Earlier this week, Vanity Fair released its annual ‘New Establishment List’ for 2017. Known as the publication’s self-styled list of the top 100 most notable “Silicon Valley hotshots, Hollywood moguls, Wall Street titans, and cultural icons,” the exposé is a thoughtful tribute to the most noteworthy faces (and a nod to their most noteworthy accomplishments) of the year.
Vanity Fair has been publishing its New Establishment List each year since 1994 as a way to shed light on those who are out there “setting the global agenda and leading the Age of Innovation,” according to its editors, and two of Apple’s top executives made the cut (again).
First up we have Cupertino’s Chief Executive, Tim Cook, who climbed to the No. 3 spot on this year’s list — up considerably from his place at No. 11 on last year’s list. Cook’s accomplishments speak for themselves.
- CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT
With a market cap north of $800 billion, Apple is on track to be a trillion-dollar company. - RARE DISPLAY OF MORTALITY
As consumers reject the new MacBook Pro and Apple arrives late to the game with HomePod, an Echo wannabe, the company is clinging to the iPhone for more than half of its revenue—an inauspicious strategy, since phone sales are predicted to decline. - MORTIFYING TRUMP MOMENT
Cook showed up at Trump Tower in December to kiss the ring, then went to the White House in June to try to convince Trump of the importance of coding in schools.
Next up we have Apple’s Senior Vice President of Internet software and services, Eddy Cue, who as the manager of iTunes, iCloud, the App Store and more dropped to No. 73 on this year’s list from his previous ranking at No. 54.
- CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT
Launching HomePod, Apple’s voice-activated virtual assistant. The product, a competitor to Amazon’s Echo, may be the new hit Apple so desperately needs as interest in the iPhone wanes. - RARE DISPLAY OF MORTALITY
Planet of the Apps, Apple’s foray into original programming under Cue, “feels like something that was developed at a cocktail party,” according to one review.
Other Notable Figures of 2017
Climbing from her previous ranking at No. 73 to No. 44 on this year’s list is Laurene Powell Jobs — the widow of Apple’s late co-founder, Steve Jobs, and herself co-founder of the educational and philanthropic organization, Emerson Collective. Powell-Jobs’ achievements for 2017 include her acquisition of a majority stake in The Atlantic this past July, as well as her investment in an entity called Monumental Sports and Entertainment — owners of several Washington, D.C.-area sports franchises including the NBA’s Wizards and the D.C. Capitals.
Finally, among the myriad of Hollywood heavyweights to make this year’s list is everyone’s favorite wrestler-turned-actor, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who earlier this year starred in Apple’s hilarious Siri-inspired advertisement.