Former US President Barack Obama and wife Michelle are the most admired man and woman in the world, according to poll results released by YouGov on Friday.
Other prominent people high on the list included Chinese President Xi Jinping, who ranked third, the Dalai Lama, eighth, businessman and entrepreneur Elon Musk, ninth, Russian President Vladimir Putin, 12th, and President Donald Trump, 15th.
Ranking second, third and fourth on the list, respectively, were actress and social activist Angelina Jolie, Queen Elizabeth II and talk show host and author Oprah Winfrey. Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, came in 13th, while first lady Melania Trump was 19th. Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres placed 20th ― a drop of five spots from her previous rank in 2019, possibly due to allegations that she has overseen of a toxic work environment on her program.
YouGov has conducted annual polls on the world’s most admired individuals since 2014.
Since its inception, Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates had consistently won the top spot for most admired man before dropping to second place this year.
Michelle Obama topped the list of the world’s most admired woman in 2019 ― a title that Jolie had previously laid claim to.
According to YouGov’s analysis of the results, Barack Obama was notably more admired than Trump in all countries aside from Russia. In that nation, which U.S. intelligence officials have consistently said interfered in America’s 2016 election and is doing so again, Trump was the 11th most popular man and Obama the 15th.
On the women’s list, 12 of the top 20 most admired women are actors, singers or television personalities. The majority of admired men, in contrast, are active in politics, business or sports.
YouGov’s finding strictly within the US found that Barack Obama again ranked first among men, followed by Trump, former President Jimmy Carter, actor Tom Hanks and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
Michelle Obama held her number one spot among women, follow by the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Melania Trump, Queen Elizabeth II and Winfrey.
YouGov polled across 42 countries and territories and asked respondents: “Thinking about people alive in the world today, which [man or woman] do you most admire?”
A figure’s “admiration score” was calculated by the respondents’ answers to two questions ― whether they admired the person at all or whether the individual was the one they admired the most.
