(From left) Chung Eui-sun, Hyundai Motor Group chairman; Jensen Huang, Nvidia chief executive; Lee Jae-yong, Samsung Electronics chairman. CEO Jensen Huang speaks at the GeForce Gamer Festival at COEX K-POP Square in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on October 30, 2025. /Courtesy of Pool Reporting

The British daily Financial Times (FT) on the 5th selected and announced 25 people who wielded influence this year.

Nvidia Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang and Michelle Kang, a Korean American businesswoman who is chair of Olympique Lyon, made the list.

CEO Jensen Huang earned high marks for growing Nvidia into the central corporations of the AI infrastructure ecosystem on the strength of graphics processing units (GPUs), which have become the standard chips of the artificial intelligence (AI) era.

Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO, who wrote a recommendation for him, said, "Jensen was early to have conviction about a new computing architecture and, by betting all of Nvidia on that vision, laid the foundation for the remarkable digital intelligence we enjoy today."

He added, "What's more remarkable is how he has realized that vision," noting "deep technical insight, relentless drive and a firm commitment to invest in infrastructure with a long-term view."

Michelle Kang, Olympique Lyon chairman / Screenshot from U.S. Soccer's X account /Courtesy of U.S. Soccer

Also on the list, Chair Michelle Kang is a Korean American entrepreneur who founded the healthcare IT corporations Cognizant. Focusing on the women's soccer industry, she acquired several women's professional soccer clubs. Starting with the Washington Spirit of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in February 2022, she went on to acquire London City Lionesses of the English Women's Championship (second division) and Olympique Lyon Féminin in 2023 and is operating them.

Chelsea Clinton, vice chair of the Clinton Foundation and daughter of former U.S. President Bill Clinton, said in a recommendation, "With each investment in a club, Michelle saw what others overlooked and that women's sports are a growth industry, not a cause," adding, "Michelle is rewriting the formula for success and shows that investment in women is never a gamble but a win."

Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, Palantir, and Founders Fund, speaks at the Bitcoin 2022 conference at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Florida in April 2022. /Courtesy of AFP-Yonhap

White House Chief of Staff Suzy Wiles, BYD Global Executive Vice President Stella Li, New York mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, PayPal and Palantir founder Peter Thiel, golf star Rory McIlroy and actor Jane Fonda were included on FT's list of "people of the year."

FT said it selected people who are changing the world through talent, discovery, ideas and action in politics, business, media, arts and sports.

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