TIME Person of the Year award betting

By Sarah Preece on 2011-11-15 12:14:34

CC Image Courtesy of Cea on Flikr

Steve Jobs even money favourite for TIME Person of the Year

STEVE JOBS is the even money favourite to win this year's TIME Person of the Year award according to Ladbrokes.

The bookies make it an apparant three horse race with the Arab Youth Protesters next in the betting at 3/1 from 'The 99%' at 10/1. It's 16/1 and bigger the rest including 'Anonymous' and The Fukashima 50.

Lionel Messi is a 33/1 chance whilst Kate Middleton can be backed at 50/1 along with Silvio Berlusconi. Charlie Sheen and Kim Kardashian are the 100/1 outsiders.

Alex Donohue of Ladbrokes said: "All signs point to TIME honouring Jobs. The Arab Spring provides the competition while this year's Royal Wedding is another theme represented among the outsiders."

Ladbrokes latest betting:

TIME Person of the Year

Steve Jobs Evens
Arab Youth Protesters 3/1
The 99% 10/1
Anonymous 16/1
Fukushima 50 16/1
SEAL Team 6 16/1
Angela Merkel 16/1
Mitt Romney 16/1
Hillary Clinton 20/1
Barack Obama 20/1
Recep Tayyip Erdogan 20/1
Ai Weiwei 20/1
The 1% 20/1
Warren Buffett 25/1
Rupert Murdoch 25/1
Lionel Messi 33/1
Gabrielle Giffords 33/1
Elizabeth Warren 33/1
Admiral Mike Mullen 33/1
Nicolas Sarkozy 33/1
Herman Cain 50/1
Kate Middleton 50/1
Silvio Berlusconi 50/1
Paul Ryan 50/1
Eric Cantor 50/1
Charlie Sheen 100/1
Kim Kardashian 100/1

Others on request from Ladbrokes.

Community

Ed The Head says:

First thoughts are it's hard to see beyond Jobs - especially as Time only recently put out a commerative issue for the guy - but has he done much this year other than pass away? (No offence intended; just stating facts.) The iPhone, iPad etc are all ground-breaking products from years past.

Personally, I'd like to see the revolutionaries of the Arab Spring win as what's happening in the region right now is truly historic...but can people see beyond their shiny new gizmos?

Comment posted at: 2011-11-15 12:59:54

robalexander says:

Definitely hard to see beyond Jobs. I do agree that his contribution to 2011 has hardly been meteoric but with millions all over the world seeing Apple products as something incredibly special and all the media coverage about him being some god-like person then it's unlikely he won't receive the award posthumously. In the western world his death has probably been one of the biggest news items of the year.

Can't see much value anywhere else but an each way punt on Charlie Sheen and the SEAL Team 6 could be tempting....

I'd like to see it go to the Arab Protestors as well as they have been truly revolutionary and the way the revolution has swept across the middle east and north Africa is remarkable.

Comment posted at: 2011-11-15 13:21:25

Mattknowles3 says:

It really does seem overwhelming likely to be Jobs. It was Zuckerberg last year, and Apple has done nearly as much as Facebook did, with the iPad, in the year actually preceding the award. I think 'The 99%' is a pretty ridiculous one, but I agree that the Arab Youth Protesters would be a good choice, if out of character.

Comment posted at: 2011-11-15 13:22:27

ArmchairJockey says:

Who are they trying to kid with Sarkozy at 33/1? I wouldn't take 330/1!

Comment posted at: 2011-11-15 13:22:39

gwjc12 says:

Surely this is only going to be a one horse race as the amount of coverage that was given to Job's death was enourmous and although he has not done anything of note this year in technology people will want to honour a man who has changed the face of modern technology over his career.
Most of the prices here a joke, i know Messi is a God but 33s is not something i would touch with any length barge pole.
Looking back at previous winners there are many political figures but with Zuckerberg last year's winner, i personally wouldn't look any further than the evens on the former Apple boss. Should be an easy way to double up any money in the Ladbrokes account.

