Muhammad Yunus
AGE: 66
OCCUPATION: Founder of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh
NUMBER OF TIME COVERS: 0
PREVIOUS APPEARANCES ON THE TIME 100: 0
PRO: Soft-spoken Nobel laureate who introduced the world to the power of microcredit. His work in Bangladesh and elsewhere has given hope and sustenance to millions of the poorest people in the world.
CON: Yunus has founded a party, named Nagorik Shakti. Bangladesh's often violent and phenomenally corrupt politics can cripple even the best of reputations. There are also questions about whether microcredit can sustainably lift people out of poverty.