Cover Story

Mark Zuckerberg Is Time’s Person of the Year

Second youngest ever, after Charles Lindbergh.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg beat out Julian Assange, the Chilean miners, and the Tea Party to become Time magazine's Person of the Year, it was announced Wednesday morning. Richard Stengel, Time’s managing editor, says Zuckerberg was chosen because, “The social networking platform he invented... is the connective tissue for nearly a tenth of the planet.” Also, according to a profile in the special issue by Lev Grossman, he’s really nice, not at all like the socially stunted tyrant depicted in the Golden Globe-nominated movie The Social Network. “He has a quick smile and doesn’t shy away from eye contact,” writes Grossman. Among Time editors, the Tea Party was the runner-up, followed by Julian Assange, Hamid Karzai, and the Chilean miners. Zuckerberg is the second-youngest Person of the Year, after Charles Lindbergh in 1927.