Who is the most famous person alive

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by Buzzbee

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]

Originally Posted by timmynausea

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by Johnny93g

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]

Originally Posted by kcchief19

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?"