The Powerlist is a list of the 100 most influential people of African or African Caribbean heritage in the United Kingdom. The list is updated annually and has been published in book format by Powerful Media since 2007. The Powerlist is not limited to British-born citizens and includes immigrants to the UK.
History and methodology
The list was first created in 2007 by Michael Eboda, then editor of the New Nation, a weekly newspaper published in the UK for the Black British community, as a way to profile and celebrate influential Black Britons, and inspire and influence the next generation. The first Powerlist was compiled after six months of research and debate where 400 people of influence were whittled down to 50 women and 50 men, then ranked into respective top tens with the results announced in August 2007. During the first few editions, separate top 10 rankings were produced for both Female and Male candidates and top ranking individuals could continue to be ranked the following year. From 2012 the 50 highest rated nominees, along with updates on the previous year's Powerlistees from rank 2–100, are then ranked by an independent panel in the summer, with the list being produced each autumn. Each year's highest-ranking individual is added to the Powerlist Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame
A list of every Powerlist highest ranking individual.
2020s
2024 Powerlist Rankings
Published in October 2023, former editor-in-chief of British Vogue, Edward Enninful OBE, was named as the UK's most influential black person for it's 18th edition.
Top 10
2023 Powerlist Rankings
Published in October 2022, the 2023 Powerlist Top 10 was dominated by business people. Once again the panel of judges was led by retired high court judge Dame Linda Dobbs, and also included former Powerlister and winner of the first series of The Apprentice, Tim Campbell.
Top 10
2022 Powerlist Rankings
Published in October 2021, the panel of judges was led by retired high court judge Dame Linda Dobbs and included former Powerlister Matthew Ryder QC.
Top 10
2021 Powerlist Rankings
The 2021 Powerlist came in a year in which public debate on racial injustice had increased, with the Black Lives Matter movement and global protests against police brutality. Therefore, chief executive Michael Eboda decided that the 14th Powerlist would honour those who have used their voice to advocate against racial injustice. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the awards were held virtually on November 17, 2020, and hosted by Kwame Kwei-Armah, OBE. The event was held in partnership with J. P. Morgan who announced they would invest £2 million in support of London non-profit organisations headed by black and minority ethnic leaders; further sponsors included PricewaterhouseCoopers, Facebook, and Linklaters. The independent panel of judges named Sir Lewis Hamilton as the most influential due to both his sporting excellence and his advocacy in light of the BLM movement; additional highlights of the Top 10 included Prof. Kevin Fenton and Dame Donna Kinnair for their work fighting against COVID-19.
Top 10
2020 Powerlist
The 13th annual Powerlist was judged by a panel chaired by Dame Linda Dobbs and published in October 2019; sponsored by J.P. Morgan & Co., PwC, Linklaters and The Executive Leadership Council.
2010s
2019 Rankings
The 2019 Rankings were released in October 2018 and saw Meghan, Duchess of Sussex included in the list for the first time and named Ric Lewis as the most influential individual.
2018 Rankings
The 2018 Rankings were released in October 2017 and saw Gina Miller named as the most influential black person in the UK. The list was compiled by a panel that included Dame Linda Dobbs and Tim Campbell and over half of the 100 people on this year's list were women.
2017 Rankings
The 2017 Powerlist marked the 10th anniversary of the event, with a keynote speech made by Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan were released in October 2016 and named as the most influential black person in the UK. The list was decided by an independent panel led by former high court judge Dame Linda Dobbs.
2016 Rankings
The 2016 Powerlist named Sir Ken Olisa, OBE at the most influential Black Briton for his charitable work and his achievement becoming the first black Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London.