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Several former and current Westchester residents were listed among Time Magazine’s annual “100 Most Influential People,” which was recently released.
Among the top 100 were 2007 Yorktown High School graduate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bedford resident Glenn Close and Dobbs Ferry native Mark Zuckerberg.
According to the Time Magazine feature, now in its 16th year, “TIME 100 is far more than an annual list of the world’s most influential people. It is, across its more than 1,000 alumni, one of the world’s greatest leadership communities—a unique mix spanning government, business, entertainment, health, sports and science.”
In her excerpt, written by U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the politician highlighted Ocasio-Cortez’s tough upbringing, highlighting when she lost her father to lung cancer and having to help build her family back up from financial struggles.
“Her commitment to putting power in the hands of the people is forged in fire,” Warren wrote. “Coming from a family in crisis and graduating from school with a mountain of debt, she fought back against a rigged system and emerged as a fearless leader in a movement committed to demonstrating what an economy, a planet and a government that works for everyone should look like.”
Oscar-winning director and actor Robert Redford, who met Close in the 1980s on the set of “The Natural,” spoke about his admiration for the actress’ work over several decades, starring in roles such as “Fatal Attraction,” “Dangerous Liaisons” and “The Big Chill.”
“Glenn is a major talent, an actor who is deeply committed to her craft,” Redford wrote. “She doesn’t play roles as much as she transforms herself into them, never allowing her own personality or celebrity to get in the way.”
Zuckerberg - who recently has come under fire as Facebook faces privacy concerns - “may have changed the world more than any living person,” entrepreneur and founding Facebook president Sean Parker stated.
“It’s surprising how little success has changed him. He is still the slightly shy, affable person I met 15 years ago. He can still quote his favorite movies by heart, and he lives in a modest house in Palo Alto, Calif. It’s clearly not power or money that has kept him going—it’s a genuine belief in the potential of Facebook and a sense of responsibility to steward the company in what he believes is the right direction,” he said.
“For many of us, the world that Facebook helped create was the ultimate lesson in unintended consequences. Nobody could have predicted the impact that it would have when billions of people began using it, especially once they had a connected device within reach at all times.”
The complete Time 100 list can be found here.
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