Vote: Who is the most admired of them all?

Seven of the 30 most-admired people on the planet are Indians. Now, isn't that cool?

The 'world's most admired people poll', conducted by YouGov for The Times newspaper in Britain, ranks cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar fifth in the list.

Other Indians on the list include the BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi (7th), Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan (9th), former President A P J Abdul Kalam (10th), social activist Kisan Baburao 'Anna' Hazare (14th), Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal (18th) and business tycoon Ratan Tata (30th).

About 14,000 people in Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, United States, Australia, Pakistan, Indonesia, India, China, Egypt, Nigeria and Brazil were surveyed to draw up the final list.

Want to know who else made it to the Top 30 ranking?

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Bill Gates is credited with bringing the PC into our homes. The co-founder of Microsoft, he is the one of the greatest success stories of the century.

The man who dropped out of Harvard University nearly four decades ago went on to build the world's first software fortune. At 58, the technocrat is the second richest man in the world and has been consistently on the list of Forbes's wealthiest persons list since 1995.

'The Internet is not going to save the world,' said the man who revolutionised the personal computer in an interview to Financial Times last year. No wonder, he did not hesitate to give up full time work at Microsoft in 2006 to give his undivided attention to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the world's largest private foundation that looks into healthcare and poverty.

Did you know?

Gates and three other high school students were banned from computer usage by the Seattle-based Computer Center Corporation after they were caught exploiting its operating system bugs to steal computer time.

Six years after he created history by being voted as America’s first black president, Barack Hussein Obama continues to be among the most admired people in the world.

He gave America hope and a belief: Yes, we can.

But all was not well after his first four years in the White House. His popularity plummeted to 49.1 per cent, among the lowest for post World War II presidents, said Gallup.com, a data-driven news-based website.

His campaign did not appear promising and the economy was worse off. But he made a comeback in 2012, albeit having won four million fewer votes and two fewer states than in 2008 --  the first Democrat in more than 75 years to get a majority of the popular vote twice. Only five other Presidents have done that in all of American history.

Did you know?

Barack Obama was the first president to use a BlackBerry.





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The Russian autocrat topped Forbes list of the world’s most powerful people in 2013, leaving behind Obama, who was ranked No 2.

The 59-year-old has dominated Russian politics over the last decade or so. In 2012, the KGB-trained strongman was re-elected for the third time as Russia’s president allowing him to serve another six year-term.

While Putin has been credited for ushering in a new era of prosperity in Russia and for bringing in economic and political stability, he has come under fire for the erosion of democracy.

Last year, the president “solidified his control over Russia and anyone watching the chess match over Syria has a clear idea of the shift in the power towards Putin on the global stage,” said Forbes. 

And let’s not forget, he sometimes appears like a real-life action hero.

When wildfires ravaged the Ryazan region of Russia in 2010, Putin didn't appear in front of a camera to assure residents that everything possible was being done, instead he appeared in the front of an aircraft to do it himself.

Did you know?

Putin has a black belt in Judo.





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A “rock star” Pope is born.

He is the most popular person on the Internet; the second most followed leader on Twitter. His selfie went viral and Time magazine named him the 2013 Person of the Year.

He shook up Vatican fashion with his simplistic style. Velvet capes and red leather pumps were out. Instead he picked papal whites and practical black brogues. He swapped the papal Mercedes Benz for a Ford Focus and the grand Apostolic Palace for a two-room apartment.  

Be it child abuse, money laundering or homosexuality allegations against the Vatican, Pope Francis has cracked the whip. His popularity has soared since his election on March 13 beyond his own 1.2 billion-strong Roman Catholic Church.

He has dominated headlines like few other spiritual leaders have and that too for all the right reasons. Clearly, 2013 was the year of the Pope!

Did you know?

Pope Francis had a lung removed as a teenager, following an infection.





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Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar has been dubbed as the ‘God of cricket'. In India, he is literally treated as one.

