Vanity Fair’s New Establishment Ranks the People Shaping Tech, Money and Politics

Vanity Fair reveals the New Establishment list of 2026, with Sam Altman at number one. Since the first list published in 1994, the New Establishment has identified the people who have defined the moment—from the Information Age to the dot-com bubble, the financial crisis to the social media tidal wave. But never in the list’s history have the stakes of individual influence felt so high.

After a seven-year hiatus of the New Establishment, Vanity Fair looks to answer the question: What does it mean to wield power in this strange, at times terrifying, new world?

Altman—one the most prominent and duly embattled figures of the AI era—sat down with Vanity Fair’s Mark Guiducci for a two-part interview on Vanity Fair’s new flagship interview show, Fair Game, as Altman faces some of the biggest challenges of his career and his industry. Altman appears on a digital cover shot by Vanity Fair chief photographer Annie Leibovitz with a question: Sam Altman sees the future. Are we in it?

Mark Guiducci, Global Editorial Director for Vanity Fair, writes in his editor’s letter: “Our editors composed this list to reflect the world as we see it rather than how we’d like it to be: for better or for worse, we said. Several entrants are among the most controversial people on earth, widely perceived as supranational supervillains—post-morality in anticipation of becoming post-human. The AI philosopher kings and their fallen-angel investors make yesterday’s moguls seem quaint.”

Names featuring on the New Establishment include Dario Amodei, the DSA, JD Vance, Gavin Newsom, Elon Musk, Kaitlan Collins, the Kushners, Hasan Piker, Meredith Kopit Levien, Marco Rubio, Zohran Mamdani, Jensen Huang, Christopher Nolan, Matthieu Blazy, Pope Leo XIV, Sundar Pinchai, and more.

Watch the full two-part interview with Sam Altman here.