By Robert S. Dieterich - Sep 3, 2013 6:34 PM ET 
Bloomberg Markets Magazine

They shape economies, move markets, do deals -- and change the world. They hold sway by virtue of the money they manage, the companies they control, the policies they enact and the ideas they propound. The people on the third annual 50 Most Influential list, to be published in the October issue of Bloomberg Markets magazine, command attention as masters of the global financial system.

Some work the strings of power in the courtroom or the halls of government, while others campaign for access to education, equal opportunities or the alleviation of poverty. These are people with clout.

To find candidates for our list, we tap the expertise of reporters and editors in 146 Bloomberg News bureaus around the globe. Rankings published in Bloomberg Markets throughout the year help shape our decisions.

Recent achievements count for more than long careers, although Warren Buffett, 83, and Carl Icahn, 77, show that it’s possible to have both. In all, 36 of our 50 are new to the list this year. Only seven -- including Buffett, Lloyd Blankfein, Jamie Dimon and Larry Fink -- have been on it all three years.

We’ve grouped our influencers into five categories: Bankers, Policy Makers, Money Managers, Corporate Power Brokers and Thinkers. As in prior years, we excluded heads of government from the Policy Makers rubric, favoring instead the cabinet officials, regulators and central bankers who actually make things happen.

THINKERS

Michael Mann PROFESSOR Pennsylvania State University Mann, 47, and colleagues are the climate scientists who brought the world the so-called hockey stick graph, showing a sharp rise in global temperatures in the last century. He responds to climate change deniers on his RealClimate blog. 

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