In his stellar 24-year career, which began when was 16, Sachin has achieved several milestones, which look like they are impossible to surpass.

At 40, he has played more matches, and scored more runs, and centuries, than any other cricketer in both Tests and ODIs.

With an unblemished stint, both on and off the field, he has been a true gentleman of the gentleman’s game.

Last November, Sachin bid adieu to the game at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. The nation wept. 

The media dubbed it as the end of era.

Sachin, the cricketer, will be missed. India will see more of him as Sachin, the MP. But will he be loved as much?

Did you know?

Sachin went to watch the movie Roja in 1995 sporting a beard and disguise. It all went wrong when his glasses fell off and the crowd in the cinema hall recognised him.



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A ‘princeling’, who was forced to quit luxuries of city life and sent to work in the villages and mountains, is today one of the most powerful men in the world.

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s role in world politics is expected to assume more prominence in the next decade through which he will lead the world’s second largest economy.     

Xi is all about reforms. Since coming to power last March, he has vowed to crack down on corruption. His agendas have been impressive, especially relaxation of the controversial one-child policy and terminating re-education through labour camps. 

Xi has also urged his country to achieve the 'China Dream', something he has linked to a Chinese renaissance, where the country can take its rightful place in the world, reports BBC.

But he continues to clamp down on democracy. Among his less appealing policies is the vow to 'standardise Internet supervision'. He has tightened controls over media and ruthlessly suppressed the New Citizens' Movement, a group of activists campaigning for government transparency.

State-controlled media call Xi a man of the people; analysts call him calculating and ruthless.

Is Xi liked or disliked outside China? The Chinese ruler ‘is a riddle to the world’, The Guardian rightly said.

Did you know?

Xi’s only daughter, Xi Mingze, enrolled at Harvard (using a pseudonym) in 2010.



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To say Narendra Modi is the most polarising figure in Indian politics is understating facts. The Gujarat chief minister, and currently the Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate, evokes extreme reactions among Indians.

While left-liberals see red at the very mention of his name, many of those in the right-wing consider him a saviour.

Modi makes little effort to shed the communal tag that dogs him, he seems unperturbed even when party patriarch L K Advani publicly shuns him, he remains unfazed by reports about forgetting a wife or getting aides to snoop on a woman and he is the most ardent believer of his own spiel about Gujarat’s development.

He may end up being the BJP's biggest success story or he may just turn out to be the saffron party’s worst mistake.

Did you know?

Modi fasts all nine days during Navratra every year -- eating only one fruit a day during this time.




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Considered the most successful investor of 20th century alive, Warren Buffett is called as the ‘Wizard of Omaha’. He is among the top five richest people on the planet, with a net worth of $58.5 billion.

In 2013, he made about Rs 228 crore a day. Through his company Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett Inc, he owns stakes in over 55 companies. Buffett is also a notable philanthropist.

Teaming up with Gates Foundation, he has pledged to give away 99 per cent of his fortune to philanthropic causes.

Did you know?

Buffett was a delivery boy for The Washington Post. Ironically, in 1974 he joined its board of directors.



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Mr Bachchan impressed me immensely by not just his talent and his ability to act, but what a gentleman he was."

This was what Hollywood heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio said about Amitabh Bachchan, who co-starred with him in the The Great Gatsby.  

Back in India, his popularity is unmatched. At 71, the megastar probably creates as much buzz if not more than he did three decades ago.

Bollywood has its share of khiladis and badshahs, but Big B remains its reigning Shahenshah.

Bachchan is ambidextrous -- he can write equally well with both his hands.




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If you dream it long enough, it is bound to become reality.’

These are probably one of most inspirational lines of former Indian President A P J Abdul Kalam. His dream is to see India become No 1 in the world.

A prolific rocket scientist, success has followed Kalam. In a series tilted ‘India’s best students’, rediff.com wrote on the Missile Man: 'Prithvi, Agni, Akash, Trishul and Nag missiles were huge successes. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan and Bharat Ratna, and then he became the President of India; one of the few presidents who have touched the hearts of so many poor children in the country.'

