The Top Ten Alpha Boomer Men

Ben Bernanke, 58

Chairman of the Federal Reserve As head of the Federal Reserve, the U.S. central bank,

Ben Bernanke makes decisions that basically affect how every American will, or wont, spend money. And his power is global as well as national: In naming him Person of the Year in 2009, Time magazine said, He is the most important player guiding the worlds most important economy. But Bernanke started at the very bottom of the fiscal-responsibility ladder: To save some cash during his college years, he worked summers as a waiter in the tourist attraction restaurant South of the Border, near his hometown of Dillon, South Carolina. His heavily academic background degrees from Harvard and MIT; teaching posts at Stanford, NYU and Princeton isnt always seen as an advantage. During his tenure as Fed Chairman (he was appointed in 2005 by George Bush and confirmed for a second term in 2009) hes been criticized for being too ponderous in reacting to the financial markets worries. Whether you believe that or not, Bernanke has intervened in the markets more than any Fed chairman in recent memory, orchestrating the Feds intervention in the disastrous home-mortgage market in 2008 as well as the bailout of large financial institutions. And with the new Republican majority in the House of Representatives, Bernanke is going to face some tough questions, especially about the Feds massive purchase of $600 billion in debt to drive down interest rates. Luckily for him, the thrifty Bernanke has his own finances under control: he and his wife share one car, a Ford Focus.

John Boehner, 61

Expected Speaker of the House

You know the old saying, A new broom sweeps clean? When the Republicans take over as the majority in the House of Representatives early next year, theyll be wielding some very high-powered vacuum cleaners under the leadership of John Boehner, Republican of Ohio. Although Boehners widely known and laughed at for his propensity to cry during interviews, his goals for the new session of Congress are pretty serious. The Republican Partys Pledge to America calls for smaller government, lower taxes, more money for missile defense and a repeal of health-care reform. Those shoot-from-the-hip policies seem tailor-made for Boehner, a Cincinnati native who was a linebacker on his high-school football team and took seven years to finish his degree from Xavier College because he had to work full-time. There are many versions of the American Dream, and Boehners is the one where people get ahead on their own, with as little help or hindrance as possible from the government. Reversing the laws enacted by the previous Democratic majority isnt going to be easy, or even always possible, but Boehner is ready to fight. I think we know who the winners were tonight, he said about the November elections. Gentlemen, start your vacuum cleaners.

Bill Clinton, 64

Former president, founder of the William J. Clinton Foundation and representative of the United States on issues abroad

Clinton, who was elected in 1992 at the age of 46, was the first ever baby boomer presidentand the first Internet-savvy one as well. The White House website started operation during Clintons first term, in 1994. He also issued an executive order requiring federal departments and agencies to set up their own sites so that information about government would be more easily available to as many people as possible. Although thats not one of Clintons better-known accomplishments, its a significant one. Among his legislative successes: the Family and Medical Leave Act, welfare reform and the Brady Bill, a gun-control measure. But he fell short on a few other goals: a health-care reform package created by Hillary Clinton and a campaign finance reform measure. And he was dogged by a series of scandals, the most notorious of which was his involvement with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. But with the persistence and shrewdness that had always marked his political career, he managed to overcome them all, including an effort to impeach him. In his post White House years, Clintons continued to be a significant presence in both domestic and foreign issues, helping to raise money for victims of Hurricane Katrina, the 2004 Asian tsunami and the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Overall, hes one of the smoothest, most self-confident politicians in recent history: When he unexpectedly showed up in the White House press room, at President Obamas request, to lobby for a tax-cut bill, it seemed as if hed never left 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Bill Gates, 55

Chairman, Microsoft

It started with the January 1975 issue of Popular Electronicsand a lie. Bill Gates, then a student at Harvard, read an article about a microcomputer, the Altair 8800, called the manufacturer and told him that he and a few other people were working on a program for it. Actually, that wasnt true. But after the company indicated an interest, Gates and his colleague, Paul Allen, did write a program and sold it to the company. Gates never returned to Harvard. Instead, in November 1976 he and Allen registered their company name Microsoft and began a revolution that led to the personal computer and is still ongoing. The effects of that computer revolution are almost impossible to overestimate. It has changed how we read, conduct research, exchange information, do business and communicate with our families, friends and strangers around the world. Since 2008, though, Gates, worth an estimated $54 billion, has devoted himself to philanthropy through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, named for his wife. The organization gives away about $1.5 billion each year to domestic and international aid, health and education programs, and likely has as big an effect on philanthropy as Microsoft had on computers. Its no wonder that because of his business and philanthropy careers, Gates was named by Time magazine as one of four people--along with Pope John Paul II, Nelson Mandela and Oprah Winfrey--who influenced both the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

