Time reveals shortlist for 2023 Person of the Year

Time magazine has revealed the shortlist for its 2023 Person of the Year.

On 4 December, the magazine announced the nine candidates on the shortlist for the title this year. As part of the annual tradition, Time chooses from a “selection of the individual, group, or concept that has had the most influence on the world throughout the previous 12 months,” as noted by the publication.

The candidates range from famous faces in the entertainment industry to leaders in the political world. For example, the Hollywood strikers are in the running, after both the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG)-AFTRA were on strike this year.

Taylor Swift is another candidate up for the 2023 title, amid her ongoing shows for her Eras Tour, which started in March of this year. The news comes two months after she released her Eras Tour movie, which surpassed $100m globally in advance ticket sales, one week before it came out.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is also on the shortlist, as he entered his term as the President of the People’s Republic of China earlier this year. He’s continued to be known as one of China’s most powerful leaders since 2013. According to Time, he’s been featured on its TIME100 list, “which honours the 100 most influential global figures, more than 10 times”.

King Charles III is also on the shortlist for Time’s Person of the Year, after officially becoming the monarch of the UK during his coronation in May. He was not only also in the running for the title last year, but his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, received the honour in 1952.

The live-action Barbie movie, which came out in July, is up for the 2023 Person of the Year. The movie – which was directed by Greta Gerwig and starred Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling – was one of the most highly-anticipated films of the year, with $155 million in ticket sales from North American theatres during the film’s opening weekend.

Vladimir Putin’s influence has put him on the shortlist for the title this year as well, as the Russian President’s war in Ukraine has continued.

Trump prosecutors are another candidate on Time’s shortlist after Donald Trump became the first US President to be indicted this year. In 2023, he was formally charged with a string of federal charges relating to the storage of classified national defence documents dating from his presidency at his Mar-a-Lago mansion in Palm Beach, Florida.

Entrepreneur Sam Altman is up for the title due to his influence in the tech world as the founder of OpenAI. His company is the one that founded ChatGPT – which has had a growing impact on technology today.

American attorney Jerome Powell is also on the shortlist for Time’s annual tradition. He’s been serving on the 16th chair of the Federal Reserve since 2018, and has continued to help move the economy toward easing inflation. He’s been an advocate for “soft landing,” in which the Federal Reserve manages to curb inflation without causing a recession.

The annual Person of the Year title dates back to 1927, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy named as 2022’s Person of the Year. The year before that, the honour was given to SpaceX founder Elon Musk.

The 2023 Person of the Year will be announced on 6 December 2023.