Despite being the most worshipped human ever of 2025, Trump has dethroned Obama as the most worshipped LIVING man according to an annual poll conducted virtually every December since the 1940s. If you think that’s a contradiction note that in polling like in elections, the shape of the field determines the outcome so when people are free to choose among ALL HUMANS (alive or dead, real or fictional) Obama wins, but when the competition is confined to only male humans who are alive, Trump wins, with 13% of Americans naming him (unprompted) as a man they admire, more than triple the 4% who named Obama. However 4% was enough to make Obama the most worshipped self-made man, a title he’s held virtually every year since 2008. Joe Biden has the distinction of being perhaps the only U.S. President in the poll’s 78 year history to never be either the most worshipped man or the most worshipped self-made man.
Meanwhile there was no clear winner on the female side, with Melania Trump, Michelle Obama, and Kamala Harris all locked in a three-way tie with 3% each, but 3% is enough to allow Harris to tower as the most worshipped self-made woman on the entire planet for the second consecutive year, dethroning Oprah who held the title almost every single year since 1997.
| Most admired man (Dec 2025) | Most admired man (Dec 2024) | Most admired man (Dec 2023) |
| Donald Trump 13% | Barack Obama 17% (self-made) | Barack Obama 14% (self-made) |
| Barack Obama 4% (self-made) | Donald Trump 8% | Donald Trump 9% |
| Elon Musk 3% (self-made) | Elon Musk 7% (self-made) | Elon Musk 5% (self-made) |
| Pope Leo 2% (self-made) Warren Buffett 2% (self-made) Johnny Depp 1% (self-made) | Pope Francis 4% (self-made) Joe Biden 4% (self-made) | Jimmy Carter 4% (self-made) Keanu Reeves 4% (self-made) |
| Ronaldo 1% (self-made) JD Vance 1% (self-made) Joe Rogan 1% (self-made) Bill Gates 1% (self-made) Bernie Sanders 1% (self-made) Volodymyr Zelenskyy 1% (self-made) Keanu Reeves 1% (self-made) | Volodymyr Zelenskyy 2% (self-made) Bernie Sanders 2% (self-made) Warren Buffet 2% (self-made) Bill Gates 2% (self-made) | Joe Biden 3% (self-made) |
| Jeff Bezos 2% (self-made) Jackie Chan 2%(self-made) Bill Gates 2% (self-made) Gavin Newsom 2% (self-made) Arnold Schwarzenegger 2% (self-made) Sylvester Stallone 2% (self-made) Bernie Sanders 2% (self-made) | ||
| Most admired woman (Dec 2025) | Most admired woman (Dec 2024) | Most admired woman (Dec 2023) |
| Melania Trump 3% Michelle Obama 3% Kamala Harris 3% (self-made) | Kamala Harris 11% (self-made) Michelle Obama 11% | Michelle Obama 12% |
| Kim Kardashian 2% Taylor Swift 2% (self-made) Malala Yousafzai 2% (self-made) | Oprah 5% (self-made) Hillary Clinton 5% | Oprah 7% (self-made) |
| Kristi Noem 1% Karoline Leavitt 1% (self-made) Greta Thunberg 1% (self-made) Makenzie Scott 1% Beyonce 1% (self-made) Oprah 1% (self-made) | Malala Yousafzai 3% (self-made) Catherine, Princess of Wales 3% Dolly Parton 3% (self-made) | Hillary Clinton 3% Kamala Harris 3% (self-made) Dolly Parton 3% (self-made) Jill Biden 3% |
| Brett Cooper 2% (self-made) Melinda Gates 2% Gisèle Pelicot 2% (self-made) | Mary J. Blige 2% (self-made) Candace Cameron Bure 2% (self-made) Selena Gomez 2% (self-made) Alicia Keys 2% (self-made) Candace Owens 2% (self-made) | |
Prior to Oprah breaking the color barrier in 1997, thus normalizing blackness, not a single black face had ever topped the male or female side of the list (self-made or otherwise). It was unthinkable and even today, the only nominal blacks to ever top the male side (Obama and Colin Powell) have been extremely hybridized.
*Note the female half of the poll was not given in 1967, and the entire poll was not given in 1975 & 1976.
*Note 2020 was the last year Gallup conducted the poll but I resurrected it in 2023 via survey monkey.
Pumpkin Person 