The 69-year-old climbed two spots, overtaking tenth-placed Jack Ma of Alibaba Group, while ex-US President Barack Obama held on to the first place after deposing entrepreneur Bill Gates last year.
Chinese President Xi Jinping was third, followed by Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo, actor Jackie Chan, tech billionaire Elon Musk, Ronaldo’s Argentine rival Lionel Messi Lionel Messi, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Canadian actor Keanu Reeves and Tibetian spiritual leader Dalai Lama both dropped off this year’s ranking after featuring on the top 10 list of most admired men last year.
Obama’s wife Michelle was leading the most admired women’s ranking for the third year running, while Actress Angelina Jolie and Queen Elizabeth retained their second and third places.
Coming next were entertainers Oprah Winfrey, Scarlett Johansson, Emma Watson, and Taylor Swift. Ex-German Chancellor Angela Merkel was eighth, followed by Pakistani rights activist Malala and Indian actress Priyanka Chopra.
This year’s study surveyed 42,000 people in 38 countries. Respondents were asked to name a public person they admired and then pick the most admirable personality from a list of options. Each nation's results were also weighted to represent the country's population size.