Who is the most famous person alive

[Johnny93g]

Thats the question....Im reading a sports illustrated in which Pele says its him....so i got to thinking....and I think he very well could be right...Who do you think is the most famous living person in the world?

[rkmsuf]

Diddy

[CHEMICAL SOLDIER]

Michael Jordan
Michael Schumaker
David Becham
Zinadene Zidane
Jeff Gordon

[Raiders Army]

Santa Claus...even heathens like me have heard of his good deeds.

[rkmsuf]

Jeff Gordon?

Candy ass.

[dawgfan]

Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali would be very high on the list.

[Radii]

Is Tiger Woods on the list?

Jordan and Beckham were the first two that came to my mind.

Is it necessarily an athlete?

[TroyF]

I think it'd be tough to look away from GW Bush.

Not the most liked, but there aren't many people worldwide who do not know him.

What's more is that almost everyone who does know him holds a strong opinion of him one way or the other.

I'd say Jordan, Michael Jackson, Madonna and a few others are up there as well. I'd find a hard arguement to go against GW though.

[rkmsuf]

in sport it has to be Tiger Woods. Even the soccer nerds know him.

[terpkristin]

Interesting that most of the names listed here so far have been athletes. How is one measuring fame? Also, I assume this is a global thing, so some people who are big here in the US may not be so big elsewhere.

I don't know, I never really thought about it. I'd assume George W Bush would have to have some claim to fame. I mean, everybody knows who he is and such. Michael Jordan is another good name. Even outside the US, he's a recognized name. Then of course you have to think about actors/actresses. Tom Cruise I bet is pretty well-known, since the genres of movies he's been in span all types...

Interesting question, though.

/tk

[Blackadar]

Elvis.

[Raiders Army]

Michael Jackson has to be up there as well. Not only in the United States but all over the world.

I'd think that Arnold Schwarzenegger is up there due to his movies.

[Buzzbee]

The Pope
GWB
Ali
Tony Blair
Osama

[Raven Hawk]

Michael Jackson - everybody knows who he is, even though his celebrity status is fading a bit.

[Johnny93g]

Queen Elizabeth or Prince Charles?

[Johnny93g]

I dont know about George Bush...is he nessarily more famous then Bill Clinton?........

[terpkristin]

Queen Elizabeth or Prince Charles?
Sadly for Chuck, Princess Di was much more famous than he ever was or will be. Now, Prince William (I think he's supposed to be the "hot" one) might be a bit different...

/tk

[GoldenEagle]

Tom Cruise I bet is pretty well-known, since the genres of movies he's been in span all types...
Is he the guy who dates Katie Holmes?

[WSUCougar]

Keith Richards...oh, you said "living."

[Lathum]

whats that guys name...
everyone knows him...

he's really famous...
give me a minute, it'll come to me...

[Ajaxab]

Would Ronald McDonald count?

[Samdari]

I think it'd be tough to look away from GW Bush.

This is a slam dunk.

[Buzzbee]

Janet Jackson's nipple

[MJ4H]

Your mom is pretty well known around these parts.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Comedy Anson Williams option.

[Elvis]

Elvis.

Agreed.

[Lathum]

Cam edwards

[Hammer755]

Muhammad Ali

[WSUCougar]

Perhaps we should start by defining "famous."

[Johnny93g]

famous= well known, for any reason, good or bad

[Travis]

I can't believe nobody said David Hasselhoff yet...

I'll throw in Ichiro and Gretzky to the mix.

[Johnny93g]

I think alot of the people mentioned dont have that world wide status....Thats why i still think Pele could still be at the top...even higher then your president....I dont think its far fetched that children living in Brazil, or Chile, or Macedonia all know who George Bush is....I think its more likely they know pele.

Ive narrowed it down in my mind to Pele, or Ali

[sachmo71]

Paris hilton

[ISiddiqui]

Pele
Michael Jackson
Muhammed Ali

In that order

[Buzzbee]

Elvis.
Agreed.
Imposter!! The real Elvis would have said

"Uh, thank ya. Thankavermuuuch."

[PackerFanatic]

David Hasslehoff. Rock on.

I am reminded of the movie Euro Trip when they had that little clip of him singing, its hillarious.

And the funny thing is, I have some british friends and they REALLY ARE obsessed with him! Nuts...

[TroyF]

For all those that said Elvis:

If we are going off of dead people, I'm pretty sure Jesus, Hitler, or Ghandi would beat the living daylights out of Elvis.

[Blackadar]

For all those that said Elvis:

If we are going off of dead people, I'm pretty sure Jesus, Hitler, or Ghandi would beat the living daylights out of Elvis.

Elvis isn't dead! The Aliens just took him back to his home planet.

[Daimyo]

There was an article on ESPN a few years back (probably during world cup 98) that tried to determine who was more famous worldwide between Jordan and Ronaldo. It basically went country by country estimating percentage of people that would know either one and then summing it up.... I believe the conclusion was that Ronaldo was likely the better known of the two. If that's true I imagine Pele is more well known than Ronaldo and thus probably trumps any American athlete. Ali might have a chance, but I doubt he has much fame in China or India which probably severly limits his chances.

[Elvis]

For all those that said Elvis:

If we are going off of dead people, I'm pretty sure Jesus, Hitler, or Ghandi would beat the living daylights out of Elvis.

