Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton Again Top Most Admired List

Clinton Most Admired Woman a record 16th time

Gallup

by Jeffrey M. Jones
PRINCETON, NJ — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama continue to be named by Americans as the Most Admired Woman and Most Admired Man living today in any part of the world. Clinton has been the Most Admired Woman each of the last 10 years, and Obama has been the Most Admired Man four years in a row. Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama, Sarah Palin, and Condoleezza Rice round out the top five Most Admired women, while the top five Most Admired men also include George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Billy Graham, and Warren Buffett.

Most Admired Woman, 2011

Most Admired Man, 2011
These results are based on a Dec. 15-18 USA Today/Gallup poll. In 1946, Gallup first asked Americans to name, without prompting, the person they most admire living in any part of the world. Since 1948, Gallup has asked Americans to name separately the Most Admired Man and Most Admired Woman, and has done so each year except in 1967 (when only Most Admired Man was asked) and 1976.

The Most Admired typically hail from the worlds of government, religion, business, entertainment, or humanitarian causes. Of the top 10 Most Admired men, four are government leaders (Obama, Clinton, Bush, and Newt Gingrich), three are business leaders (Buffett, Donald Trump, and Bill Gates), and three are religious leaders (Graham, Pope Benedict, and Thomas Monson, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints).

Of the top 10 Most Admired women, eight are from government roles and two are from television (Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres).

One change in the list of Most Admired women is seen in Palin’s fall from second place each of the last three years to fourth place this year. Minnesota Congresswoman and presidential candidate Michele Bachmann is the only first-time entrant among the top 10 women this year.

There are two new entrants in the top 10 men — Buffett and Monson. Buffett and Monson have been mentioned in recent years but never made the top 10 until now. It is common for the president of the Mormon Church to receive mentions, but Monson is the first to make the top 10.

Clinton Most Admired Woman for Record 16th Time

Hillary Clinton has now topped the list of Most Admired women a total of 16 times since 1993, finishing second in 1995 and 1996 to Mother Teresa and in 2001 to Laura Bush.

No other woman has been named Most Admired Woman as many times as Clinton. Eleanor Roosevelt is second with 13 No.1 finishes, followed by Margaret Thatcher, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Mother Teresa.

Most Times Finishing First as Most Admired Woman, 1948-2011

Barack Obama’s first-place finish is his fourth. Dwight Eisenhower holds the record for first-place finishers among men, with 12, followed by Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton with 8 each.

Most Times Finishing First as Most Admired Man, 1946-2011


Also this year, Gingrich and Trump returned to the top 10 after long absences, with Gingrich last making the list in 1995 and Trump in 1990. That was Gingrich’s only other appearance, while Trump has made the top 10 four times.

It is clear from the list of Most Admired men that presidents usually win the honor. A sitting or newly elected president has won the distinction each of the last 31 years, and 55 times out of the 65 it has been asked. The only non-presidents to finish first were Douglas MacArthur (1946-1947 and 1951), Eisenhower (1950 before being elected and 1967-1968 after leaving office), Henry Kissinger (1973-1975), and Pope John Paul II (1980).

Graham Continues Remarkable Streak of Top 10 Finishes

The Rev. Billy Graham has never finished first, but has been in the top 10 more than any other man — 55 times since 1955. He has finished as high as second place, which he has done on eight occasions. After Graham, Reagan is next with 31 top 10 finishes, while Pope John Paul II, Jimmy Carter, Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Harry Truman, and Bill Clinton have had 20 or more.

Most Top 10 Finishes for Most Admired Man


Like Graham, Queen Elizabeth II of England has never finished first but has been in the top 10 more than any other woman, making her record 44th top 10 appearance this year. She first made the top 10 in 1948 before she was queen. Thatcher has the second most top 10 appearances for women at 33, followed by Kennedy, Winfrey, Mamie Eisenhower, Barbara Bush, Margaret Chase Smith, and Hillary Clinton.

Most Top 10 Finishes for Most Admired Woman

Both Graham, 93, and Queen Elizabeth II, 85, owe their long stretches of top 10 finishes to rising to prominence at fairly young ages and maintaining a loyal following during their long lives.