Steve Jobs: Barbara Walters' Most Fascinating Person of 2011

Barabara Walters has famously claimed that one of the only rules for her selection of the year's "most fascinating person" is that they be alive. So, needless to say, Babs shocked a lot of prognosticators when she chose Steve Jobs for the 2011 honor.

In fairness, Walters and her crew made the selection early in the year, shortly after Jobs retired from Apple. Sadly, Walters never got to conduct the interview she had scheduled with Jobs, but the show featured a stirring montage showcasing the beloved CEO as both a youthful, energetic upstart, and a frail world-famous biliionaire, prematurely aged by cancer.

"He wanted things insanely great and would take or accept nothing less than that," Disney president Bob Iger recalled about his late friend. Recollections from Jobs' closest friends and co-workers served as a reminder of his ability to inspire. Clips of Jobs hosting one of his trademark theatrical product launches served as a reminder of his bold vision and irrepressible ambition.

Unfortunately, he didn't live to enjoy this latest honor, but his life certainly wasn't short on accolades.