Bono has followed in the footsteps of Joseph Stalin and Ayatollah Khomeini by being named Time Magazine's Person of the Year.
The Irish rock star shares the 2005 title - awarded to those judged to have had the biggest effect on the year's news - with computer billionaire Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda.
But unlike some previous winners, including Adolf Hitler, the latest recipients were chosen solely for doing good.
According to Time's editor-at-large, Nancy Gibbs, Bono was honoured for having "charmed and bullied and morally blackmailed the leaders of the world's richest countries into forgiving $40 billion (€33 billion) in debt owed by the poorest." Mr and Mrs Gates were recognised for creating the world's biggest charity, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Bono and Bill Gates have become an unlikely double act since they first had dinner together in 2002, despite the Microsoft founder's fears that it might be a waste of time meeting the singer.
"World health is immensely complicated. It doesn't really boil down to a 'Let's be nice' analysis. So I thought a meeting wouldn't be all that valuable," he said. After realising that Bono "really reads this stuff", he changed his mind.
The singer himself had no such hesitation. "When an Irish rock star starts talking about it, people go, yeah, you're paid to be indulged and have these ideas.
"But when Bill Gates says you can fix malaria in 10 years, they know he's done a few spreadsheets," he told Time.
The U2 frontman said he was humbled by the recognition.
"There are a lot of people who could be here. What's really key is, all of us are in agreement, that this can be a generation that can end extreme poverty."
Time started choosing a "Man of the Year" in 1927, to pick the "person or persons who most affected the news and our lives, for good or ill and embodied what was important about the year, for better or for worse".
Hitler was named in 1938 and Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979. Last year's winner was George W Bush.