Technically, Jesus isn't dead. And I'm pretty sure I can take Ghandi.

[Daimyo]

DOLA, if you go beyond sports I guess it would be a showdown between Dubya and Osama. They have to both have way more name recognition than any sports star.

[Daimyo]

DOUBLE DOLA, it probably also depends on if you define fame based on name recogition or face recognition. Face recognition probably gives more of an edge to more modern stars like Jordan or Tiger who appear in commercials all over the world whereas guys like Pele or Ali aren't seen much anymore.

[rkmsuf]

Ronoldo? I wouldn't know the guy even if he was trying to dry hump me.

[sabotai]

I think alot of the people mentioned dont have that world wide status....Thats why i still think Pele could still be at the top...even higher then your president....I dont think its far fetched that children living in Brazil, or Chile, or Macedonia all know who George Bush is....I think its more likely they know pele.

Ive narrowed it down in my mind to Pele, or Ali
That's my thinking too. Those saying GW or Bill Clinton are thinking too NA-Euro centric. I would not be surprised if most people living in South America, Africa and Asia have not heard of, or don't care enough to remember, GW or any US president. But Pele, Ali and I would add Michael Jackson have a huge worldwide following.

[Front Office Midget]

Pele... I'm not sure how many of my schoolmates would even know who he is... I think he's a Brazilian soccer player right?

[Pumpy Tudors]

Why would anybody know who Pele is now? I'm not trying to be a smartass this time. I mean, I know who he is, and I'm reasonably sure that I would recognize him if I saw him, but the man is 64 years old now. Why would kids in other countries know who he is?

[Buzzbee]

The same reason baseball fans still know who Babe Ruth is.

[CHEMICAL SOLDIER]

I think Muchael Jackson just may be the most popular perosn who has ever and will ever live. Even Bushmen in the Kalahari are known to dance to the beat of ''Beat it.''

[Daimyo]

Ronoldo? I wouldn't know the guy even if he was trying to dry hump me.
Considering the US is less than 5% of the population it doesn't really matter if he has any recognition here.

[rkmsuf]

Considering the US is less than 5% of the population it doesn't really matter if he has any recognition here.

there's no way the bushmen know ronoldo

[Pumpy Tudors]

The same reason baseball fans still know who Babe Ruth is.
This is where I start to question the definition of "famous." Is being famous just somebody you've heard of, or is it being somebody you'd recognize? I don't know what people half my age are thinking, but would a 14-year-old be able to identify Babe Ruth in a photograph? If it's just about name recognition, then I would suggest that Pele isn't necessarily famous for being one of the best (if not the best) soccer player of all time. He could be famous just because he was a great soccer player and had a nickname that's easy to say and remember. Anyone can tell a kid that Pele was a terrific soccer player, but would the kid ever understand (or care to understand) just how good he really was? I would imagine that a lot of kids might just think that a guy named "Pele" used to play soccer a long time ago and he must've been pretty good because people keep talking about him. Does that really qualify as being "famous" now?

[Daimyo]

Assuming you can break the world's population down as such (pure estimates on my part):

Western Industrialized (N. America, Europe, Japan, Australia) - 1.5 billion
China - 1 billion
India - 1 billion
Non-Western/Chinese/Indian Muslims (Middle East, South Asia, etc) - 1 billion
South America - 0.4 billion
Africa - 0.8 billion

I think some people are putting too much weight to areas with small population. Someone like Dubya carries the Western world, China, and the Muslim world and probably doesn't really need South America or Africa (I don't know much about India, but I'm guessing he does very well there as well).

[Raiders Army]

Again, I put in my vote for Santa Claus, but I was the first to vote for Michael Jackson as well.

Also there is a difference between famous and infamous.

[timmynausea]

As soon as Aquaman comes out it's going to be Vinny Chase followed closely by Johnny Chase.

[Johnny93g]

As soon as Aquaman comes out it's going to be Vinny Chase followed closely by Johnny Chase.
Did johnny even get a part?

[TroyF]

Again, I put in my vote for Santa Claus, but I was the first to vote for Michael Jackson as well.

Also there is a difference between famous and infamous.


Reread post #8.

And I still say GW. People in Africa know about GW. (unless you want to convince me Egypt, with the largest population base in Africa doesn't know who he is)

I'd be willing to bet GW would be recognized if he went into nearly every major city in the world unannounced. They would pick him out instantly.

[timmynausea]

Did johnny even get a part?

I don't think so, but he will ride Vincent's coattails into 2nd.

[kcchief19]

Huh. Did you know Fred Gwynn has a higher Q-rating than James Dean among males age 35-54?

There is actually a survey company that conducts this very research globally, but I don't know who it is or how frequently they update it. I know that Muhammad Ali led the poll for many years, usually at 99 percent recognition. U.S. Presidents fare well, but the rest of the world is just as stupid as we are. Unless we're bombing 'em back to the stone age, they don't give a rat's ass who the American president is. 5 percent probably think the president of the United States is George Washington.

The one name I haven't seen mentioned that I'm fairly certain replace Ali at the top was Pope John Paul II.

[yabanci]

Michael Jackson, easy.

[Pumpy Tudors]

The one name I haven't seen mentioned that I'm fairly certain replace Ali at the top was Pope John Paul II.
Well, the question was "Who is the most famous person alive?"