His integrity as President is impeccable. Dubbed the ‘People’s Prez’, even today he continues to remain an inspiration for many.

In the year 1998, he along with cardiologist Dr Soma Raju, developed a low cost coronary stent. It was later named as ‘Kalam-Raju Stent’ in their honour.



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A self-made billionaire, Li Ka-shing is among the top 10 richest persons in the world and the richest in Asia. His rags-to-riches journey is one of the most inspiring, and has earned him admiration of people of Hong Kong where he has the status of celebrity.

In spite of his wealth, Li has cultivated a reputation for leading a no-frills lifestyle, and is known to wear simple black dress shoes and an inexpensive Seiko wristwatch, according to Wikipedia.

Did you know?

Li Ka-shing was forced to leave school before the age of 15 and found a job in a plastics trading company where he laboured 16 hours a day.



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One of the world’s most iconic Pakistanis, Imran Khan has come a long way from being a prominent player on the cricket field to the political field.

The ‘playboy’ Khan, as he was known in the 1980s, has been Pakistan’s most successful cricket captain, who led his team to their only World Cup triumph in 1992. 

It was in 1996 that he made a foray into politics with the launch of the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf. But only recently has he emerged as a serious player on the Pakistani political scene.

Did you know?

Imran has addressed the World Economic Forum, to become the only Asian to do so without being a part of the government.



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He has served longer than England's Queen Elizabeth or Cuba's Fidel Castro. Many worship him as the 'god-king'. He is known among his faithful as the Buddha of Compassion.

The 14th Dalai Lama has become synonymous with altruism.

Having fled to India over half a century ago from the Tibetan capital Lhasa when in his mid-20s, he established a government-in-exile in Dharmashala. Since then he has become the face of resistance to Chinese rule.

For thousands of Tibetans in exile the world over, he remains a living god. His compassion has extended far beyond his community and today he is looked upon as one of the world's leading religious figures.

In 1989, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent campaign to end China's domination of his land. But China considers him a “violent separatist” even today, after he officially retired from politics in 2011 claiming that he wants to live as a "simple monk." 

The Dalai Lama has tried being vegetarian but has not succeeded. He developed jaundice and had to go back to eating meat.



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Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement posed a serious challenge to the government in 2011. His fight for a Jan Lokpal saw his transformation from a grass-root social activist to a national figure.

With his crusade against corruption, the 74-year-old touched a pragmatic part of urban youth, making them aware of their rights. For the first time since post-1947 India, the bourgeois set aside their comforts and stepped into the streets for a political role.

It was an awakening of sorts, which brought about a change in the national psyche.

But soon Anna and his movement lost steam. His rigid stance to keep away from politics squandered some of his goodwill.

Once a threat to the government, Hazare is back in his shell at Ralegan Siddhi in Maharashtra. His threats to go on hunger strikes have become meek; his attempts to reclaim that space once again at Ramlila Maidan are even meeker.

Did you know?

Anna Hazare started his career as a driver in the Indian Army.



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Lionel Messi’s talent is superlative. The 26-year-old is arguably the greatest ever and is often compared to yesteryear legends Diego Maradona and Pele.

He scored 91 goals in all competitions in 2012 to break a 40-year-old world record held by Gerd Muller.

He is spoken of in the same breath as another La Liga great, Cristiano Ronaldo, but the Argentinian, we can say, is more successful, as his club Barcelona often sweeps Real Madrid aside on the pitch.

Messi won the prized Ballon d’Or each of the past four years. (This year it went to Ronaldo).

Messi is an unlikely superstar. On the field he is an attacker, but off the field the diminutive legend is a shy recluse.

Did you know?

Messi's first contract with Barcelona was detailed out on a paper napkin. FC Barcelona sporting director Carles Rexach was so impressed with Messi's skills that he wanted to make a contract immediately and there was no paper available at that time.



