Analysis: Elon Musk Is Latest Corporate Leader To Win Time's Person Of The Year Honors

Monday’s announcement that Tesla Inc. TSLA CEO Elon Musk was named Person of the Year by Time magazine is the latest installment in the publication’s history of singling out corporate leaders for tribute as the individual who had the most profound impact during the course of the year.

Time named record-breaking aviator Charles Lindbergh as its first Person of the Year in 1927. The following year, the magazine began to shine its spotlight on the business world by honoring Walter Chrysler, chief executive of the Chrysler Corporation, for merging his company with Dodge and for coordinating the construction of the innovative Chrysler Building in the heart of New York City.

Following Chrysler, the corporate executives named Person of the Year have included:

Owen D. Young (1929): Young was the founder of Radio Corporation of America (RCA), but Time honored him for developing the Young Plan, a multinational agreement that settled German reparations after World War I.

Harlow Curtice (1955): After Young’s Person of the Year coverage, Time focused on heads of state and political leaders for its annual honors in the years spanning the Depression through the start of the Cold War. By the 1950s, the rise of the automobile culture in the U.S. led the magazine back to the private sector to highlight the career achievements of Curtice, who served as chief executive at General Motors GM from 1953 to 1958.

Peter Ueberroth (1984): Ueberroth had been an executive at Trans International Airlines and founder and chief at First Travel Corporation before he was tapped to run the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. By bringing a businessman’s perspective to the games, Ueberroth pulled off the first privately-financed Olympic Games and returned a profit of nearly $250 million.

Ted Turner (1991): As the founder of CNN, Turner was feted by Time for his network’s wall-to-wall coverage of the U.S.-led invasion of Kuwait.

Andrew Grove (1997): Although Time facetiously named the computer as “Machine of the Year” in 1982, it belatedly began to acknowledge the creativity of high-tech executives with this celebration of the work of Intel Corp. INTC leader Grove.

Jeff Bezos (1999): Amazon.com AMZN founder and CEO Bezos was Time’s last Person of the Year for the 20th century.

George W. Bush (2000 and 2004): While Bush received Time’s cover treatment for his election and re-election as U.S. president, he was no stranger to the corporate world – prior to entering politics, he was the co-owner of the Texas Rangers.

Bill Gates (2005): The Microsoft MSFT co-founder and former-CEO was honored with his then-wife Melinda and U2 frontman Bono as Persons of the Year for their philanthropic and humanitarian endeavors.

Mark Zuckerberg (2010): The Facebook FB leader was ready for his Person of the Year close-up when his social media site bypassed MySpace to become the dominant platform for connecting people and sharing information.

Donald Trump (2016): The Trump Organization CEO’s transition from C-suite to Oval Office was heralded by Time.

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