In 2001, the Harris poll asked a representative sample of American adults who they admired enough to consider a hero (maximum 3 names). Because Americans were free to name literally anyone who had ever lived (or not have lived in the case of fictional characters or religious myths) being named by even 1% of Americans is a huge honor and means millions of people in the World’s powerful country, rank you above 99.9999999% of all humanity! Not surprisingly then, the list tends to be dominated by near deities, with Jesus coming in first.

However in January 2009, the country went into such a state of delirious euphoria over a “black” man being elected President, that the unthinkable happened: Barack Obama overtook Jesus as the most admired person of all time.

Forty years ago it was unthinkable that a black could be the most worshiped person in the World but to be the most admired person to ever live; more admired than even Jesus, the putative son of God was considered blasphemy. The evangelical community went absolutely ballistic, and Michael Jackson (who himself dreamed of being the first black messiah only to instead become a huge pariah forced to live out his final years in exile) must have been so jealous he could have died; and sadly he did die six month after the poll was released.

As far as I can tell, Harris conducted the poll only one more time (Sept 2014). Barack Obama was once again named a hero more than any other living human, however he was no longer ahead of Jesus.

As the years past I kept waiting for Harris to do the poll again and finally decided that if Harris could not be bothered to continue their poll, I’d be forced to keep the tradition alive myself, so at the end of each year I started using Survey Monkey to ask a representative sample of U.S. adults who they admire enough to consider a hero. Like the Harris poll, there is no pre-selected list to choose from so many people just name their parents or personal friends. Nonetheless on the last day of 2023, 9% of Americans named Jesus, 4% each named God and Barack Obama. Abraham Lincoln and Superman were each named by 3% and Donald Trump and Joe Biden were each named by 2%.

Not a single woman made the list for 2023!

However every other year the poll has been conducted, Mother Teresa was the highest ranking woman, and probably still would be had my sample size been large enough to confidentially include names listed by only 1% of Americans. Teresa sadly passed away before the poll was ever conducted. 

Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama each ranked as the most worshiped LIVING woman in 2001, 2009, and 2022 respectively.

Dec 31 2023 (survey monkey)Dec 30, 2022 (survey monkey)Sept 2014 (Harris poll)Jan 2009 (Harris poll)July 2001 (Harris poll)
Jesus 9%Jesus 5%JesusBarack ObamaJesus
God 4%Barack Obama 3%Ronald ReaganJesusMartin Luther King Jr.
Barack Obama 4%Donald Trump 3%Barack ObamaMartin Luther King Jr.Colin Powell
Abraham Lincoln 3%Abraham Lincoln 2%Martin Luther King Jr.Ronald ReaganJohn F Kennedy
Superman 3%Elon Musk 1%God George W. BushMother Teresa
Joe Biden 3%God 1% Abraham LincolnAbraham LincolnRonald Reagan
Donald Trump 2%Chesley Sullenberger 1%Mother TeresaJohn McCainAbraham Lincoln
Tarzan 1%Pope Francis 1%Billy GrahamJohn F KennedyJohn Wayne
Terminator 1%Volodymyr Zelenskyy 1%George W. Bush Chesley SullenbergerMichael Jordan
Steve Jobs 1%Mother Teresa 1%Pope FrancisMother TeresaBill Clinton
Jeff Bezos 1%Martin Luther King Jr. 1%GodJohn Glenn
Ronald Reagan 1%Spiderman 1%Hillary ClintonNorman Shwartzkoph
Imran Khan 1%Michelle Obama 1%Billy GrahamGeorge Washington
Michelle Obama 1%Washington 1%Franklin D RooseveltOprah Winfrey
Ellen DeGeneres 1%Mahatma GhandiFranklin D Roosevelt
Mother Teresa 1%Colin PowellPrincess Diana
Taylor Swift 1%George WashingtonDwight Eisenhower
Kris Jenner 1%Bill ClintonPope John Paul
Holy Spirit 1%Condoleeza RiceGeorge W. Bush
Lamar Jackson 1%Oprah WinfreyJimmy Carter
William Buckley1%Sarah PalinNelson Mandela
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 1%General George S PattonJesse Jackson
Wonder Woman 1%Bill GatesTiger Woods
Kobe Bryant 1%Malcom X
Lebron James 1%Thomas Jefferson
Bruce Lee 1%Eleanor Roosevelt
Ruth Bader Ginsburg 1%Muhammad Ali
John Glenn 1%Venus Williams
Neil Armstrong 1%Hillary Clinton
Gus Grissom 1%Neil Armstrong
Jimmy Buffet 1%
Spider-Man 1%
Batman 1%
Albert Einstein 1%
Ricky Gervais 1%
Jane Goodall 1%
Michael Jordan1%
Kyle Busch1%
Dolly Parton 1%
Muhammad 1%
Moses 1%