Whole Foods

279 stores in 38 states and Washington, D.C.

We figured this natural-foods chain would make the list, but who knew it would hands-down top it? "It’s the Rolls Royce of healthy eating," says Kate Geagan, a nutritionist in Park City, Utah, and one of our judges. Whole Foods has the whole package—from an extraordinary selection of fresh conventional and organic fruit and vegetables to delicious prepared foods with healthy ingredients and clear labeling. (Most other stores offer mystery meals that may very well be loaded with butter.) And Whole Foods puts a premium on products that are grown or produced locally (read: super-fresh). There’s also hard-to-find grass-fed meats, ready-to-cook organic and free-range chicken, and a well-stocked selection of just-caught seafood. The desserts are pretty good for you: Every item in the bakery is free of artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, preservatives, and trans fats. Our judges also raved about Whole Foods’s snacks, singling out the store’s own dark chocolate, fresh-cut veggies, and nut and seed mixes. Alan Greene, M.D., a Palo Alto, California–based pediatrician and one of our panelists, sums it up best: "The store celebrates great, healthy food from start to finish."

Safeway

1,700-plus stores nationwide

Safeway is the traditional grocer you’re familiar with, but look closer and you’ll see a huge transformation going on. "They now have their own organic brands and a section of locally grown produce," says judge Lisa Pawloski, Ph.D., chair of the department of global and community health at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Besides those organic brands—O Organics for packaged goods (the biggest organic brand in the country) and Eating Right for prepared foods—many of the chain’s redesigned stores have a greatly expanded produce section. Safeway’s specialty items like organic spices and packaged nuts make it a regular stop for judge Dr. Greene. Bonus: Its online Food Flex program analyzes shoppers’ purchases based on metrics like recommended sodium consumption, and then suggests healthier choices. "They’re a major pioneer in this area," says panelist Christine Palumbo, a Chicago-based nutritionist. "It’s like having your own registered dietitian."

Harris Teeter

176 stores in the Southeast

This grocer boasts 600 varieties of fruit and veggies, with a good selection of organic and locally grown items, as well as hard-to-find, nonfarm-raised seafood. But what catapulted it to third place is its breadth of healthy shopping tools. Harris Teeter’s YourWellness For Life program, which was originally created to help employees choose the most nutritious foods, became available to customers in 2006. Part of that initiative is shelf tags that clearly show the nutrients in various foods (an "excellent source of fiber" label means the item contains 20 percent or more of the recommended daily intake; a "good source of fiber" lets you know there’s between 10 percent and 19 percent of the RDI). Plus, a Green Thumb Expert at every store gives hints on choosing and preparing produce.

Trader Joe’s

300-plus stores in 23 states and Washington, D.C.

Shopping at Trader Joe’s is more like going to a specialty-foods store than a chain grocer—you’ll find healthy foods from around the world, all at surprisingly reasonable prices. What you won’t find: bad-for-you mainstream brands. The store’s impressive and delicious store-brand foods contain no artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives, and no MSG, trans fats or genetically modified ingredients. "My daughter loves their Omega Trek Mix With Omega-Fortified Cranberries, and now I do, too!" Palumbo says. Pawloski is just as excited about their organic prepared meals. There are fun healthy surprises, too: instead of sugary cereals, they have good-news alternatives, like fruit-and nut-packed Triple Berry O’s. So why didn’t Trader Joe’s rank higher? The limited selection in most of its stores.

Hannaford

165-plus stores in the Northeast

This chain is relatively small, but Whole Foods should look out—Hannaford is the largest certified-organic supermarket in the region, and in the past two years it has boosted its produce selection to provide more than 50 local and organic products from 200 farms close by. "It’s an impressive amount of local produce, which is not that easy in temperate New England," Geagan notes. But Hannaford’s commitment to healthy foods doesn’t stop there. Its Guiding Stars nutrition-label program makes it a snap to pick out the healthiest fresh and packaged fare: You’ll find one, two, or three stars—with three stars indicating the highest nutritional value—on nearly every item in the store. That means you don’t have to pore over the labels to decide which loaf of bread to buy.

Albertsons

529 stores in the West, owned by SuperValu

Organic food can be expensive, but Albertsons’s house brand, Wild Harvest, typically costs 15 percent less than name-brand organic products. All Wild Harvest items—including whole wheat pastas, soy milk, cereals, meats, and poultry—eschew artificial preservatives, colorings, sweeteners, and flavorings; hydrogenated and cottonseed oils; and phosphates and chlorine. Our judges loved the chain’s Healthy Eaters program, which lets kids tour the store with a registered dietitian. And this month, Albertsons introduces the Nutrition iQ program, which uses simple color-coded labels to highlight nutritional benefits.

