Because, more than ever, nobody’s at the wheel

Because he changed the Warriors, the NBA, and the world

Because OpenAI is the white-hot center of tech, and he lit its fuse

Because they remind us this city will never be tamed

Because an upstart baker brought new flavor to a San Francisco staple

Because the state senator has his eye on the prize — and on higher office

Because she built the tech industry’s paper of record

Because at 55, he’s the “young” face of establishment Chinatown

Because he still wears power like one of his flashy suits

Because his wild visions are captivating the world

Because she takes on the city’s hottest issue, yet everyone seems cool with her

Because she may hold the most important position in Lurie World

Because every winning team needs a freak

Because he may become an evil billionaire, but he'll be our evil billionaire

Because the sale of fine art to tech moguls can be a work of art in itself

Because his Transamerica Pyramid looms over our post-doom landscape

Because he’s the ultimate accelerant — of tech startups and internet beefs

Because the ex-speaker may have lost the gavel, but she still has the floor

Because even a self-trained reporter knows that if it bleeds, it leads

Because pro-housing advocates are saying yes — a thousand times, yes

Because she turns on the internet with her rationalist dirty talk

Because he revolutionized digital payments and, now, how science gets funded

Because a road can become a park if you’re ready to fight for it

Because this list definitely wouldn't exist without him

Because his status update is changing the culture again, for better or worse

Because downtown needed a party, and Into the Streets brings it

Because he's an in-your-face owner who knows the (high) price of victory

Because he’s the fixers’ fixer

Because she’s the world’s most improbable party promoter

Because he has yet to meet a development that was too tough to build

Because they won the AV war before it even started

Because he took cars off boulevards — and your street may be next

Because instead of going nomad, Airbnb stayed in the heart of the city

Because she's the Bay Area’s first lady of basketball

Because he brings experience — and much-needed consensus — to City Hall

Because in the war on cars, she's the field general

Because one of the city’s best-connected lobbyists is wedded to City Hall

Because crime rates are dropping, and she’s taking the credit

Because his Jackson Square mini-empire might launch an iPhone killer

Because they're gaining in the AI race while trying to center the human one

Because the newbie politician may actually know what he’s doing

Because they’ve become a more-than-moderate force in city politics

Because he’s pouring fast-food money into a slow-growth town

Because someone had to make the chips that make the chats

Because she’s trying to spur big changes in City Hall

Because she’s making ballet not just cool, but brat

Because she's reaching moderates without moving to the center

Because he jumped from the frying pan of X into the fire of City Hall

Because no one else has done more to keep our socialites social

Because food trends change, but classics don’t have to

Because he leads the leaders in medical breakthroughs

Because a socialite can also be a grassroots advocate

Because the VC went all in on Trump and was rewarded bigly

Because he inspires in the kitchen and everywhere else he goes

Because the city’s biggest union tough has just begun to fight

Because her anti-aging vaccine for dogs may also help human companions

Because his Mission cafe is San Francisco’s Central Perk

Because even Amazon pays rent to somebody

Because his alliances transcend San Francisco’s divisions

Because the self-made designer dressed Taylor Swift for game day

Because it takes speculation — and hope — to write the city’s future

Because she’s a big-time advocate for the city’s smallest residents

Because he took Gap from basic to glam

Because she holds the power at the power company

Because their power base keeps growing, along with their holdings

Because the former supervisor doesn’t need no stinking title

Because digging up a city's secrets is a powerful thing

Because she’s riding shotgun as the city turns to the right

Because the crypto billionaire hopes to make more than a ripple in politics

Because they serve the city’s most powerful lunches and dinners

Because her billions are making waves from Pacific Heights to The Atlantic

Because he sees opportunity where others look away

Because running the schools is impossible, but somebody has to do it

Because he’s the mayor’s labor whisperer

Because she finds Big Tech’s cheat codes, and she’s happy to share them

Because she wins over even the city’s biggest haters — with love

Because in a city of drag performers, she’s the queen

Because he may have the dough — and the stamina — to remake Fisherman’s Wharf

Because he just may survive his third mayoral administration

Because the edgiest of edgelords is now MAGA’s house philosopher

Because the Clintons’ crisis guy is fluent in VC and D.C.

Because when you manage billionaires’ portfolios, nobody tells you no

Because he may be the last bulwark between the city and the White House

Because he really doesn't want to die and doesn't want you to, either

Because her high-profile charity is boring again, and that's just fine

Because Reddit may be the last place for humans online

Because Recology’s reputation is trash, but its contracts keep getting picked up

Because she's a key adviser to the governor — and happens to be the mayor’s wife

Because the champion catcher got the job he deserves

Because San Francisco was his testing ground for a more hostile takeover

Because she’s a Team Trump MVP

Because when crisis strikes, someone has to shape the story

Because she turned the boomer of res sites into the cool kid on the block