So, here are the most admired people in the world for 2018
There are all sorts of reasons why we may admire a person – their talent, poise, sense of humour, beauty, or compassion, for starters.
With this in mind, it's fascinating to see which people we as the public most look up to. Will they be an actor, a politician, a beloved humanitarian?
Picture via GIPHY
Well, YouGov has all the answers! The site interviewed over 37,000 people from 35 different countries to figure out which people are most admired on Earth.
They calculate the results by first asking respondents if they admire the public figure at all, and then whether that particular figure is the one the respondent admires the most.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates topped the list for most admired men, which he's done ever since the YouGov survey first started.
Angelina Jolie has set herself apart as the most admired woman. She's achieved this in each of the last three surveys, ever since men and women were separated into different categories back in 2015.
Below are the top 20 admired men and top 20 admired women in the world:
| Men | Women |
| 1. Bill Gates | 1. Angelina Jolie |
| 2. Barack Obama | 2. Michelle Obama |
| 3. Jackie Chan | 3. Oprah Winfrey |
| 4. Xi Jinping | 4. Queen Elizabeth II |
| 5. Jack Ma | 5. Hillary Clinton |
| 6. Vladimir Putin | 6. Emma Watson |
| 7. Dalai Lama | 7. Malala Yousafzai |
| 8. Narendra Modi | 8. Angela Merkel |
| 9. Amitabh Bachchan | 9. Taylor Swift |
| 10. Cristiano Ronaldo | 10. Madonna |
| 11. Lionel Messi | 11. Aishwarya Rai |
| 12. Warren Buffett | 12. Priyanka Chopra |
| 13. David Beckham | 13. Deepika Padukone |
| 14. Elon Musk | 14. Gal Gadot |
| 15. Michael Jordan | 15. Theresa May |
| 16. Pope Francis | 16. Liu Yifei |
| 17. Donald Trump | 17. Yang Mi |
| 18. Andy Lau | 18. Fan Bingbing |
| 19. Recep Tayyip Erdogan | 19. Zhao Wei |
| 20. Imran Khan | 20. Elizabeth Warren |
14 of the most admired women are actresses, singers or TV presenters. However, some of these figures from the entertainment industry are also renowned for their philanthropic work.
The men's category, on the other hand, is primarily filled with figures from the worlds of sport, politics, and business.
Barack Obama is in the second spot for the most admired man, just like last year, and Michelle Obama shot up three positions to be the second most admired woman in the world.
As for the current US president, Donald Trump has surprisingly risen one spot since the last survey, despite his alleged affair with Stormy Daniels and other scandals that have plagued his time in the White House.
Are you surprised by any of these rankings? Who is the public figure that you most admire?