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Stephen Hawking is the world’s go-to genius. Perhaps the most popular cosmologist of the century, a devotee of black holes, his work has probed the origins of the cosmos, the nature of time and the universe's ultimate fate.

“The Big Bang did not need God to set it off,” Stephen Hawking suggested to an audience in California last April, creating quiet a stir among the faithful.

A severe case of Lou Gehrig’s disease has trapped his bold mind in an uncooperative body, a situation that’s an inseparable part of his fame, The New York Times wrote.  

The 72-year-old is an exceptional scientist who is also a celebrity as much for his best-selling books The Universe in a Nutshell and A Brief History of Time as for his appearance on The Simpsons.

Did you know? 

Hawking hasn’t yet been awarded the Nobel Prize.



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At 87, Queen Elizabeth is Britain’s oldest monarch.

Having served for 60 years since she first ascended the throne on February 6, 1952, she has done more to humanise the monarchy, perceived to be exotic and detached from ordinary life, than any ruler before.  

'Her life is a relentless, unceasing meet-and-greet. She makes people feel bigger, prouder, bolder and more heroic from having the royal face (which can change, in a disconcerting instant, from grumpy scowl to dazzling smile) turn briefly to meet theirs,' The Independent wrote about the Queen on her Diamond Jubilee last year.

She has a royal mystique to her, but there is also another ‘ordinary’ side of the Queen. She still gets nervous before a microphone. She dislikes slow eaters and unpunctuality.

For the sake of records, she is still on-track to becoming the longest reigning monarch in over 1,200 years of British history (her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, reigned for 63 years and 216 days) in September 2015.

Did you know? 

The Queen is the only person in Britain who can drive without a licence or number plate on her state car.




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Amid accusations of hijacking activist Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement, his once-upon-a-time sidekick Arvind Kejriwal launched the Aam Aadmi Party in November 2012.

A mere toddler in terms of political years, Kejriwal’s AAP has not only taken on the veterans -- the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party -- but has also given them quite a scare.

Armed with a broom (the AAP’s party symbol) and some conviction, the government-official-turned-activist felled mighty Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit by over 20,000 votes in the recent assembly election.

The ‘angry young man’ of Indian politics has stormed into the national conscience. Ruling the Congress out, many opinion polls say that the fight in 2014 will be between Narendra Modi and Kejriwal.

Is an ‘aam aadmi’ PM what India really needs?

Did you know?    

After quitting his job at Tata Steel, Kejriwal spent time in Kolkata, at the Ramakrishna Mission. He also met Mother Teresa and worked with her.



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An Academy award winner and a humanitarian, a daring Angelina Jolie shared with the world last year that she underwent a preventive double mastectomy because she carries a gene that puts her at high risk for breast cancer.

Grabbing headlines worldwide and sparking a debate, she once again showed why she is one of the most powerful women in Hollywood.

Proud of the unconventional family that she and her beau Brad Pitt have created (they’ve adopted three kids and want to adopt more) and dedicating years of service to the United Nations, Jolie has proved time and again that she is more than an outstanding actress.

Did you know?   

As one of her many hobbies, Jolie collects knives and first edition books.



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One of the most powerful American women and the “only African-American billionaire”, according to Forbes, Oprah Winfrey revolutionised television.

Her feel-good show became so powerful that Oprah became a voice of self-empowerment, a message that has spread far into popular culture.

Her influence spread beyond television and how!

As US President George W Bush struggled to cope with crises, an outraged Maureen Ryan, a syndicated columnist, wrote, ‘Can someone tell President Bush to call Oprah?'

Did you know?

Oprah receives approximately 25,000 emails a week. 



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More than a decade after he played his last NBA game, Michael Jordon is still remembered for how he miraculously floated in air on the basketball field.

His biography on the National Basketball Association website states, 'By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time'.

