Dr. Yunus Named to TIME’s 100 Most Influential People List

Dr. Muhammad Yunus Named One of TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People

Nobel Peace Prize-winning economist and pioneer of microfinance, Dr. Muhammad Yunus, has been named among the ‘Leaders’ in TIME Magazine’s prestigious list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World for 2025.

Currently serving as the Chief Advisor to the Interim Government of Bangladesh, Dr. Yunus has been recognized not only for his groundbreaking work in the economic sector but also as a symbol of social change and humanitarian leadership. His selection comes at a pivotal moment in Bangladesh’s history, following the student- and people-led mass uprising of July-August 2024. In the wake of that national call for democratic reform, Dr. Yunus emerged as a guiding force, offering the promise of transparent, accountable, and humane leadership.

TIME Magazine highlights Dr. Yunus’s global impact through the Grameen Bank, a model that has transformed access to credit for millions, particularly women, and has inspired microfinance initiatives across the globe.

In a tribute written by former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Dr. Yunus is lauded not only as an economist but as a beacon of hope for the world’s most marginalized communities.

“He has not only brought about an economic revolution,” Clinton wrote, “but has also lit a light of hope in the lives of the world’s marginalized people. Now he is once again playing a crucial role in Bangladesh’s democratic transition. He is freeing Bangladesh from the shadow of oppression, restoring human rights, establishing accountability, and laying the foundation for a just and free society.”

Dr. Yunus’s inclusion on the TIME 100 list affirms his enduring influence on global development and his renewed leadership at a historic turning point for Bangladesh.