Food Lion

1,300 stores in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic

This mega-chain is owned by the same company as Hannaford and has taken some healthy cues from its smaller sister: It stocks organic fruits and vegetables (though not as many local items as the top chains), has its own natural-foods brand, Nature’s Place, and also uses the Guiding Stars nutrition-labeling system. But it’s Food Lion’s boutique offshoot, Bloom (61 stores in North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, and Virginia), that’s leading the way for the entire chain. "Their produce is fresh and smells wonderful," Pawloski says. Bloom also boasts kiosks that provide nutrition info and healthy recipes that can be printed in-store.

Publix Super Markets

952 stores in the Southeast

Publix scores high for making healthy eating a family affair. Pregnant moms can sign up for the Publix Baby Club and receive coupons and a news letter about infants’ developing needs. The Preschool Pals program for 2- to 4-year-olds provides kids with fun free CD-ROMs and e-mails that teach nutrition and safety. And its free FamilyStyle magazine has simple tips on cooking family dinners fast. The store’s own brand, GreenWise, features fresh and packaged natural and organic foods. And like Food Lion, Publix has launched an offshoot store that focuses on natural and organic foods—Publix GreenWise Market (currently only in Florida). Our judges also couldn’t stop talking about Publix’s At Season’s Peak program, which points customers to the produce that’s most in season. "It helps shoppers choose food when it’s freshest and most nutritious," says panelist Frances Largeman-Roth, Health’s senior food and nutrition editor.

Pathmark

141 stores in the mid-Atlantic

Pathmark doesn’t make a big deal out of its commitment to buying from area farms and producers, but it is in fact the largest retailer of locally grown produce in the Northeast, stocking area finds like Long Island corn on the cob. It also provides a welcome incentive to eat right: The company’s Live Better! Wellness Club includes discounts of up to 15 percent on fresh-cut fruit and veggies. And if you never know what the heck to make for dinner, here’s a perk you’ll appreciate: You can go online and get creative and healthy menu ideas, courtesy of Pathmark’s resident registered dietitian, Jacqueline Gomes.

SuperTarget

239 stores in 21 states, primarily Texas and Florida

Tar-jay, a healthy grocer? Yep. These Targets with minimarkets offer good-news brands like Kashi, Quaker, Sahale Snacks, and Barbara’s, plus a limited amount of organic dairy items and produce. And you’ll also find inexpensive, high-quality house brands like Market Pantry (cooking staples, etc.) and the trans fat–free Archer Farms (which includes baked goods, appetizers, and snacks)—and this makes it easier for shoppers to stock up for less.

Author: Health.com

Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints

You probably could’ve guessed this by the picture, and I know I’m contradicting myself, as the Saints missed the playoffs, but this guy was just great.

Brees had the second-most yards in a season of all time, leading this year, with 5,069. His 34 touchdowns also led the league. Brees had a ridiculous 66 passes for more than 20 yards, and also led in 40+ yard passes with 16.

Consider who he had to work with; Colston, Shockey, and Bush all missed significant parts of the year, and Henderson had a down year. This guy is just ridiculous.

All these stats make Brees by far and away the best QB of 2008.

Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts

Peyton had the third-highest completion percentage in the league, at 66.8 percent, and was sixth in yards with 4,002. He recovered from a really slow start to lead the Colts to a nine-game winning streak, and had 27 touchdowns, fifth-best in the league. He had a good TD-to-INT ratio, at 27:12. He had a rating of 95.0.

Another main reason he is ahead of Warner; Manning has some MVP buzz around him, Warner, not so much. Manning led this offense, on a down year to say the least for Joseph Addai, and helped them to a 12-4 record. They are, in my opinion, the second-best team in the AFC, behind only the Steelers.

Kurt Warner, Arizona Cardinals

Warner was second in the league in yards, with 4,583, and had the third-most touchdowns with 30. His 14 picks helped him to a 96.9 QB rating.

Why, then, you ask, he is only number three? Well, he had two of the best receivers in the league to work with in Fitzgerald and Boldin, and, he played for the Cardinals. The Cards, who are worse than their 9-7 record suggests, are not a great team, and that moves Warner behind Peyton.

Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers

Throw away the record, this team is dangerous, and it’s not because of LT’s worst year, but because of Rivers.

He was fifth in yards, with 4,009, and tied for first in touchdowns with 34. His 11 interceptions gives him the best TD-to-INT ratio at 34:11. He’s third in the league with 12 40+ yard throws, and essentially led this team to the playoffs single-handedly. He also had a 105.5 QB rating, the most by 8.1.