His coach in Chicago, Phil Jackson, believed that Jordan 'had somehow been transformed in the public mind from a great athlete to a sports deity'.

The business-savvy Jordon, who turned 50 last year, owns an NBA team, a division of Nike, and out-earns almost every member of the world’s highest-paid athlete even today.

Did you know?

Jordon is petrified of water; he watched his friend drown to death and almost drowned himself as a kid. 



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Cristiano Ronaldo has won the Ballon d’Or, the most prestigious award in world soccer.

And rightly so! The Portuguese forward had a beastly 2013 where the number of goals he scored far surpassed the number of matches he played.

One of the world’s highest paid footballers, Ronaldo’s ability to dribble through the world's best defences is astonishing.

But what works against him is his arrogance that made him the cartoon villain many love to hate.

Did you know?

Ronaldo has no tattoos as he regularly donates blood.



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Egypt's Army Chief General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is the most powerful man in the country today.

In 2013, Sisi stood up to domestic and international opposition to wrestle power over Egypt from the Muslim Brotherhood.

The country’s defence minister and also the deputy prime minister, the general has assumed a god-like status, called Sisi-Mania.

With his popularity growing, there are chances that he may run for president in the elections due this year.

Did you know?

Cupcakes and chocolates bearing his initials ‘CC’ became a rage in Egypt last year.  



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Billy Graham, the American Christian evangelist, is best known for his worldwide evangelistic crusades preaching the message of Christianity to more people than anyone in history.

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association reports that 'Nearly 215 million people in more than 185 countries' have been reached through his ministry.

In his lifetime, he has led many thousands to make a decision to receive Jesus as personal saviour and to live for Christ.

Gallup Polls regularly list Graham as one of the 'Ten Most Admired Men in the World'.

Did you know?

Graham has been close to 11 US presidents, including George W Bush, who says a 1985 conversation with Graham was central to his becoming a born-again Christian.



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The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre, the Pentagon, and the thwarted flight against the White House or Capitol on September 11, 2001, in which nearly 3,000 Americans were killed, transformed George W Bush into a wartime president.

He went on to declare a "war on terror". He rallied Americans with a defiant call from the rubble that "those who did this will hear us". They did. He launched a war against the Taliban in Afghanistan which had given shelter to Osama bin Laden.

He extended that war into a general offensive against the Al Qaeda and its various manifestations. Then, declaring that Iraq had developed weapons of mass destruction, he sent his troops into Baghdad. Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was overthrown but, so far, no weapons have been found and peace still eludes that country.

He eventually left office in January 2009 with low approval ratings. For many he was an object of hate as well (but not for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who famously told him that 'Indians loved him'). Critics laid much of the country’s misfortunes at his feet, while supporters defended him for his strong leadership during one of the country’s most dangerous periods.

After years of leading a relatively quiet life in Texas, Bush returned to the media spotlight in 2013. He was on hand for the opening of the George W Bush Library and Museum on the grounds of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

Did you know?

George Bush was titled the 'Vacation President' because he took over 900 days off in his two tenures as president.



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German Chancellor Angela Merkel is considered as the most influential leader in Europe and one of the most powerful leaders in the world

Forbes magazine, which has given Merkel the top slot in the world's most powerful women list for eight years now, terms the German chancellor as the backbone of the 27-member European Union and the one carrying the fate of the euro on her shoulders.

The chancellor's critics say she is overly pragmatic, jettisoning her convictions for the sake of political expediency. In recent years, Merkel has reversed her position on nuclear power, deciding to phase out Germany's plants by 2022, and has moved closer to the centre on economic policy.

The German chancellor is reviled by many people in the debt-strapped countries of southern Europe, who accuse her of using Germany's economic might and deep pockets to impose unpopular eurozone austerity programmes.

But Merkel is popular for precisely the same reason at home. A large portion of voters admire the fact that she has opposed generous terms for countries seen by many Germans as spendthrift and corrupt, which they fear would come at the expense of their country's well-being.

