London leads the world because of its excellence in many things - but above all, it leads because it is a centre of influence. Anybody who is anyone knows that, in order to do business, to get ahead and meet with the best in almost any given field, they must come to London. They are the people profiled in this unique guide: the 1,000 most influential Londoners. Many of them are national and international leaders; all of them recognise the capital's pull on the influential.
Some are here because our city is intrinsic to their job, such as Mayor Boris Johnson and his top advisers, but they have an influence far beyond the capital by virtue of the expertise and kudos that running London brings. Others from the worlds of business and technology, for example, travel across the globe yet choose to make London their primary base.
Creative leaders in fashion, film and food come because of this city's astonishing pull on like-minded professionals throughout Europe and the world: for them, it is the only place to be, fizzing with new ideas and possibilities. Still others might perhaps be termed unwilling Londoners: many of the nation's political leaders would reject the metropolitan label, but they still have no choice but to conduct their careers here, at the hub of British national life.
That kind of concentration of power and influence is one of the reasons why London is such a vibrant and exciting place. It also partly explains why the capital has, thus far, fared so well in the recession. It has a store of knowledge and creativity in its influential people that has allowed it to adapt rapidly to the new times.
There is one last thing that these extraordinary people have in common: they read the Evening Standard.
The Standard is the one paper devoured daily by all London's decision makers and opinion formers, by its influentials.
Indeed, it is now read by more than a million Londoners, from cabbies to cabinet ministers, builders to bankers: an influential paper for the most influential city.
The One Thousand
Geordie Greig
Morning:
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