2025 Time Person of the Year Odds: Pope Leo XIV Given 33% Chance to be Named Person of the Year
The race for the 2025 Time Person of the Year Award is red-hot as we enter the final four months of the year. Is Pope Leo XIV a shoo-in for the award, or could a concept like Artificial Intelligence steal it away as the most influential idea of the year? Peter Alexis takes a look at the complete 2025 Time Person of the Year Award Odds.
Peter Alexis - August 21, 2025, 12:45 PM EDT
5 Minute Read2025 Time Person of the Year Odds: Pope Leo XIV Given 33% Chance to be Named Person of the Year
The 2025 Time Person of the Year Award will be given out in a few months when the calendar year wraps up in late December. With politicians dominating this award in recent years, can someone else steal it away from the world leaders? Pope Leo XIV has a head start on this one, becoming the first American Pope earlier this spring. But he doesn't have a runaway grip on the award quite yet.
Pope Francis passed away in April of 2025, and Pope Leo XIV was a shocking selection to become Pope out of Chicago, Illinois. He wasn't on many radars ahead of the papal conclave, but came out of nowhere to lead the Catholic Church. Will that story alone be big enough to land him as Time's Person of the Year for 2025? Pope Francis had a similar rise in 2013 out of Argentina and also won the award himself back then, so there is a pattern of success already.
Meanwhile, Artificial Intelligence, Donald Trump, Joe Rogan, and a few others are still in contention. The award is officially listed as the "person, group, idea, or object that, for better or for worse ...has done the most to influence the events of the year." Let's take a look at the most likely competitors in this race for the 2025 Time Person of the Year Award.
Time Person of the Year Odds
Candidate | Odds | Implied Probability |
|---|---|---|
Pope Leo XIV | +195 | 33.9% |
Artificial Intelligence | +280 | 26.3% |
Donald Trump | +500 | 16.7% |
Joe Rogan | +750 | 11.8% |
Volodymyr Zelenskyy | +750 | 11.8% |
Yulia Navalnaya | +1600 | 5.9% |
Click here for complete Time Person of the Year Award Odds
Time Person of the Year Odds Breakdown
Pope Leo XIV (+195)
Pope Leo XIV is leading the charge here for now at +195 odds, roughly a 33% chance of winning the award. It has a precedence established here, with Pope Francis winning back in 2013 when he took over the papacy. Pope John Paul II also won in 1995, but that wasn't the year he started.
Leo is not guaranteed a victory here just because he became Pope, but if you add in the fact that he becomes the first American Pope into a largely American based award, it becomes a lot more likely. He hasn't made a ton of headlines since taking over, and largely avoided any major controversial topics so far. Based on the situation, he is a pretty solid bet at these plus-money odds barring a major news shake up from other competitors.
Artificial Intelligence (+280)
Arfiticial Intelligence, or AI (including ChatGPT), is a very intriguing commodity in this race for Time Person of the Year. Despite the name, it doesn't have to be just one person, or even a person at all. The spirit of Ukraine won in 2022 in addition to Zelenskyy, the #MeToo Movement won in 2017, and the Ebola Fighters won in 2014. You could argue that those are just groups of people, but as the award continues on, the idea of it evolves even further. As AI begins to reshape the workforce and our daily lives, it's entirely possibly to consider it one of the most influential ideas or concepts of the year.
Over at Kalshi, a prediction market, AI has much better odds, sitting up ahead of the pope at a 35% chance with over $3 million of trading volume. While those "odds" are set by the amount of money coming in, it shows the pure strength and influence of AI and how much traders are respecting it.
Donald Trump (+500)
Donald Trump has seen his odds drop with the naming of a new Pope, as he and Elon Musk were leading the charge for this award around +250 odds earlier this year.
While Trump already won the award in 2024, as well as in 2016, the victories tend to be tied to election wins. Biden and Harris shared it in 2020, Obama won it twice, George W. Bush won it twice, etc. We did see Bill Clinton win in 1998, but it was due to his impeachment. Donald Trump doesn't follow any past precedents in other aspects of the presidency, so it's not unheard of that he could win again, but AI and the Pope seem more likely to take it unless a major geopolitical controversy happens in the final months of the year.
Joe Rogan (+750)
Joe Rogan is in the mix further back here at +750, giving him an 11.8% chance. Rogan has been even more popular as of late, and many credit him with helping Donald Trump get elected following their extensive sit downs in what has been dubbed the "podcast election" by some. Trump was a fixture on many mainstream shows during the election cycle last Fall, while Harris turned down the opportunity to appear on several of them. Rogan's influence is far-ranging, but it might be tough for him to win amongst this cast and with the momentum fading.
More of oddschecker
Affiliate Disclosure.
We are not a gambling or betting operator, but we receive a commission from these companies when we advertise their brands and refer customers to them (affiliate marketing). We provide information, odds information and links to websites of these companies. Some of the information made available on our site may be positioned as a result of a commission paid to us by a third party. We do not take or place bets/transactions and any information on Our Products is provided for entertainment purposes only.
