(FORTUNE Magazine) – Call 2001 the annus fortunatus. Covers of W. and US Weekly tout the glamorous lives of the titled, while People tempts readers with hunky, eligible nobles. Then there's this bulletin: Queen Elizabeth has knighted Vodafone head Chris Gent and IBM CEO Lou Gerstner. (All hail, Sir Lou of Armonk!) Maybe "noble businessman" isn't an oxymoron.

--Henry Goldblatt