Muhammad Yunus: World’s #2 Public Intellectual

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Foreign Policy’s long-awaited ranking of “top public intellectuals” is now available, and earning second place is Muhammad Yunus, a pioneering microfinancer and a member of the board of the UN Foundation, which sponsors this site. FP’s description:

More than 30 years ago, Yunus loaned several dozen poor entrepreneurs in his native Bangladesh a total of $27. It was the beginning of a lifetime devoted to fighting poverty through microfinance, efforts that earned him a Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. Over the years, his Grameen Bank, now operating in more than 100 countries, has loaned nearly $7 billion in small sums to more than 7 million borrowers–97 percent of them women. Ninety-eight percent of the loans have been repaid.

Check out the full list here; it includes some names you might not have expected.