Comment posted at: 2011-11-15 13:37:06

trip says:

As soon as I saw the title of the post I was thinking Steve Jobs.

Mentioned above, he didn't do anything particularly worthy for the title this year, but with the hype around him hitting critical mass and the fact he'll never be able to do anything influential again...

Comment posted at: 2011-11-15 13:38:44

Ed The Head says:

I think everyone's right that it's Jobs' award to lose. The problem with the Arab Youth Protestors is the award usually goes to a single person. Occasionally a group of people win, but not often.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Person_of_the_Year

Time claim they'll be basing it on someone/thing that has had the "strongest influence on history" this year and if that is the case then Jobs should have no chance, but we all know it's more likely done on projected magazine sales etc.

I quite like Rob's each way punt on SEAL Team 6. The American public would love it as a choice and Time could justifiably say they made a huge impact on history.

Comment posted at: 2011-11-15 14:11:18

Ed The Head says:

I suppose there is the argument that if you add up all the populations of the countries involved in the Arab Spring it doesn't even get close to the amount of people who have an iPhone. Plus Apple are now the 2nd biggest company in the world.

Comment posted at: 2011-11-15 14:19:33

michaelpeet.is says:

Rupert Murdoch - looks a steal at 25/1!!

Comment posted at: 2011-11-15 14:39:48

haslington says:

Looking at who it has been, being American is definitely a help. Jobs is the obvious candidate but given Zuckerberg won it last year they may be reluctant to award it to another tech figure. At the odds I agree with Rob and I might have a nibble at Charlie Sheen and Kate Mdton. My selection though will be Navy Seal Team 6 at 16/1.

Generally though I think the market is pretty ungenerous and I have to agree with most of the frontrunners but not at their prices.

On a separate note if i could choose it would definitely be Nigel Adkins, but I think I am being partisan!

Comment posted at: 2011-11-15 15:42:02

robalexander says:

Obviously with no e/w market its Jobs all the way!

Comment posted at: 2011-11-15 15:53:19

Ed The Head says:

If you think Rupert Murdoch is a steal at 25/1, Michael, try William Hill's 66/1!

Comment posted at: 2011-11-16 11:06:50

London Joe says:

I like to lay short price favourites in markets like this and I think Jobs is worth opposing. He is an obvious favourite and has a decent chance of winning it but the past couple of weeks have seen quite an underswell of criticism of him about his bullying as an employer and the way he didn't get treatment (ie proper medical treatment) for his pancreatic cancer because he thought he could treat it through changing his diet.

The best reason for thinking he will win it is that it is a Time magazine award and so is massively American-centric. Let's not forget that the average American doesn't look outside their own state, let alone to the middle East, for a world view.

A good reason to oppose him is that he is dead. It is hard for Time to get him to come and pick up the award and give an interview.

I think the Arab Spring leaders probably have a decent chance. Some of them were educated in the US and the drive for democracy in the middle East has been a major part of US foreign policy for a long time. As a value alternative to Jobs, they will be carrying my dosh.

Remember thought, this market is not about who should genuinely make the biggest difference to history. It's about who they put on the Time magazine cover...

Comment posted at: 2011-11-16 11:12:04

Ed The Head says:

Did you read the critique of Job's biography in Private Eye, Joe? Sounds like he was one of the biggest c*nts of all time!

Comment posted at: 2011-11-16 11:29:16

Mattknowles3 says:

Looking over all of the previous winners (including Stalin-twice!) they seemed to mainly have some political impact (although my personal favourite is 'The Computer' - Machine of the Year). Can anyone say Steve Jobs has changed the world even as significantly as Zuckerberg has? On merit the Arab Spring Protesters are the clear choice and Jobs' death could even prove a negative, as you say, given the bad publicity of late and the fact that nobody will collect the award. Worth noting, also, that nobody has ever won the award posthumously.

Comment posted at: 2011-11-17 21:18:54

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