And what did Rivers have to work with? Chambers and Gates were both injured for parts of the year. Rivers definitely deserves this spot, if not higher.

Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons

His numbers aren’t so flashy, but this rookie QB took his team from the lowest of lows, following the Vick incident, to the highest of highs, 11-5, and a very winnable playoff game at Arizona.

He was 13th in the league in yards, and only 16th in TD’s, but only had 11 INT’s. But what he did alone gives him this spot, and, one must also factor in that he is a rookie.

Chad Pennington, Miami Dolphins

Pennington had the second-highest QB rating in the league, with a 97.4 rating. He took the Dolphins from rags to riches, going 11-5, winning the AFC East, and hosting a playoff game this week.

Pennington had the lowest picks of all QB’s who started the entire season, with seven, and had just one lost fumble. That is astonishing, considering the team he had to work with went 1-15 last year.

Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia Eagles

Remember how recently everyone was saying McNabb was done, be a backup, and would never play in Philly again? Well now that they are in the playoffs, all but that last statement are very wrong.

He had the seventh-most yards, 3,916, and eighth-most TD’s, 23. He only had 11 picks, and had the third-most passes for 20+ yards with 52, and the fifth-most of 40+ with 11.

Jay Cutler, Denver Broncos

This may be surprising to most, seeing Cutler this far down on the list, but to me, one of the most important stats is if your team is playoff-bound, which Denver, 8-8, failed to do, losing their last three.

Cutler finished third in the league in yards, having 4,526, but threw just seven more TD’s than INT’s. Cutler did have seventh-best 25 touchdowns, but had the second-most interceptions, only behind Brett Favre, with 18.

Matt Cassel, New England Patriots

Another first-year starter, and another QB who failed to lead his team to the playoffs. But Cassel’s situation is much different. He led the Pats to an 11-5 record, and he wasn’t even the starter Week One. He had to fill in for the injured Tom Brady, and had to start for the first time since high school.

Cassel finished the year eighth in yards, with 3,693, and 10th in touchdowns with 21. Cassel only threw 11 picks, but was sacked an NFL-leading 47 times.

Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers

Rodgers lost a lot of ground because his Green Bay Packers went 6-10, not an attractive record. However, he still gets this spot for putting up very solid numbers, especially for a first-time starter.

Rodgers had the fourth-most yards in the league, with 4,038. He threw 28 touchdowns, also fourth-best in the league, and only 13 interceptions. He ended the year with a QB rating of just under 94, with a 93.8.

Yes, the 6-10 weighs him down, but you have to remember, this guy is starting his first year, having backed up none other than Brett Favre.

Author: BleacherReport.com

Jacksonville Jaguars

Green Bay Packers

Cleveland Browns

Buffalo Bills

Detroit Lions

Author: Fox Sports

Sweden

Norway

Iceland

Netherlands

Denmark

Finland

New Zealand

Switzerland

Luxembourg

Australia

Canada

Ireland

Germany

Austria

Spain

Author: Economist.com

Quo Vadis?

Designed by Reiner Knizia; published by Mayfair Games; 3 to 5 players; ages 12 and up.

Who can best influence outcomes in the Roman Senate? The answer to that question will determine the winner of this game. You try to maneuver your politicians through the committee structure and into the best positions. But along the way, you have to help other players because you need them to help you win the all-important prestige points.

Werewolf / Mafia

Designed by Dimitry Davidoff; public domain game; 8 or more players; ages 8 and up.

This is a public domain game, great for large groups. Two players are the werewolves (or hitmen in the version known as Mafia), and the rest of the players are trying to discover who they are and kill them before it’s too late. Votes are taken each round to see who lives and who dies. The fun factor seems to grow for Werewolf the later into the night it gets played.

Democrazy

Designed by Bruno Faidutti; published by Descartes Editeur; 4 to 10 players; ages 12 and up.

The rules can change throughout this game, but only if enough players support a particular proposal. Democrazy is perhaps best described as a wild ride, and some people won’t like it because there’s too much chaos. But if you and your friends enjoy light games that are more about the experience than the substance, consider Democrazy.

The Big Idea

Designed by James Ernest; published by Cheapass Games; 3 to 6 players; ages 10 and up.

You challenge in this game is to combine adjectives and nouns (e.g. "evil pants") and then convince other players to invest in (or vote for) your products. Meanwhile, you have to invest your venture capital wisely in order to accumulate wealth. The Big Idea brings plenty of laughs and incorporates just enough strategy to keep it interesting. Adding new cards to the deck is pretty easy, too.

Nomic

Designed by Peter Suber; self-published; 2 to 10 players; ages 10 and up.

