What to Bill and Hillary Clinton, Bill and Melinda Gates, Barrack Obama and Paul Ryan, Warren Buffett and Laung San Suu Kyi of Burma have in common with Vivek Wadhwa?

“I just tweeted: “I can’t believe it myself. Named FP Top 100 Global Thinker bit.ly/Wr8snf — What’s a guy like me doing on a list like this? :)”

So wroteWadhwa, the former Triangle entrepreur-turned-academic, describing his reaction to the news.

Wadhwa, a former entrepreneur and now a professor at Duke as well as other institutions, is among the 100 people worldwide named to Foreign Policy magazine’s Global Thinkers list.

Why pick Wadhwa? “For a fresh idea in the U.S. immigration debate,” says FP.

“Such is my surprise to be on an amazing list like this,” Wadhwa, who now lives in Silicon Valley, told friends and colleagues via email.

Well, maybe he shouldn’t be overly surprised. Wadhwa has emerged as a force in the argument about immigration and entrepreneurship as well as the value of college education. He’s widely quoted on both issues around the world, and he’s appeared on a variety of news programs, including 60 Minutes. Wadhwa also has written a book on the importance of immigration to the economic well-being of his adopted country: “The Immigrant Exodus: Why America Is Losing the Global Race to Capture Entrepreneurial Talent.”

But even given the stature he has achieved as a policy wonk, educator and researcher, Wadhwa is in very elite company.

He finished 90th on the list.

“As an Indian-born U.S. citizen, Wadhwa is at the forefront of the movement to institute what he calls a ‘start-up visa,’ through which entrepreneurs with proven job creation and company size get fast-tracked for long-term visas,” FP wrote in its profile of Wadhwa. 

“Otherwise, Wadhwa says, skilled immigrants will long be gone.”

Wadhwa will be in Washington on Thursday as part of an event co-hosted by Secretary of State Clinton to salute the FP 100.

“When Susan Glasser, Foreign Policy Magazine Editor in Chief, wrote to me, she attached a very difficult questionnaire,” Wadhwa recalled. “It asked about Syria, Iran, the Euro, China’s territorial claims, cyberwar, etc. I thought this was some kind of test and asked what the passing grade was. She assured me it wasn’t a test—that I had already made the list. :)”

Wadhwa notes he also cracked another FP elite.

“And yes, I made the FP Twitterati list also: A who’s who of the foreign-policy Twitterverse in 2012,” he noted.

“Given how much I tweet, I am less surprised about this one.”

By the way, here’s the current list of Wadhwa’s credentials:

  • Fellow, Arthur & Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Governance, Stanford University
  • Vice President of Innovation and Research, Singularity University
  • Director of Research, Center for Entrepreneurship and Research Commercialization and Exec in Residence, Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University
  • Distinguished Visiting Scholar, Halle Institute of Global Learning, Emory University
  • Columnist Washington Post and Bloomberg BusinessWeek

His Twitter handle?

Twitter: @wadhwa