME 100 community. Their work challenges each of us to wield our own influence toward a world that is healthier, more resilient, more sustainable and just. [_Buy a print of the TIME100 covers._](https://timecoverstore.com/collections/time100+2020+honorees) [**SEE THE FULL LIST**](https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2020/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5891201/how-we-chose-time100-2020/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5891201/how-we-chose-time100-2020/"},"headline":"How We Chose the 2020 TIME100","datePublished":"2020-09-23T02:03:11.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:38:14.858Z","description":"TIME's editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal explains the selection process fo this year's list of the 100 most influential people","url":"https://time.com/5891201/how-we-chose-time100-2020/","keywords":["TIME 100","T100 2020"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltef587e3524100c22/698a1277929fade634bf6949/2020TIME100_GRID_16x9.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Edward Felsenthal","jobTitle":"Felsenthal is the Executive Chairman and former Editor in Chief of TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/edward-felsenthal/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltef587e3524100c22/698a1277929fade634bf6949/2020TIME100_GRID_16x9.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"2020TIME100_GRID_16x9","caption":"","creditText":"Fauci: Stefan Ruiz for TIME; Garza, Tometi and Cullors: Photograph by Kayla Reefer for TIME; O'Sullivan: Paola Kudacki for TIME; Megan Thee Stallion: Dana Scruggs for TIME; Pichai: Paola Kudacki for TIME; The Weeknd: Nabil Elderkin for TIME; Wade and Union: Texas Isaiah for TIME; Tsai: Nhu Xuan Hua for TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-100/","name":"TIME 100"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5891201/how-we-chose-time100-2020/","name":"How We Chose the 2020 TIME100"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"TIME100 | See Everyone on the 2020 TIME100 List","description":"See every member of the 2020 TIME100 list in one minute","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/vwNnhgWk/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2020-09-23T01:37:12.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/vwNnhgWk.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5891201/how-we-chose-time100-2020/","duration":"PT58S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5891201/how-we-chose-time100-2020/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```