Subtitled "a game of self-amendment," Nomic is another game of constantly changing rules. Invented in 1982, Nomic gives players a set of immutable rules (which essentially cover how to change the rules) and a set of mutable rules. And then they go to it. Email and computer versions are available, and you can also play face to face.

Author: Top15s

Scrabble Folio Edition

The classic word game is available in a deluxe travel edition, with a board that features recessed spaces to hold the letters in place and a cloth bag to carry the tiles.

Chess Travel Edition

A variety of Chess travel editions are available, some of which are very inexpensive. Some of the Chess travel editions also come with a travel version of Checkers, but separate Checkers travel games also are available.

Backgammon Travel Edition

Because it mixes skill and luck quite nicely, Backgammon is a good game to have along on a trip; it appeals to players of various ages.

Quoridor

Players compete to move their pawn from one side of the board to the other, but they can also erect fences to make their opponent’s journey more difficult.

Boggle Folio Edition

This is classic Boggle in a very travel-friendly package. It’s one of my favorite games, at home or on the road.

Author: About.com

Megan Fox

Micheal Cera

Emma Watson

Dakota Fanning

Amanda Seyfried

Shia LaBeouf

Keira Knightley

Daniel Radcliffe

Kristen Stewart

Ellen Page

Saoirse Ronan

Anton Yelchin

Brandon T. Jackson

Emma Stone

Zac Efron

Author: Access Hollywood

Pop Smarts

It covers much more than television, but Pop Smarts is the perfect game for anyone who’s obsessed with pop culture.

Simpsons Trivia

Springfield is filled with all sorts of esoteria, and the various Simpsons Trivia Games are the best way to find out how much of it you know.

Three Stooges Trivia

Questions all about Larry, Moe and Curly — and Shemp — are the name of the game here. If you’re a serious fan of the Three Stooges’ madcap antics, you’ll like this trivia game.

I Love Lucy Trivia

Who doesn’t love Lucy? This trivia game tests your knowledge of one of the all-time great funny ladies, Lucille Ball, and her television show I Love Lucy.

Author: About.com

Star Wars Epic Duels

This game, published in conjunction with Attack of the Clones, allows players to recreate famous battles from the Star Wars universe — or to come up with their own. If you’ve ever wondered who would win a fight between Boba Fett and Han Solo, or between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Emperor Palpatine, this game is for you. Each character has his own card deck. Great fun for 2 to 6 players.

Clash of the Gladiators

Almost purely a dicefest, Clash of the Gladiators offers players just enough choices to keep the game interesting. You begin by building a team of gladiators, then you fight the other gladiators and the wild animals. A nice twist is that when your gladiator team is eliminated, you get to control the animals — so no one is out of the game until everyone’s out. For 2 to 5 players.

Gunslinger

Gunslinger is a board game that progresses in increments of two seconds in order to simulate the quick decisions made in a real gun fight. Many real gunslingers from the past (Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp, etc.) are included as characters here. Unfortunately, it is currently out of print, but Gunslinger handles any number of players.

Button Men

Nearly 200 characters are now available for this simple, addictive dice game. Each player is one character; they roll dice to battle each other. Small dice (four-sided, six-sided) represent speed and agility, while large dice (12-sided, 20-sided) represent power. For 2 players.

Swashbuckler

Either in a tavern or on the deck of a ship, players fight to the death. And anything that happens to be nearby (e.g. tables, mugs and carpets) can be used as a weapon. Like Gunslinger, however, Swashbuckler is out of print. For 2 to 6 players.

Author: About.com

Vladimir Putin, PRIME MINISTER OF RUSSIA

SPHERE OF INFLUENCE: After eight years as Russia’s president, Putin’s still at the height of his power. He saw his approval ratings top 80 percent, thanks to an economy revived through energy profits, which has made it easier for him to get away with his antipathy to free speech and other civil liberties—he controls the media and imprisons or exiles his enemies. And cashing in on Russia’s natural resources has enabled Putin to pay off the nation’s foreign debt, rebuild its military, restore its pride, and re-assert its place in world affairs. Faced with presidential-term limits, Putin, 56, sustained his formidable power by becoming prime minister and leader of the overwhelmingly dominant United Russia party. He also all but installed his longtime protégé and former campaign manager, Dmitri A. Medvedev, as Russia’s new president through a reportedly rigged March election. But by all accounts Putin was the commander in chief in its recent foray into Georgia.
ENEMIES: Georgia and former chess champion Garry Kasparov, who is the leader of the opposition coalition Other Russia and has had the nerve to challenge Putin’s iron rule.

