Who are the six biggest celebrities in the Western World currently? The people with the most clout, history, accomplishments, etc?

I'll suggest a rule that former and the current US presidents aren't included since that's kind of a gimme.

1. Paul McCartney
2. Mick Jagger
3. Michael Jordan (or LeBron?)
4. Tom Brady
5. Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson
6. Tom Hanks

Man, I must be old. The youngest guy on my list could be a grandpa. I'm not sure I can justify Taylor Swift, Beyonc or a Kardaschian as a substitute.

powerbelly said:

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If we go on twitter follows:

1. Obama
2. Justin Bieber
3. Katy Perry
4. Rihanna
5. Cristiano Ronaldo

Or Instagram:

1. Cristiano Ronaldo
2. Kylie Jenner
3. Lionel Messi
4. Dwayne Johnson
5. Selena Gomez

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Those are good data points, but I have a hard time putting Kylie Jenner, for instance, above a Beatle. In spite of the wording of the post question, I feel like history will forget Kylie Jenner.

Brian Earl Spilner said:

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Tom Cruise waaaaay ahead of Brady. Like laps ahead.

Most of the world doesn't care about the NFL outside of US and Mexico.

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Yep. Tom Cruise is bigger than most on my list, and I gave Tom Brady too much credit. Oops.

MooreTrucker said:

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Lizzo

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Elvis, he just went home

Elon Musk

Point of information: Is celebrity the same thing as notability?

I would think most government and religious leaders would be exempt from this discussion, in part, because their news coverage and public access is more or less requisite.

You could say high level athletes fall under those conditions as well, but the ones who achieve true celebrity are usually notable in different news categories or entertainment mediums.

Harry Lime said:

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Point of information: Is celebrity the same thing as notability?

I would think most government and religious leaders would be exempt from this discussion, in part, because their news coverage and public access is more or less requisite.

You could say high level athletes fall under those conditions as well, but the ones who achieve true celebrity are usually notable in different news categories or entertainment mediums.

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Good point. Although as organized religion is sadly becoming a smaller part of our culture, the Pope could probably come in and sit in most Protestant churches unrecognized. Same with most gov't leaders other than the last 4 Presidents and the russian president currently.

In no particular order, these need consideration.

Pele
Shakira
Mel Gibson
Samuel L Jackson

I would agree that the living US Presidents would be most famous in the Western World, not to mention outside of the western world. Probably could remove Carter from this list, because he was so long ago.

Also, I don't think narrowing it down to Twitter and Instagram is necessarily valid. You are dealing predominately with a particular demographic. There are many demographics who don't use much of those social platforms and probably don't know those people.

Take Selena Gomez, for instance. I bet I couldn't pick her out of a lineup. There are many people who are probably in the same boat. However, the people who know who Kylie Jenner is probably also know who Trump is, as well as the people who don't know who Kylie Jenner is.

1. Trump and Obama
2. Biden? He's basically a corpse, but I assume most people know who he is or his name, in the western world.
3. Bush and Clinton
4. Don't know where to do from here.

Mike Tyson
Elton John
Messi / Ronaldo
Trump
The Queen
Leo

Mike Tyson? Really?

Ol_Ag_02 said:

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LylaGarrity said:

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Queen Elizabeth is the most famous person in the world.

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If you took a picture of the queen wearing a tshirt and sweat pants and then a picture of the rock wearing a tshirt and sweat pants, I can promise you that multiple times more people would recognize the rock.

Hell I'd probably not recognize the queen without her royal get-up.

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How often is the Queen ever seen while not in her royal get-up?

Claude! said:

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Ol_Ag_02 said:

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LylaGarrity said:

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Queen Elizabeth is the most famous person in the world.

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If you took a picture of the queen wearing a tshirt and sweat pants and then a picture of the rock wearing a tshirt and sweat pants, I can promise you that multiple times more people would recognize the rock.

Hell I'd probably not recognize the queen without her royal get-up.

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How often is the Queen ever seen while not in her royal get-up?

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I don't know. But I'd like to think the most famous person in the world be recognized without their hat.

Oprah
Taylor Swift
Tiger Woods
Britney Spears

Brian Earl Spilner said:

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Mike Tyson? Really?

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One of the most recognizable people on the planet.

Philo B 93 said:

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oragator said:

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Ronaldo is bigger than most of those.

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I love quarter pounders, but most people don't remember that Ronaldo is the mascot.

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I think Grimace is bigger than Ronaldo too. I mean he's huge and he's also purple.

HtownAg92 said:

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Brian Earl Spilner said:

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Mike Tyson? Really?

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One of the most recognizable people on the planet.

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No way he's top 10

Jack Klompus said:

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Oprah
Taylor Swift
Tiger Woods
Britney Spears

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Tiger Woods is a good call. Golf has world wide popularity.

LylaGarrity said:

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Queen Elizabeth is the most famous person in the world.

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Her picture is on eleventy-billion pieces of currency. And not just in the U.K.
Some of the countries that used to be part of the Empire still have her on their money because they just can't quit her.

jenn96 said:

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powerbelly said:

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If we go on twitter follows:

1. Obama
2. Justin Bieber
3. Katy Perry
4. Rihanna
5. Cristiano Ronaldo

Or Instagram:

1. Cristiano Ronaldo
2. Kylie Jenner
3. Lionel Messi
4. Dwayne Johnson
5. Selena Gomez

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Social media is not real life. Approximately 5% of the world population is on twitter, 12.5% is on Instagram. That doesn't mean that the people on the list above aren't world-wide recognizable, but American-based social media isn't a good way to gauge it.

My gut tells me the big international soccer stars, and major movie actors with international hits would be the most recognizable (if we eliminate Presidents and Prime Ministers). Although in terms of raw numbers it's probably some Chinese singer none of us have ever heard of.

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Oh, sure, like China lets their people enjoy music.