Who is the most famous person in the world

[thesloppy]

Hear me out: Jackie Chan has been making hit movies in America and Asia for the past 50 years.

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by Carman Bulldog

DOLA: Being a sports-centric forum, I'm wondering if we tend to over estimate the fame of athletes beyond the sport spectrum. There are definitely athletes that transcend the sports realm, but those are few and far between. Guys like Pelé, Jordan and Ali come to mind.

If we are speaking of who is more famous (ie. whose name is known by more people) rather than present popularity, I have to think that those three are arguably still ahead of the likes of Kobe, LeBron, Ronaldo, Messi, etc.

I think you (and many others) overestimate the fame of those that had their world fame decades ago. I suspect a large majority of people born in the 2000's (which is about 17% of the world population) have no clue at all who those three all-time greats (Ali, Jordan and Pelé) are, quite simply because they're not popping up enough in their facebook timeline.
Sure, Michael Jordan is trending now amongst rich 30+ year-olds because they're watching the Last Dance, but most of those people already heard of him before.

[whomario]

Yeah, i definitely was thinking of Ali at an "in his time" mention and that he might have been more famous then than even Ronaldo today. (Seriously, i know so many older people here that watched his fights at 3 am despite never being big sports fans)

[Carman Bulldog]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

I think you (and many others) overestimate the fame of those that had their world fame decades ago. I suspect a large majority of people born in the 2000's (which is about 17% of the world population) have no clue at all who those three all-time greats (Ali, Jordan and Pelé) are, quite simply because they're not popping up enough in their facebook timeline.
Sure, Michael Jordan is trending now amongst rich 30+ year-olds because they're watching the Last Dance, but most of those people already heard of him before.

No, I get that and I don't think any of the names I referenced are in contention for the most famous person in the world for the reason you pointed out, but I do believe they would be if talking about most famous athlete. And, this is what I was referencing with over-estimating fame of current athletes outside the sports world.

My argument is specifically referencing cultural impact beyond the sports world. The three I mentioned all had it. When talking Messi/Ronaldo, I'd argue that Beckham was more famous outside the soccer world than either of those two. I'm talking about that cultural transcendence where you are not only known by avid and casual fans of the sport, but also by all of those who do not even follow sports.

So by that matrix, is a 15-year-old who pays no attention to sports more likely to have a knowledge of Athlete A, Athlete B, none or both? What about a 25-year-old? 35-year-old? 45-year-old? 55-year-old? 65-year-old? 75-year-old?

I agree that the 15-year-old is more likely to know the recent athlete, the next few ranges will likely know both and then all of the ranges beyond that are more likely to know the older athletes.

EDIT: And to be fair, perhaps I underestimate the impact of Ronaldo and Messi beyond those that are sports fans, but to me, they just don't seem at the same global level outside of sport as Pelé, Beckham, Diego Maradonna, etc. This despite arguably being as famous or more famous within the sports realm.

[tarcone]

I think Jordan is more known than you think, maybe only in the USA. I think that is driven by the debate of who is the greatest BB ever to play. The Jordan/LeBron debate still rages across all age groupls. And doesnt Nike still make Air Jordans?

[Carman Bulldog]

Originally Posted by tarcone

I think Jordan is more known than you think, maybe only in the USA. I think that is driven by the debate of who is the greatest BB ever to play. The Jordan/LeBron debate still rages across all age groupls. And doesnt Nike still make Air Jordans?

I think when it comes to the most famous athlete in the world, he is definitely still up there. I like to think of it like this: if one were to poll every person on the planet and ask them if they knew who these people were, which person would get the most votes? I'm thinking those names include Jordan, Kobe, LeBron, Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ali, Pelé, Beckham, Maradonna, Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, Usain Bolt, Mike Tyson and maybe some others.

Having said that, if you compared the winner of that poll to Donald Trump, I think that more people know Trump. I think RainMaker is right and it's probably Trump or Obama, although I'd go with Trump just because he's been around so long and was quite famous even before the Presidency.