RUMOR HAS IT: Putin has secretly stashed away more than $40 billion (from Russia’s oil-and-gas riches) in secret bank accounts in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

EVIDENCE OF POSSIBLE LACK OF MODESTY: Putin’s exhibitionistic tendency to go shirtless (and show off his buff, hairless physique to photographers) while fishing with Monaco’s Prince Albert II or hunting in the Siberian mountains.

SHOULD BE EMBARRASSED ABOUT: Putin has done little to rein in the country’s ruling kleptocracy. In a recent call to analysts, Rupert Murdoch said, “The more I read about investments in Russia, the less I like the feel of it. The more successful we’d be, the more vulnerable we’d be to have it stolen from us.”

Rupert Murdoch, NEWS CORP.

SPHERE OF INFLUENCE: Now that he finally owns The Wall Street Journal (and the rest of Dow Jones), you’d think Murdoch would feel he’s at the apex of his career. But the 77-year-old mogul is still eyeing higher peaks—such as displacing The New York Times as America’s top general-interest newspaper. He may also be looking to increase his presence on the Web: his proxies have looked at possible combinations of his MySpace social network with Yahoo.

POLITICAL RELATIONS: Often characterized as a right-wing ideologue, Murdoch is a clear-eyed pragmatist. Hence his decision to move away from the Hillary Clinton camp during the Democratic primary and all but endorse Barack Obama, whom he calls a “rock star.” Still, the News Corp. chief found the time in June to dine with GeorgeW. Bush and British prime minister Gordon Brown at 10 Downing Street.

MOGUL MISHAP: At Herb Allen’s Sun Valley confab, Murdoch misplaced his wedding band, sending a gaggle of waiting journalists to their hands and knees in search of it. (The ring was never found.)

FAMILY BUSINESS: A Murdoch-family trust distributed $600 million in cash and News Corp. shares to Rupert’s first four children last year. The payout was supposed to help heal a dispute about inheritance brought on by Murdoch’s marriage to Wendi Deng, his third wife, with whom he’s had two more kids.

MANIFEST DESTINY: Murdoch’s genes indicate that he’d be an excellent long-distance runner, according to a DNA test he took at The Wall Street Journal’s D conference this year.

PHILANTHROPY WATCH: He and Wendi support N.Y.C.’s P.S. 184M, the first public elementary and middle school in the country that provides a bilingual education in English and Mandarin Chinese.

Sergey Brin, Larry Page, Eric Schmidt, GOOGLE

SPHERE OF INFLUENCE: There’s no stopping the guys from Google. Having conquered the Internet-search business, they are looking to replicate their success in other media. The company is creating its own software package for high-end cell phones, which it intends to give away to carriers and device-makers. In the meantime, would-be competitors such as Microsoft, Yahoo, and AOL have spent most of this year trying out different permutations of sales, mergers, and joint ventures, all designed to help them catch up to the tech-and-media giant. But the only company to strike a deal has been Yahoo, which ended up in an ad-related search-engine pact with … Google. At this point the best hope Google’s competitors have is that the company somehow topples under its own weight.

RECENT DEAL: In June, Google contracted with Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane to distribute original content via the Web.

THORN IN ITS SIDE: The company’s purchase of YouTube, for $1.65 billion in stock, in 2006, has given it control of the world’s largest and most powerful online video service, but Google hasn’t really figured out how to sell ads on the site.

TRANSPORT: Brin and Page, both 35, pay nasa $1.3 million a year for the right to park their personal 767-200 and two other planes at the space agency’s Moffett Field, conveniently located down the road from the Googleplex, in Mountain View, California.

ON THE RECORD: Eric Schmidt, 53: “The goal of the company is not to monetize everything. Our goal is to change the world. Monetization is a technology to pay for it.”

Steve Jobs, APPLE | DISNEY | PIXAR

SPHERE OF INFLUENCE: After changing the computer business with his Mac line and the music business with iPod, Jobs has completely upended the mobile business with iPhone. Rivals are scrambling to create products that stack up against Jobs’s mini-computers that also happen to make phone calls. And consumers who used to spend nothing for their cell phones are now willing to drop hundreds on Apple handsets.

CLOUD OF UNCERTAINTY: Jobs’s skin-and-bones appearance at the June unveiling of the new iPhone touched off several days of frenzied speculation about his health, prompting the tight-lipped Apple P.R. department to tell reporters that he was fine. Given that Jobs, 53, had previously lived with pancreatic cancer for nine months without disclosing it, it seems likely that his health will remain under scrutiny.

CAN BE PROUD OF: Pixar, his animated-film powerhouse. Its ninth animated feature, wall-e, won huge critical acclaim.

RARE EVIDENCE OF FALLIBILITY: Last year Apple began selling the eight-gigabyte iPhone for $599, then quickly cut the price by $200. When early buyers said they’d been ripped off, Jobs dismissed their complaint. A day later he offered them an apology and a $100 credit.

