Mark Zuckerberg Named Time's Person of the Year

Mark Zuckerberg just made another friend.

The 26-year-old Facebook founder and inspiration for the hit movie, The Social Network, beat out Afghanistan President, Hamid Karzai, and WikiLeaks whistleblower, Julian Assange, to take Time's envied honor of "Person of the Year." He is the second youngest person ever to receive the title.

Richard Stengel, managing editor of Time, appeared on Wednesday's Today Show to announce Zuckerberg as the new holder of this distinction, which includes such legends as F.D.R. and Charles Lindbergh (the youngest recipient of the title). "More than half a billion people on the planet live in a world created by Zuckerberg," Stengel said. The magazine honors the young billionaire and philanthropist "for connecting more than half a billion people and mapping the social relations among them; for creating a new system of exchanging information, and for changing how we all live our lives."

Meanwhile, The Social Network is generating serious Oscar buzz and has earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Picture. The "Person of the Year" issue of Time hits newsstands on Friday. —KIMBERLY STEELE