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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, 2 Percent of the Most Influential People

Kim Kardashian West with her husband, Kanye West.
Kim Kardashian West with her husband, Kanye West. Photo: Marc Piasecki/Getty Images

Today, ever-relevant, list-making Time magazine dropped its compendium of influence: the 2015 Time “100 Most Influential People” list — allotting both Kim and Kanye their own spots. Other notable recipients include Malala Yousafzai, Tim Cook, and, of course, Taylor Swift.

Elon Musk said about Kanye West:

Kanye West would be the first person to tell you he belongs on this list. The dude doesn’t believe in false modesty, and he shouldn’t. 

Musk does not mention Kardashian West, though he does allude somewhat to Kanye’s status as a “pop-culture juggernaut.” Mild understatement.

Meanwhile, Martha Stewart (yes, really) had this to say about Kim:

Beautiful in an exotic, totally exaggerated way, Kim exudes energy, sexuality, drama, determination, impetuousness and happiness. But she and her famous, entrepreneurial siblings—shepherded by a savvy, tireless matriarch—have also expanded the very definition of family.

Stewart, who is no stranger to rappers, only mentions Kanye in the fourth paragraph, as an aside.

The Kardashians are a totally modern construct. They are a blended family, of Armenian descent, with biracial pairings (Kim is married to Kanye West) and a reportedly transgender parent.

It would have been easy to have them on the list as a couple, but it’s so much more interesting to single them out as individuals. In their own way, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian West have each earned their spot on the list — and I say this with zero irony. They each run their own businesses. They each conquer charts  — be they Billboard or App Store — and have adoring legions of fans on Twitter and (in Kim’s case) Instagram. But there is no “reacher” and no “settler” in this relationship. Forget the engagement and the marriage and the baby — this is now the ultimate relationship milestone.

Kim and Kanye, 2% of the Most Influential People