In a world where the notion of celebrity is loose and anybody can trend on Twitter, it's sometimes difficult to know where cultural power lies - and more importantly, with whom.
Things might become clearer on Monday when the 165th edition of Who's Who is published.
This huge tome, which lists the biographical musings of 33,000 movers and shakers from the UK and also abroad, helps to illuminate our nation's achievements over the past 12 months as well as to offer an insight into what and who may be coming over the next year.
This map infographic shows the power distribution around the country.
For 2012, more than 1,000 new entrants have joined the list, including HuffPost's editor-in-chief Arianna Huffington, who has also written the book's introduction.
Test your knowledge of 2012's most influential people with our Who's Who quiz, below.
How Who's Who has changed over the years.
FREE 1 month Online Access for Subscribers
Who’s Who 2013 is available online where the up-to-date autobiographical information on over 33,000 influential people from all walks of life can be searched extensively and cross-referenced to other works. For a 1 month free trial visit www.ukwhoswho.com and enter ‘huff’ in the username and password fields.