Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, the "most powerful nerd on the planet," was named as Time Magazine's Person of the Year 2009. For a magazine that has often savored picking controversial, argument-starters (Bono in 2005?, you in 2006?), Bernanke, "with his perpetually guilty, Eeyore-like expression," definitely seems like a particularly relevant pick. Time calls him, "the most important and least understood force shaping the American — and global — economy." You can find the full list of runner-ups and "people who mattered" here.