Most Influential Men Ranked By AskMen, James Bond Top

AskMen.com has revealed its Most Influential Men of 2012. Whereas 2011 saw Steve Jobs take top spot, men in 2012 are apparently mostly influenced by James Bond, a fictional spy created in 1953 with sexual politics wrenched straight from the 1970s. On the plus side, Chris Brown is nowhere to be seen.

More than 500,000 AskMen.com readers voted to form the list of 49 dudes who we men can’t help but gawk adoringly at. Most influential man James Bond (whose new film is out later this month) was followed by Usain Bolt in an uncharacteristic second place, while Bill Clinton took third, probably due to his stirring speech at the Democratic National Convention.

Just below the top three, you’ll find the likes of Seth MacFarlane, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Jimmy Kimmel, while Barack Obama (No. 11) beats out presidential rival Mitt Romney (No. 24).

Meanwhile, Kanye West (No. 31) now holds the record as the only man to appear in all seven of AskMen‘s annual Most Influential Men lists. George Clooney had appeared in the first six (2006-2011), but fell out of the top 49 in 2012.

Perhaps Clooney’s demise isn’t surprising, as the 2012 list has 27 newcomers including Frank Ocean, Snoop Lion, Neil Patrick Harris, Michael Fassbender, Tim Tebow, Alec Baldwin, Michael Phelps, LeBron James, and Prince William. James Bassil, editor-in-chief of AskMen, says:

“Despite the regular reminders that our gender has reached its end, AskMen’s Top 49 list offers up plenty of examples of men who have sustained success – and others who found it anew through reinventing themselves, just as many of our readers have had to in recent years. Through 2012, Top 49 staples like Kanye West and Jose Mourinho have kept building on what they’ve always been good at, while new arrivals like Snoop Lion have yielded their influence through new paths. We’re especially excited to see adventurers like Elon Musk and Felix Baumgartner on the final list – bring on the new space age!”

Some notable names from 2011’s list have disappeared, including pigskin-chucker Tom Brady (No. 15 in 2011), and singer/actor/MySpace owner Justin Timberlake (No. 47 last year). AskMen has circulated a press release with the Top 49 Most Influential Men of 2012:

1. James Bond
2. Usain Bolt
3. Bill Clinton
4. Seth MacFarlane
5. Joseph Gordon-Levitt
6. Jimmy Kimmel
7. Elon Musk
8. Frank Ocean
9. Kevin Systrom & Mike Krieger
10. Ryan Gosling
11. Barack Obama
12. Michael Phelps
13. Christian Grey
14. The replacement refs
15. Christopher Nolan
16. Liam Neeson
17. Riad Al Assad
18. Joss Whedon
19. Peter Higgs
20. Prince William
21. Bryan Cranston
22. Jay-Z
23. Jeff Bezos
24. Mitt Romney
25. Neil deGrasse Tyson
26. Billy Reid
27. Michael Fassbender
28. Quentin Tarantino
29. Felix Baumgartner
30. Jose Mourinho
31. Kanye West
32. Lebron James
33. Andy Murray
34. Drake
35. Markus Persson
36. Snoop Lion
37. Howard Stern
38. Neil Patrick Harris
39. Psy
40. Jonah Peretti
41. James Cameron
42. John Maynard Keynes
43. Adam Driver
44. Tim Tebow
45. Gotye
46. Harvey Weinstein
47. Tony Horton
48. Tom Hardy
49. Alec Baldwin