The RS 100: Agents of Change : Rolling Stone

4 | Bono

Something we've never seen before: The first rock star as statesman

WHAT HE'S CHANGING: The world, man. There have been politically active rock stars before, but no one else has dived so deep into a single issue, or succeeded so wildly: Bono's tireless lobbying of the likes of George W. Bush and Tony Blair helped lead to billions in debt relief and additional aid to Africa — and it feels like he's just getting started. He followed that with Red Campaign, which fuses commerce and charity, and Edun, his wife's African-made clothing line. All that, and U2 are still making some of their best music with the new No Line on the Horizon.

FRIENDS SAY: "I'm just in awe of how he's managed to find the time to do so much in this world," says the Edge. "His activism is an extension of the group's preoccupations, but he's taken it on to a whole different level."

KEY QUOTE: "The greatest obstacles to people realizing their potential are of a spiritual nature."

NEXT FIGHTS: In the face of a worldwide recession, can Bono help prevent the West from retrenching on aid to the poorest? And can U2 outsell Coldplay?

SEE THE CHANGE: U2.com

Photo: Mazur/WireImage

3 | Steve Jobs

The greatest innovator in the place where people and technology meet

WHAT HE'S CHANGING: How we relate to technology — which really means, how we live our lives. The effects of Jobs' crowning achievements — the Apple computer, the iPod, the iPhone, the Mac, Pixar — have improved our world and reshaped industries. Just as impressive is the 54-year-old's creative endurance — he's been on an unmatched run for 35 years, since he began as a technician at Atari.

FRIENDS SAY: "In a sense, he is a great architect, usually working on stuff smaller than a building," says Stewart Brand.

MARK OF INFLUENCE: He's become the last symbol of American industry. In the debate over how to save GM, many suggested that Jobs bring his alchemical pragmatism to build an iCar.

SIGNATURE MOVE: Apple is still releasing major products during the recession — look for a new iPhone this summer and a netbook in the fall.

NEXT FIGHT: His own future. Jobs is a pancreatic-cancer survivor, and speculation about his health problems is rampant, despite assurances from the Apple board that Jobs will return to the company in June.

SEE THE CHANGE: Apple.com

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Photo: Morris/Getty

2 | Larry Page and Sergey Brin

The Lewis and Clark of the Internet: They put the world at your fingertips

WHAT THEY'RE CHANGING: The idea that there's anything you can't know — or find in three seconds. First they gave us the tools to organize the Internet, with Google search; then they made any knowledge that's ever been paid for or sealed away — books, maps, news, software code, e-mail programs — available and easy to use. And, oh, yeah — it's free.

WHO THEY THREATEN: Anyone who's ever held a copyright.

ENEMIES SAY: "Google's not a real company," Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer once told an employee who was leaving for Google. "It's a house of cards."

THEIR HOBBY: Google's philanthropic wing, Google.org, has devoted $100 million to clean energy and other initiatives.

NEXT FIGHT: Adapting their desktop supremacy into the coming wave of mobile computing; will Google's monster search business translate to smartphones?

CHANCE OF SUCCESS: 50 percent; early reviews of the Google phone were mixed.

SEE THE CHANGE: Google.com

Photo: Sullivan/Getty

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