Bill Keller, 61

Executive Editor, New York Times

Keller, whos been the Times executive editor since 2003, has one of the most powerful jobs in journalism, and also one of the most criticized. From the left, right and center, Keller and the Times have been vilified as too liberal, not liberal enough, biased, elitist and traitorous. (Whats not really at issue is that The Times is one of the most influential newspapers in the world.) Like most top editors at the Times and elsewhere, Keller began his career as a reporter and came to the Washington bureau of the Times in 1984. Five years later, he won a Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the Soviet Union. Beyond that, his positions as foreign editor, managing editor, Op-Ed columnist and writer for The New York Times magazine gave him an invaluable familiarity with how The Times is run. Given his history as an Op-Ed writer, Kellers political views, which could be described as moderate, are fairly well known. Yet there was a flurry of Net postings recently about the discovery that hes a Democrat and about the Times use of Wikileaks material to write stories about Americas foreign policy. Keller has defended the newspapers use of Wikileaks, saying that the Times consulted with the State Department before publishing any stories that drew on material in the leaked cables. Thats interesting, but its not going to assuage critics on the right or the left. Probably no one knows that better than Keller.

Vladimir Putin, 58 Although Vladimir Putin grew up in the U.S.S.R., his story parallels the American dream in some ways: His grandfather cooked for both Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin, and now his grandson is as well-known and powerful as those leaders. Pursuing a boyhood dream, Putin became an agent of the KGB, the Soviet secret police, in 1975. While there, he kept tabs on foreigners in Leningrad and was reportedly a member of a unit that worked against political dissidents. He was also stationed in East Germany, and after that country was unified in 1989, he went to St. Petersburg to study economics and get involved in politics. (His economics expertise seemed to come in handy later in his fiscal policy as President.) Despite allegations of corruption (in his political life) and plagiarism (in his academic life), Putin flourished and by the year 2000 was elected President of Russia. He held that job for the maximum two terms before being made Prime Minister (essentially the same post) in 2008. As the head man, Putin managed to put an end to the virtual anarchy in Russia that followed the collapse of the U.S.S.R. in 1989. The Russian economy flourished under his leadership, becoming the 7th leading economy in the world by 2007. In foreign policy, Putins been friendlier to the U.S. than predecessors like Boris Yeltsin. After the Sept. 11 attacks he agreed to allow bases to be established near Afghanistan by America and its allies. But on the issue of U.S. military strength, hes strictly traditional, saying that America is too quick to use force. But overall, Putins ready to move forward and take his country with him: As he once said, Anyone who doesn't regret the passing of the Soviet Union has no heart. Anyone who wants it restored has no brains.

David Petraeus, 58

General, U.S. Army; Commander of the International Security Force, Afghanistan

?Like any brilliant manager or politician, David Petraeus is both sharply focused on specific goals and able to see the inifinitesimal (and sometimes almost infinite) adjustments required to reach them.

During his time in Iraq, from 2003 to 2007, Petraeus, who was based in the city of Mosul, fought the war on two fronts: battling the enemy in urban counterinsurgency operations and working to rebuild local institutions in the devastated area. (He reopened a local university and supervised dozens of public-works projects.) As a result, Petraeus was praised for his historic achievements by both the Defense Department and Princeton University, where hed obtained a Ph.D. in international relations after graduating from the U.S. Military Academy (West Point) in 1974.

But as difficult as that mission was, Petraeus is now facing his greatest challenge. After two years (2008-2010) of serving as head of the U.S. Central Command, an Armed Forces unit overseeing American operations in 20 countries, he was confirmed as commander of the American forces in Afghanistan. In that war, the U.S. Army is fighting not only elusive terrorists but also in a nation that has dealt humiliating defeats to much larger nations, including England (in the 19th century) and the then-Soviet Union (in the 20th century).

As he did in Iraq, Petraeus has said that the U.S. Afghanistan mission is gradually succeeding, although, as he wrote in an article for Time magazine, nothing about the way ahead in Afghanistan is easy. Neither is the political pressure thats building for a withdrawal beginning in 2011. But while he knows that politicians may want to hear reports of unqualified success straight ahead, that success cant be achieved by military means alone. The center of gravity in this struggle is the Afghan people, he wrote in a memo. It is they who will ultimately determine the future of Afghanistan.

Rick Warren, 56

Senior Pastor, Saddleback Church

Hes known to millions of people as the author of The Purpose-Driven Life, but Rick Warren is also the senior pastor of Saddleback Church, an evangelical Christian megachurch in Southern California with 10 locations and more than 200 ministries working with different groups. And the book, which has sold an estimated 30 million copies worldwide, gets its principles directly from Warrens ministry. The book describes five divine purposesof life- worship, community, discipleship, ministry and evangelism and provides a 40-day program for learning them. Since its publication in 2003, the book has sold 30 million copies worldwide on a level with To Kill a Mockingbird. Whats even more amazing is that the book isnt a self-help tome (the first words are its not about you) but a serious religious manual that offers a disciplined way to reach the goals its readers want to achieve. You may not agree with Warrens conservative political positions (against gay marriage, against the right to abortion), but it seems indisputable that hes doing all he can to further his mission: He and his wife give 90 percent of their income to the church.