Yuval Noah Harari

Yuval Noah Harari is a big deal in the world of big thinkers. Born and educated in Israel, he’s managed to parlay a PhD from Oxford into a global phenomenon, lecturing to packed houses and advising the likes of Emmanuel Macron and Mark Zuckerberg. If you haven't read 'Sapiens,' you've almost certainly encountered someone who has, and who then proceeded to explain precisely how everything you thought you knew about humanity was wrong.

His work, spanning from ancient history to speculative futures, often grapples with themes of human nature, technology, and society. He’s got that rare knack for making complex ideas digestible, even if those ideas occasionally leave you questioning the very fabric of your existence. His follow-ups, 'Homo Deus' and '21 Lessons for the 21st Century,' continue in much the same vein, cementing his status as intellectual rockstar.

Harari is openly gay and married to his husband, Itzik Yahav, who is also his personal manager. He also practices Vipassana meditation daily, which, considering the scope of his intellectual endeavors, probably helps keep his brain from exploding. He's also a vegan, because, naturally, someone so concerned with humanity's trajectory would also be concerned with creatures great and small.