WOULD-BE DOPPELGÄNGER: Mark Zuckerberg, the precocious Facebook founder whose public presentations seem to be clearly modeled after Jobs’s renowned product introductions.

ON THE RECORD: When New York Times columnist Joe Nocera asked Apple about Jobs’s health, the Apple chief phoned him, snapping, “You think I’m an arrogant [expletive] who thinks he’s above the law, and I think you’re a slime bucket who gets most of his facts wrong.”

Warren Buffett, BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY

SPHERE OF INFLUENCE: As the crisis in the credit markets caused just about every deal to freeze up, Buffett, 78, went on a buying spree. He helped fund Mars’s $23 billion takeover of Wrigley and Dow Chemical’s $15 billion acquisition of Rohm and Hass. He also closed a $4.5 billion deal for a controlling piece of the Pritzker-family holding firm. But while he sees gems in the U.S., he’s down on the market overall. Investors hope that he has a more optimistic take on his own company, which in the first half of 2008 was down 19.5 percent, its worst performance since 1990.

LATEST BIG DEAL: As a large shareholder in Anheuser-Busch, Berkshire will realize a $770 million gain when Belgian company InBev NV’s planned $52 billion takeover of the American brewer goes through.

SIGNS OF OMNIPOTENCE: This spring, as Bear Stearns was spiraling down the drain, the investment bank desperately reached out to Buffett for backing, knowing that any sign of support from the business guru would mollify the market. He passed.

ON THE RECORD: “You only learn who has been swimming naked when the tide goes out—and what we are witnessing at some of our largest financial institutions is an ugly sight.”

Jeff Bezos, AMAZON

SPHERE OF INFLUENCE: The Web’s biggest and best retailer just launched Kindle, the overhyped gadget that’s supposed to create a market for electronic books. The $399 e-reader drew hosannas for its function (it allows consumers to instantly purchase and download digital titles from a selection of nearly 150,000 books) and brickbats for its form (the Tron-era design was derided for being both ugly and hard to use). If it takes off, Bezos will get credit for inventing both the modern bookstore—and the next-generation book.

MOGUL RELATIONS: After launching a long-sought alternative to Apple’s iTunes music service, Bezos has become like this with all four of the big record-label heads. But Amazon MP3 has yet to put a dent in Apple’s hammerlock on the digital-music distribution business. (Amazon is now said to be in discussions with MySpace to become its download-store partner.)

CREATIVE INSPIRATION: The 44-year-old takes quarterly solo excursions for two to three days to think big thoughts, then returns with memos to himself that “never see the light of day.”

SIDE PROJECT: Bezos is a big backer in Twitter, the popular micro-blogging platform.

ON THE RECORD: “We suspect that higher fuel prices may be a relative advantage for us.” Indeed. Amazon’s second-quarter revenue was up 41 percent.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, DUBAI

SPHERE OF INFLUENCE: From his Arabian Gulf home of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed, 58, lords over the most modern country in the Middle East. Although he has been ruler only since 2006 (taking over after the death of his oldest brother, Maktoum al Maktoum), he’s been guiding the country’s economic policy for much longer. His big push: break the country’s dependence on its small and shrinking oil reserves. To that end he’s taken the country’s income—and much of his own (he’s worth $16 billion, according to Forbes)—and invested it just about everywhere. Bets include over-the-top real-estate projects such as Dubailand, a $64 billion, three-billion-square-foot city/mall now under construction; staid stock plays like a recent major investment in Sony; and really flexible people—in August the sheikh purchased 20 percent of Cirque du Soleil.

BIG COOL FRIENDS: Uncle Sam. The sheikh, along with other members of the U.A.E., recently forgave billions in Iraqi debt and has kept his currency pegged to the dollar, despite double-digit inflation. President Bush recently called him a sharp dresser.

POSSIBLE SIGN THAT MONEY CAN’T BUY EVERYTHING: Despite spending more than $1.5 billion on Thoroughbreds since the early 1980s, the four Maktoum brothers have never won the Kentucky Derby.

QUOTE: “Money is like water. Block its flow and it will stagnate.”

Roman Abramovich, MILLHOUSE CAPITAL

SPHERE OF INFLUENCE: Although he speaks surprisingly little English, for years this oligarch has been investing and spending on a czar-like scale in his home away from home of London. Abramovich, 41, was thought to be the mystery buyer who paid $33.6 million for Lucian Freud’s Benefits Supervisor Sleeping (a record for a living artist at auction) as well as $86.3 million for Francis Bacon’s Triptych, 1976 (a record for contemporary art at auction) in May. He’s also joining two existing town houses to build a $300 million home in Knightsbridge.