Did you know?

Merkel considers herself a good cook. Her specialities are soups, schnitzel and fish dishes as well as cake.



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A tough and pragmatic leader, outspoken advocate of social justice and women's rights, and a resilient and intelligent politician, Hillary Rodham Clinton has achieved many "firsts" in her roles as First Lady of the United States, US Senator, presidential candidate, and Secretary of State.

But Clinton, who plans to run for the next US presidential elections on her record as a world diplomat, is actually at the bottom of who the world admires most.

Some blame for that could be attributed to the Benghazi fiasco.

The State Department, under Clinton's leadership, came under investigation after a deadly attack on the US diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, killed US ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others on September 11, 2012.

An independent panel issued a report about the Benghazi attack, which found "systematic failures and leadership and management deficiencies" at the State Department.

Clinton quit a couple of months laterm capping a four-year tenure that saw her shatter records for the number of countries visited.

Did you know?

Shortly before she married Bill Clinton in 1975, Hillary tried to join the Marines, probably to make a political statement. The Marine recruiter rejected her on the grounds that she was “too old,” couldn’t see very well, and that she was a woman.



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Peng Liyuan is special, really special. For in a country where the wives of the ruling class rarely overshadow their spouses, Liyuan has scripted history of sorts.

Liyuan, the First Lady of China, is a celebrity in her own right. She is a hugely popular folk singer who has been more famous than her husband, Xi Jinping, for most of his career.

She starred for 24 years in an annual Lunar New Year gala broadcast on state television that was watched by hundreds of millions of viewers.

But there are other facets, too, to Liyuan, whose name means "Beauteous Beauty" in Chinese.

She was the youngest civilian to become a major general in the People's Liberation Army and has served as the World Health Organisation's goodwill ambassador for HIV/Aids and tuberculosis.

A semi-official biography posted on Chinese web portals tells how Liyuan comes from an area in the eastern province of Shandong known for its peony flowers -- she was nicknamed the "Peony Fairy" by her admirers -- and joined the army at the age of 18.

Did you know?

Chinese President Xi Jinping's wife earned a coveted spot on fashion magazine Vanity Fair's International Best Dressed list, cementing her status as the stylish first lady of China



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Abdul Sattar Edhi is a prominent philanthropist and social worker based out of Karachi in Pakistan. His first interaction with human suffering occurred at the age of 11, when his mother was physically paralysed and later suffered from mental illness.

He spent his waking hours caring for her, and her worsening health and eventual death left a lasting impact on his life. In 1947, at the age of 19, Edhi's family was forced to flee their hometown and relocate to Karachi.

Finding himself in a new city without any resources, Edhi resolved to dedicate his life to aiding the poor, and over the last 60 years, he has single-handedly changed the face of welfare in Pakistan.

For his services, Edhi has been the recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service, the Lenin Peace Prize, the Balzan Prize, an honorary degree of Doctorate from Institute of Business AdministrationPakistan, an honorary degree of Doctorate from the University of Bedfordshire and a Nishan-e-Imtiaz from the government of Pakistan.

To date, the foundation has rescued over 20,000 abandoned infants, rehabilitated 50,000 orphans and trained over 40,000 nurses.

Did you know?

To this day, Edhi owns two pairs of clothes, has never taken salary from his organisation and lives in a small two-bedroom apartment over his clinic in Karachi.



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An iconic business leader, Ratan Tata shaped the Tata Group into one of the most respected conglomerates with a turnover of $100 billion.

A thorough businessman, he is known for integrity and vision. A prime example of his vision is the revolutionary Tata Nano.

Ratan Tata saw a family of four riding on a bike in the rain. This inspired him to develop a vehicle that is affordable and safe, and the Nano was born.

After 50 glorious years of service, Ratan Tata retired as chairman of the Tata Group in December 2012.

Did you know?

Ratan Tata turned down a job offer with IBM in 1962 and returned to India on the advice of JRD Tata.