10 Young People Changing The World

While the daughter of Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison has become famous as the producer behind many of the most acclaimed films of the past five years (Zero Dark Thirty, True Grit, and The Master among them), what makes Megan Ellison the most fascinating new name in Hollywood is the philosophy behind her investments. The first woman to have two films in one year nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars (2013’s American Hustle and Her), Ellison is a director’s producer, selecting serious works that are difficult to produce. Her approach is in deep contrast to the current game plan of most Hollywood studios, which favor sequels and superheroes. This approach has made her a power presence on the Cannes scene beloved by auteurs like Kathryn Bigelow and Spike Jonze.

Nick D'Aloisio was only a high school student when his app Summly, which employs algorithms to accurately condense articles allowing them to be more easily read on mobile devices, attracted the attention of Li Ka-shing, the Chinese magnate currently ranked as the richest person in Asia. Li Ka-shing's investment was followed by those of Wendi Deng, Ashton Kutcher, Yoko Ono, and Stephen Fry. D'Aloisio became a household name last March when Yahoo bought Summly for a reported $30 million. He is currently employed by the company, creating and refining similar technology.

Snapchat’s creator is being lauded as the next Mark Zuckerberg. The Stanford dropout’s app has an estimated 50 million users, the majority of whom land in the obsessively coveted youth bracket, and is rumored at a $3 billion valuation. His provocative statements to the media and his refusal to sell out to Facebook indicate a prickliness and risk-taking mentality that echoes tech’s most celebrated figures, but more importantly, like Facebook, Spiegel’s big ideas address the realities of how young people communicate.

The success of Fruitvale Station, this summer’s heart-wrenching depiction of the tragic Oscar Grant story, would, under any circumstances, make its writer and director one to watch. The fact that it was Coogler’s first full-length feature, that he was only 27 when filming began, and that it went on to win the Sundance Audience Award makes him among Hollywood’s most coveted talents. The USC Film School graduate’s next project is expected to be Creed, a Rocky spinoff that will have him directing Fruitvale star Michael B. Jordan once more.

When the adaptation of the dystopian trilogy Divergent hits the silver screen this spring, the popularity of Veronica Roth’s best-selling franchise is sure to become a stratospheric. WIth over 10 million copies already sold, Roth has established a place in the young adult canon alongside Twilight and The Hunger Games. What makes the story behind the story worth telling is that Roth banged out Divergent’s first installment while still a senior at Northwestern.

Following in the footsteps of his billionaire philanthropist and political donor father George Soros, Alexander Soros has used his fortune and enviable contacts to birth a foundation that funds human rights initiatives like Global Witness and National Domestic Workers Alliance. Recent efforts include using efficiency practices to address issues in the working conditions of factories in Bangladesh. While the younger Soros’s aims might not always be orthodox (in 2011 he told The Wall Street Journal, “I’m much more interested in doing things that are more experimental and controversial because I think they could have the greatest impact”), his willingness to step outside of the box might ultimately lead to greater change.

Tavi Gevinson began her blog Style Rookie as an 11-year-old. Soon thereafter the entire fashion world found her unparalleled precociousness and razor-sharp eye the source of tremendous fascination and inspiration. In recent years, it has become clear that she is more than just a random teen talent. Rookie Magazine, her current venture, launched in 2011 with veteran journalist Anaheed Alani serving as editorial director. The publication is a triumph. Gevinson also had an impressive foray into acting. She hold her own opposite Julia Louis-Dreyfus in last year’s Enough Said.

An icon of the Internet age, Pete Cashmore created Mashable out of his bedroom as a teen in Scotland. A decade later, Cashmore still runs the social media news site, which now has 34 million monthly unique visitors and 14 million social media followers. In January, the site announced that it would be embarking on an ambitious expansion that will include new offices and increased funding with $13.3 million raised in equity funding.

Malala Yousafzai used an anonymous BBC blog to recount her experience living under the Taliban and to campaign for women’s education in Pakistan. Her courage led to speaking engagements and international acclaim, but in 2012 there was an assassination attempt that left Yousafzai in need of lifesaving surgery. Since her miraculous recovery, Yousafzai has addressed the United Nations, published the memoir I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban, been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, and established the Malala Fund.

Creating Tumblr not only made Karp the patron saint of Silicon Alley after its $.1 billion sale to Yahoo last spring, it also birthed a whole new approach to blogging. The platform’s minimalism, a dramatic departure from the design of nearly all of its competitors, is part of its beauty, carrying with it the intention of motivating creativity in its users. This exceptionalism has made it home to over 170.2 million blogs and a favorite of Beyoncé.