LITTLE BUDDY: Pop train wreck Amy Winehouse, whom Abramovich paid a reported $2 million to sing at the opening gala of his girlfriend’s art gallery, in Moscow, this summer.

WINGS: A Boeing 767 with anti-missile system.

WHEELS: A Ferrari FXX, one of only 30 made.

EVIDENCE OF POSSIBLY CONTRADICTORY BEHAVIOR: Just weeks after stepping down as governor of Chukotka, in Russia, in July, Abramovich decided he was into politics after all. He will run for speaker in the Duma of the remote arctic region in October’s election.

THORN IN HIS SIDE: A multi-billion-dollar lawsuit in London’s High Court alleging that he colluded with cool friend Vladimir Putin to force a rival Russian billionaire to sell a Moscow TV station, an aluminum producer, and an oil-and-gas company at prices far below market value. Abramovich disputes the claim.

Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, ACTIVISTS | ACTORS

SPHERE OF INFLUENCE: Brangelina’s profile as two of the most talented actors in Hollywood has largely been overshadowed by their global social activism and their iconoclastic personal lives. Jolie, a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, has participated in meetings at the Council on Foreign Relations (of which she’s a member) and at the World Economic Forum, in Davos. She visited Baghdad’s Green Zone in February. Pitt, 44, a noted architecture buff, and buddy Steve Bing each pledged $5 million to their Make It Right project, which is building a cluster of 150 eco-friendly homes in New Orleans’s devastated Lower Ninth Ward.

WINGS: Jolie, 33, pilots her own Cirrus SR22 single-engine plane.

LOWBROW PLEASURE: Eating Taco Bell on road trips.

SIDE JOB: Jolie most recently starred in Wanted; Pitt is in the Coen brothers’ Burn After Reading and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

CHILDHOOD EXPLOITS: Jolie learned about embalming and wanted to be an undertaker; Pitt sang in the choir of his Baptist church, in Springfield, Missouri.

FAMILY RELATIONS: Pitt and Barack Obama are ninth cousins.

Al Gore, ECO-WARRIOR

SPHERE OF INFLUENCE: After his documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, won an Oscar and his latest book became a No.1 New York Times best-seller, Gore, in December, shared the Nobel Peace Prize for his tireless crusade against global warming, and he has discussed the issue with both Obama and McCain. In April he launched a three-year, $300 million ad campaign with the goal of enlisting 10 million volunteers to fight climate change. Gore, 60, contributed more than $2.7 million, from the proceeds of his movie, his salary from the Silicon Valley venture-capital firm Kleiner Perkins (which he joined as a partner in November), and his $750,000 in Nobel Prize money. But he’s still worth more than $100 million, much of that coming from the stock he’s received for serving as an adviser to Google.

SIDE JOB: His Current TV, which shows user-generated content, won an Emmy last year for creative achievement in interactive TV.

THORN IN HIS SIDE: University of Pennsylvania marketing professor Scott Armstrong, who has offered to bet Gore $10,000 over who could more accurately predict Earth’s air temperature over the next 10 years.

Bill Clinton, CLINTON FOUNDATION

SPHERE OF INFLUENCE: The former president got increasingly involved in Hillary’s campaign after Obama’s surprise win in the Iowa caucuses, but his re-emergence—and the decision to go negative—may have done more harm than good. Exit polls showed that voters had been swayed by Bill’s attacks—to vote for Obama.

ON THE RECORD: After likening Obama’s win in South Carolina to Jesse Jackson’s victories there in 1984 and 1988, Clinton defended his remarks off-air following a radio interview, saying, “I don’t think I should take any shit from anybody on that, do you?” The audio clip became an instant Web sensation.

WINGS: En route to Rwanda from Ethiopia, Clinton was forced to ride on Bon Jovi’s aging 707 after his original mode of transport, reportedly Google’s tricked-out 767, was grounded.

HOLLYWOOD RELATIONS: Dines with Kevin Spacey regularly when in London.

GOOD-DEED DOING: Under the Clinton H.I.V./aids Initiative, 1.4 million people have received medicine at massive discounts negotiated by the Clinton Foundation.

Michael Bloomberg, BLOOMBERG L.P. | MAYOR OF NEW YORK

SPHERE OF INFLUENCE: Is Bloomberg’s aura of invincibility diminishing now that his tenure as mayor is winding down? The state legislature recently blocked his proposal to ease Manhattan traffic. His plan to turn the West Side railroad yards into Parisian-style boulevards is foundering. And the deaths from two crane accidents this spring marred his too-good-to-be-true reputation as a city manager. But Bloomberg the businessman is stronger (and more popular) than ever. In July, Bloomberg L.P. minority owner Merrill Lynch sold its 20 percent stake for $4.4 billion, implying the mayor’s media company is worth $22 billion.

