The Top 49 Most Influential Men of 2008

Back in August, AskMen.com -- the world's leading men's lifestyle web site -- asked its readers to help identify the most influential men of 2008: the guys who have had the biggest influence on the way other men behave, buy, and think. More than 200,000 votes later, the results are in, and not surprisingly, a number of prominent entertainers, athletes, businessmen, and politicians have all made the final cut -- each of whom experienced great success over the past year.

Top 49 Most Influential Men of 2008 - See the full list

2008 Top 49 Facts:

* Previous AskMen.com Top 49 winners include George Clooney (2006) and David Beckham (2007).

* 51 years separate the oldest man on the list, 72-year-old Republican presidential nominee John McCain from 21-year-old ice hockey superstar Sidney Crosby.

* 29 of this year's Top 49 honorees hail from the United States, 8 are from the United Kingdom, and 2 are from Canada. Other countries to be represented on this year's list include: Australia, Austria, China, the Dominican-Republic, India, Jamaica, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland.

* The average age of this year's Top 49 Most Influential Men is 40 years old.

* New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez joins Apple inc. CEO/Chairman Steve Jobs, British soccer sensation David Beckham, renowned men's fashion designer Tom Ford, music chart-topper Kanye West, and guy's guy George Clooney as the only men to have been voted onto the Top 49 list for three consecutive years.

* Kanye West climbed 11 positions from #28 in 2007 to finish #17 in 2008.

* More than half of this year's honorees -- 33 to be exact -- are making their debut on the Top 49 list.

* An influential decade? 21 of this year's Top 49 Most Influential Men were born in the 1960's.

The Honorees (click on each honoree's name to see his photos, bio, and more)

Ryan Seacrest
Voted as the #44 Most Influential Man of 2008
Popular American radio and television personality Ryan Seacrest has become the male role model for metrosexuality, with a love for fashion and clothes that has triggered rumors of homosexuality despite his numerous public relationships with women. His fame has grown so great that he has made several appearances in TV shows and films playing himself, and was nominated for the 2008 Emmy for Best Reality Show Host.

Heath Ledger
Voted as the #39 Most Influential Man of 2008
Heath Ledger 's death added a disturbing aura to his last -- and perhaps finest -- performance as the Joker in "The Dark Knight." Producers of the film originally toyed with the idea of removing his image from the movie's promotional campaigns before finally deciding to put his face front and center. Their gamble paid off, and "The Dark Knight" shattered "Spider-Man 3's" record for the biggest three-day opening weekend of all time before going on to collect nearly $1 billion worldwide.

Brad Pitt
Voted as the #33 Most Influential Man of 2008
In 2008, Brad Pitt showed a flair for comedy as a dim-bulb gym employee caught up in a blackmail scheme in the Coen Brothers' movie "Burn After Reading." He also gets to age backwards in the Oscar contender "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," directed by David Fincher, who previously worked with Brad Pitt on guy-friend flicks like "Fight Club" and "Se7en."

David Beckham
Voted as the #25 Most Influential Man of 2008
David Beckham gets people interested in soccer. Over 250,000 David Beckham jerseys were sold even before his introduction with the L.A. Galaxy team. In 2008, David Beckham enjoyed his first goal for L.A. in league play, netted a 70-yard goal from his own side of the field and helped the team finish above .500 for the first time in two years.

George Clooney
Voted as the #22 Most Influential Man of 2008
At the beginning of '08, the UN named infamous Hollywood bachelor George Clooney as a Messenger of Peace, and he directed, produced and acted in the flick "Leatherheads." He also appeared in "Burn After Reading." As always, the infamous George Clooney has impacted Hollywood in the way that he's maintained a traditional, classic style actors strive to maintain.

Kanye West
Voted as the #17 Most Influential Man of 2008
Kanye West was a globetrotter in 2008, embarking on the large-scale Glow in the Dark tour, a critically acclaimed performance in support of his 2007 album "Graduation." He is also set to release his fourth studio album late in the year, believed to be titled "808s & Heartbreaks," though the rapper's original plan was to call it "A Good A-- Job." He took home four Grammys and earned the title of No. 1 Hottest MC in the Game by MTV.

Jon Stewart
Voted as the #15 Most Influential Man of 2008
Jon Stewart has spent much of 2008 covering the upcoming American presidential election, usually doing a better job of analyzing the candidates than the countrys major news outlets. One of his favorite tricks is to show clips of the candidates contradicting themselves, while simultaneously mocking the other stations coverage. "The Daily Show" attended both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, holding the show on college campuses in each host city.

Michael Phelps
Voted as the #3 Most Influential Man of 2008
Michael Phelps changed North American TV habits when it came to swimming. Thirty million people watched the 2008 Summer Olympics swimming event in 2008, and there will be increased coverage of the sport until the 2012 Olympics. Watching is one thing, but playing is another. Michael Phelps hopes that his fans will try the pool out for themselves. For aspiring athletes, it's a chance to get in shape and work toward a sporty physique -- as long as they stay clean. Through Project Believe, Michael Phelps was voluntarily tested beyond the Olympic requirements to show his commitment to keeping swimming free of performance-enhancing drugs.

To find out who was voted as the #1 Most Influential Man of 2008 and to see where your favorites placed, head over to Askmen.com.