World's Most Influential People

From politicians and authors, to tech titans and entrepreneurs, to entertainers and athletes, Time's 2012 list of the world's 100 most influential people contains a little bit of everything. A sampling:

• Mitt Romney: President Obama makes the list, of course, but so do GOP challengers Romney and Ron Paul. In Romney's entry, Bain & Co. CEO Bill Bain tells a story about how, even though he had to help his wife with their five kids and visit sick church members, Romney still managed to beat his boss to work each morning.
• Tim Cook: "It is difficult to imagine a harder challenge than following the legendary Steve Jobs as CEO of Apple. Yet Tim Cook … hasn't missed a single beat," writes Al Gore.

• Warren Buffett: Obama himself lauds Buffet, calling him "not just one of the world's richest men but also one of the most admired and respected. He has devoted the vast majority of his wealth to those around the world who are suffering, or sick, or in need of help."
• Anonymous: The hacker collective has proved its ability to infiltrate even the most secure networks. So did it fix Time's poll? "Depends who you think is smarter, a global collective of highly skilled hackers or the Time IT department."
• Jeremy Lin: The basketball player's story "debunks and defangs so many of the prejudices and stereotypes that unfairly hold children back," writes Arne Duncan.
• Adele: "Turn on any radio station in the world and you will probably hear Adele," writes fellow one-named singer Pink. "Go to Mars right now and I'm pretty sure if there is life on that planet, they're playing Adele. And for good reason."

Click for the full list. (More Mitt Romney stories.)