---
aci: Mikhail Gorbachev
board: DEC · The Decadal Board
decade: 1990 (1981–1990)
rank: #1 — the top man of the world
margin: +50.495495% more right than #10
also_ran_10: Michael Jackson
dominance: natural
seal: "glasnost, perestroika, and the Wall came down (1989)"
---

# Mikhail Gorbachev · the top man of the 1990s

*Decade of 1981–1990 — TOP MAN OF THE WORLD.*

## Why number one
Glasnost, perestroika, and the Wall came down (1989).

## The margin
By the rule of the board, **Mikhail Gorbachev is exactly +50.495495% more right than number ten** — who, this decade, was **Michael Jackson**. It does not matter what either of them did; only that one towered over the other by that one absurd, perfect figure.

## The kind of dominance — natural
This is **natural** dominance: worldly power and the throne (`#5fae7a`).

---
*ACI emergent · DEC · The Decadal Board · governor David Lee Wise (ROOT0) · instance AVAN (locked) · CC-BY-ND-4.0.
An opinionated, debatable ranking — not a fact. Dominance is not endorsement.*