COOL FRIEND: Jay-Z.

NEW-MEDIA BONA FIDES: Bloomberg, 66, announced that he has 3,715 friends—3 of whom he actually knows—on his Facebook page, which he launched September 6, 2007.

SHOULD BE EMBARRASSED ABOUT: The New York Times’s exposé of Bloomberg’s commuting habits revealed that he takes the subway only about twice a week, not “virtually every day,” as he had claimed, and that he gets chauffeured to the 59th Street express stop, bypassing the two slower local stations near his Upper East Side home.

MOGUL RELATIONS: In July, Bloomberg teamed up with cool friend Bill Gates to rid the world of smokers. The mayor committed $250 million to the cause, on top of the $125 million he’d promised two years earlier.

Bernard Arnault, LVMH

SPHERE OF INFLUENCE: France’s richest man ($26 billion) sits atop the 60-brand behemoth LVMH. He also makes investments through his Groupe Arnault and Blue Capital fund (which just became the largest shareholder in Carrefour, the planet’s second-biggest retailer after Wal-Mart). Last winter he added the French financial daily Les Echos to his robust media portfolio, and he made a splash in June when he snapped up motorboat manufacturer Princess Yachts for nearly $400 million.

BRAGGING RIGHTS: LVMH, which owns six champagne brands (Veuve Clicquot, Krug, and Moët & Chandon among them), controls the largest share of the limited grape output from France’s Champagne region.

NEPOTISM ALERT: Both his son Antoine and daughter Delphine sit on LVMH’s board.

THORN IN HIS SIDE: Watches. The 59-year-old magnate apparently feels that LVMH isn’t No. 1 in the luxury-timepiece market yet. He acquired the Swiss brand Hublot earlier this year to help close the gap. (He already owns Tag Heuer and Christian Dior.)

POWER STRUGGLE: LVMH is battling peddlers of counterfeits. In June, a French court ordered eBay to pay the luxury label $61 million for selling imitation LVMH goods on its site.

Steven Spielberg, DREAMWORKS SKG

SPHERE OF INFLUENCE: The success of his and George Lucas’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull—one of the year’s highest-grossing films—further burnished Spielberg’s regal status in Hollywood. At press time, the director and his DreamWorks partner David Geffen were negotiating a financing deal with India’s Reliance ADA Group. The agreement would enable Spielberg and company, including DreamWorks C.E.O. and co-chairman Stacey Snider, to end their increasingly strained relationship with the Viacom-owned studio. He’s currently developing Lincoln, based on Tony Kushner’s adaptation of Doris Kearns Goodwin’s biography of the Civil War president, and working on Tintin, with Peter Jackson.

COOL COLLABORATOR: Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody. After she worked with Spielberg to develop the Showtime series The United States of Tara, DreamWorks hired Cody to write a top-secret comedy film that’s based on an original idea by the director.

OTHERWORLDLY PURSUITS: Spielberg, 61, is developing, in conjunction with Terry Semel’s Windsor Media, an online social network for people to share their paranormal experiences.

MAN-OF-THE-PEOPLE MOVE: Withdrew as an artistic adviser to the 2008 Summer Olympics, in Beijing, in protest over China’s continuing support for the Sudanese government despite the bloodshed in Darfur.

Ralph Lauren, POLO RALPH LAUREN

SPHERE OF INFLUENCE: It was a big year for the best-selling designer in the world. Revenues for Lauren’s $4.3 billion Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. increased 14 percent (results were buoyed by the American Living line of clothes and home products that debuted at J. C. Penney), and the company opened its first stores in Japan and Russia. Demand for his Black Label line makes it among the company’s fastest-growing merchandise categories. He even published a large coffee-table book, Ralph Lauren.

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS: He didn’t have a bicycle as a kid—his parents couldn’t afford one.

NATURAL FOE: The U.S. Polo Association. A federal appeals court recently sided with the sports group over a polo-player-on-horseback logo that the apparel company felt the association had ripped off.

NOW IT CAN BE TOLD: The numbers 3, 4, 5, and 7 on Lauren’s Big Pony shirts coincide with those on the Yankee uniforms of his heroes, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, and Mickey Mantle.

EVIDENCE OF POSSIBLE OVEREXPOSURE: This year, to commemorate the company’s 40th anniversary, Lauren, 69, appeared on the covers of Fortune, Town & Country, Men’s Vogue, Architectural Digest, GQ Russia, GQ Japan, Esquire, and Free & Easy.

Author: VanityFair.com