When we talk about global influence, few people in this modern era can match Donald Trump.
He is a human whirlwind… and perhaps the most divisive political figure in history.
He has a knack for getting things done, whether people like the outcome of that or not, which is why Trump features so highly in betting markets for things like the Nobel Peace Prize and Time’s Person of the Year.
We’ll find out later this year who has been crowned winner of the Nobel Prize, but don’t be surprised if that’s Trump – his involvement in trying to end the war between Russia and Ukraine supplanting some of his more egregious policies on home soil.
The American president has been backed into even money in places to be crowned Nobel Peace Prize winner.
Meanwhile, the betting market is open for Time Magazine’s Person of the Year, for which the definition is described as ‘for better or for worse… the person that has done the most to influence the events of the year.’
Trump, already a two-time winner of the award, is available at 7/2 (at the time of writing) to land a hat-trick, with many big-name bookmakers – including Paddy Power, Coral, Ladbrokes, William Hill and Unibet – all offering prices for the Time Person of the Year trophy.
So, does the Don represent fine betting value in a heat in which he’s prevailed twice already?
Trump vs The Pope
It’s not that long ago that Trump joked (at least, we think it was a joke) that he would quite like to be the next Pope.
That didn’t quite come to pass, with Leo XIV instead sworn in as the successor to Pope Francis, and now the pair face off at the head of the betting market for Time Person of the Year honours.
On 24 separate occasions, the sitting US President has won the award, which is perhaps no surprise given the platform they have to facilitate global change – for better or worse, as the Time descriptor goes.
Trump was named Person of the Year in 2016, when he was elected to the White House for the first time, and again in 2024, when Time editor Sam Jacobs described the 79-year-old as ‘driving a once-in-a-generation political realignment.’
Franklin D. Roosevelt is the only three-time recipient of the Person of the Year prize, which was first handed out back in 1927. Trump could become the first hat-trick hero or villain of the modern era.
It should be noted that the incumbent Pope has also won Time’s Person of the Year three times, with Francis himself getting the nod back in 2013.
So Leo XIV cannot be discounted by punters, but if Trump can somehow broker peace between Russia and Ukraine, his odds of 7/2 will plummet substantially.
Curveballs and Controversy
Hitler, Stalin, Gandhi, Taylor Swift.
That’s not a quartet that you would necessarily place together, but each has won the Time Person of the Year award – for deeds dastardly or divine.
It’s notable how the recipients of the prize have changed over the years. In the early days, the Person of the Year was often a political or militaristic figure, before Time broadened their horizons to award it to individuals and groups as diverse as Queen Elizabeth, US scientists (as a collective) and the Apollo 8 astronauts, who would facilitate the moon landing of 1969.
In a changing world, Time have broadened their palette yet further. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg and Greta Thunberg are just some of those to have been declared Person of the Year, while in 2023 Swift got the nod for her ‘achievement in the arts’.
In 2025, other contenders include Nvidia founder Jensen Huang, Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Elon Musk.
Another interesting candidate from a punting perspective could be AI; yes, the concept of AI, rather than an individual that has been central to the development of artificial intelligence. Although Sam Altman, the founder of ChatGPT, is an intriguing 14/1 chance.
But Time have given the Person of the Year to constructs before. In 1982, they handed the award, metaphorically speaking, to ‘the computer’, in deference to the dawn of the Information Age.
And then, in 1988, the ‘endangered earth’ was crowned Person of the Year, in a big to highlight dangers such as global warning and ozone depletion.
So perhaps AI, in that spirit, could be crowned as the 2025 Person of the Year… it has certainly impacted many lives, for better or worse, this year. That’s another value play at 2/1, you’d fancy.