That was true in this year's list, too — right until the wee hours of Oct. 29, when superstorm Sandy came ashore in New Jersey, leaving hundreds of millions of dollars in economic destruction in her wake. Now, in putting the pieces back together and rebuilding the state, "there's going to be careers made, careers broken," an insider says.

See who made the cut — and how they're working to help the state rise up.

Click here to begin reading the Power 100 list.