[tarcone]

Yes, that does make sense.

[EagleFan]

Whomever is next. Everyone knows who that is.

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

Allah is not a person.

No one on that list is.

[EagleFan]

I would think Ronaldo. Messi maybe but Ronaldo has a wider appeal outside of the soccer market.

[JPhillips]

I think a good guess will always be the U.S. President and the most famous soccer player.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

No one on that list is.

Really?

[chesapeake]

More than half the world's population lives in a circle you can draw around the populated parts to China, India and Indonesia. That's about 4 billion people. Whoever has the highest Q rating in that area is probably your answer. My guess is Xi Jinping because China is the largest player in the region, has global influence, and he's been in office for almost a decade. Because the U.S. is still the world's most dominant economic and military power, it could be Trump, too.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Carman Bulldog

No, I get that and I don't think any of the names I referenced are in contention for the most famous person in the world for the reason you pointed out, but I do believe they would be if talking about most famous athlete. And, this is what I was referencing with over-estimating fame of current athletes outside the sports world.

But I disagree with this simply because there are many people who couldn't care less about politics but are heavily invested in sports. I mean you see young kids in poor areas of South American or Africa or Asia talking about wanting to be Messi or Ronaldo. I'm sure a lot of their parents also know of their sports heroes.

When talking Messi/Ronaldo, I'd argue that Beckham was more famous outside the soccer world than either of those two. I'm talking about that cultural transcendence where you are not only known by avid and casual fans of the sport, but also by all of those who do not even follow sports.

… In the US.

[whomario]

@Edward: Buddha is a title but indeed used synonymous with the founder of the religion (Siddharta Gautama) with a decent chance he was a historical figure. Konfuzius undoubtedly was a historical figure (just because a few details are unknown doesn't change that).
Jesus was of course hotly debated for a time, but consensus now is definitely that he was a historical figure, supported by sources outside christianity as well. Was he and his actions embellished in the christian texts ? Duh. But so were plenty of famous persian, roman or greek figures that no one doubts existed. Unless you set an impossible burden of proof it is valid to assume he was a real person.
Brahma/Vishnu/Shiva and Allah though are decidedly not people but deities.

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

… In the US.

Nah, Beckham was definitely also (and propably more so than in the US) huge elsewhere including at least the parts of asia with some connection to football/anglo (Japan, SK) but somewhat popular in China and India as well. Plus, the famous-spouse effect that made him known among different sets if people as well.

[Carman Bulldog]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

… In the US.

Don't forget about Bend it Like Beckham, which was enormously popular in India, giving Beckham the kind of transcendence beyond sport that other athletes may not have. Not to mention some residual fame worldwide as Posh Spice's husband, for those unfamiliar with sports.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by whomario

Nah, Beckham was definitely also (and propably more so than in the US) huge elsewhere including at least the parts of asia with some connection to football/anglo (Japan, SK) but somewhat popular in China and India as well. Plus, the famous-spouse effect that made him known among different sets if people as well.

I was talking about the "more famous" than Messi/Ronaldo. Beckham was well known, no doubt. But the level of Ronaldo's and Messi's fame is beyond that. JIMG already mentioned Ronaldo's eye popping Instagram followers.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Carman Bulldog

Don't forget about Bend it Like Beckham, which was enormously popular in India, giving Beckham the kind of transcendence beyond sport that other athletes may not have. Not to mention some residual fame worldwide as Posh Spice's husband, for those unfamiliar with sports.

Bend it Like Beckham made only $76 million worldwide (it definitely made a ton of money over it's $6mil budget though!).

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

Bend it Like Beckham made only $76 million worldwide (it definitely made a ton of money over it's $6mil budget though!).

Gotta hate those 1250% returns

[AlexB]

Dola, people do under estimate the Beckham effect, but the mention of Jackie Chan Is an interesting one...

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by AlexB

Dola, people do under estimate the Beckham effect, but the mention of Jackie Chan Is an interesting one...

That one got me thinking, too

SI