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December 15, 2011

Barbara Walters Shocks Audience with Most Fascinating Person of 2011

By Jordan Eggers, Contributing Writer

Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple (News - Alert), broke Barbara Walters’ one rule on The Most Fascinating People of 2011 – he was dead.



For the last 18 years the Barbra Walters special has aired on the ABC network and year after year she picks the ten “Most Fascinating People.” This year Walters said when Jobs retired from Apple in the summer, automatically he went in the slot for their most fascinating. However, in October he died at 56 years old from an eight year battle with cancer.

On the ABC special Jobs was described by Walters as, “A businessman and a visionary, a marketing genius and romantic, a billionaire and a Zen Buddhist, Jobs was one of a kind,” adding, “His energy and vision changed the world and made him the choice for the Most Fascinating Person of the Year.”

Jobs was the extraordinary co-founder and CEO of Apple Computer in 1976. He was a college dropout who chose to explore the world during the ‘70s and also went on to buy Pixar.

By 1976 he had his own title taken from him by one of his own people, however, Jobs returned in 1996 to revolutionize, as ABC news reports, digital music with the iPod. “He wanted things insanely great and would take or accept nothing less than that,” said Disney (News - Alert) president and CEO Bob Iger.

Leading up to Steve Jobs, Walters’ listed the nine other on the Most Fascinating People list. Amongst those were the Kardashians, which was highly criticized by fans and reporters. The Kardashians are known for their reality shows, clothing store, Kim’s 72-day marriage and much more.

Walters said to the Kardashian women, “You don’t really act. You don’t sing. You don’t dance. You don’t have any – forgive me – any talent.” Kim stated, “It’s more of a challenge for you to go on a reality show and get people to fall in love with you for being you.”

Other people on the list included Yankee’s baseball player Derek Jeter and actors Eric Stonetreet and Jesse Tyler Ferguson who play a couple on the TV show “Modern Family”, Pippa Middelton, sister of Kate Middelton, and Simon Cowell, host of talent shows “The X Factor” and “American Idol”. Lastly, pop singer Katy Perry, who has had five hits on the Billboard Hot 100 in a single year and Donald Trump.

Walters said they chose each person or persons because, “Each one of them has something, we hope, that’s new and surprising.”



Jordan Eggers has five years of writing experience and has written pieces for various print outlets and websites. Currently living abroad, she is working as a freelance writer and enjoys keeping up-to-date on everything new happening in technology.

Edited by Jennifer Russell
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