The 16 Smartest People On Earth (2024)

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Science

Dina Spector and Shlomo Sprung

Updated

2012-10-23T16:28:00Z

IQ is a problematic measure of intelligence. Many have never been tested, while others have taken the test many times to improve their scores.

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Still, psychologists consider it the best measurement of intelligence out there.

So who has the highest score?

The World Genius Directory, created byDr. Jason Betts, is afluid list of the world's top mind compiled from certified IQ tests sent in by listees. Betts says his site is the definitive ranking.

"Other [IQ] websites had existed, and some still do, but they are basedand limited by local constraints, for example, written in Spanish, forEuropeans only, only accept their friends' tests, and so on," Betts told us in an email.The directory "has no preferences nor bias, except test quality."

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The average score on an IQ test is 100. Most people fall within the 85 to 114 range. Any score over 140 is considered a high IQ. A score over 160 is considered a genius IQ.

If you're wondering, Betts includes himself on the directory. His IQ is 168.

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Ivan Ivec has an IQ of 169

Nationality: Croatian

Ivec specializes in high end IQ tests, competitions and statistics. He's a member of Croatia's MENSA and teaches advanced mathematics.

Ivec has puzzle competitions and other tests of academic strength on his website.

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Gaetano Morelli has an IQ of 169

Nationality: Italian

Gaetano, called "Tany" for short,is an engineer at an Italian firm and the author of a book about Albert Einstein's Theory of Relativity.

He's a member of at least 20 high IQ societies and founded his own, the STHIQ.

His hobbies include bridge, chess and fishing.

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Jorge del Fresno Viejo has an IQ of 170

Nationality: Spain

Jorge is a member of several IQ societies including Morelli's STHIQ society, the Universal Genius SocietyandEpida.

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Mick Dempsey has an IQ of 171

Nationality: British

Dempsey has a degree in forensic psychology from London Metropolitan University. He is a youth support worker at Hertfordshire County Council, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Dempsey also enjoys jazz, Faulkner, the Everton soccer club and films including Pulp Fiction, according to his Facebook page.

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Marc Nydegger has an IQ 171

Nationality: Swiss

The 20-year-old prodigy from Fribourg, Switzerland is a scientist and video game designer, according to his profile at Hall of the Ancients.

The profile says his favorite food is "knowledge" and his favorite drink is "intelligence."

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Santanu Sengupta has an IQ of 174

Nationality: Indian

Sengupta holds anan MBA and bachelor's in Aerospace engineering.

When he's not working theequity property desk for a financial services firm, the 34-year-old enjoys traveling,stimulating discussions, solving puzzles and good food. Sengupta'sfavorite drink, by the way, is vodka.

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Vedran Glisic has an IQ of 175

Nationality: Bosnian

Gilsic, who hails from Bosnia and Herzegovinia, enjoys experimental music, mathematics and chess compositions.

You can check out some his own mixes on ReverbNation.

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Peter Rodgers has an IQ of 175

Nationality: Australian

The 58-year-old author, physicist and poethas written more than 3,000 poemsand published books on emotion, schizophrenia and Albert Einstein.

Rodgers, who earned his bachelor's in Mathematics at the University of Queensland, suffers from dyslexia and epilepsy,but still managed to do well in school.

The poetic genius also hosts his own YouTube channelwhere he posts creative videos of his poems, music and information on his books.

Tadayuki Konno has an IQ of 176

Nationality: Japanese

Konno, 39, currently lives inSakata-shi, Yamagata, Japan. The self-described visionary lists his hobbies on his Facebook page as "making kaibun (Japanese Palindrome), listening to music, watching movies, reading manga comics and novels."

He is a member ofthe Mysterium Society and theHELLIQ Society.

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Lee HanKyung has an IQ of 177

Nationality: South Korean

Lee Hankyung, fromDaejon, South Korea, is currently a medical student. The 27-year-old is a member of at least five high IQ societies, including Mensa Korea and OLYMPIQ High IQ Society.

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Tim Roberts has an IQ of 178

Nationality: Australian

Roberts is a professor and the head of the computer science department atCentral Queensland University in Australia.His favorite subjects to teach include operating systems, artificial intelligence, and programming

Before turning to teaching, Roberts worked as a software consultant.

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Patrick Zimmerschied has an IQ of 178

Nationality: German

The 30-year-old currently studies philosophy and political science at the Darmstadt University of Technology, after dropping out of school at age 18.

He has written books and enjoys writing poetry in his spare time.

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Kenneth Ferrell has an IQ of 190.

Nationality: American

Ferrell is aphysician in Charlotte, N.C. Heis a member of various elite IQ societies, including the Epimetheus Society, theOrder of Imhotepand GenerIQ.

The 52-year-old told us that "IQ tests" have become a fun hobby for him over the last five years and he evencreated verbal and numerical IQ tests of his own: QUINTIQ and 12345.

As for his spot on the World Genius Directory: "I view the list I'm on as a celebration of scores among people who like to take these tests. I scored190 on a test. I don't believe that means my IQ is 190," Ferrell says.

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Mislav Predavec has an IQ of 192.

Nationality: Croatian

Currently a math professor in Croatia's capital of Zagreb, the 45-year-old is also an owner and director of a small trade company.

Predavec is the founder and president of the elite GenerIQ society, which lists Ivec and Ferrell as members.

His Facebook page mentions that he liked Pink Floyd, Mafia Wars, Leonardo Di Vinci and Gloria magazine.

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Rick Rosner has an IQ of 192

Nationality: American

The world's second smartest man is one of the more colorful characters on the list.He has written for various TV shows, was a contestant on "Who Want To Be A Millionaire," and spent many years as a bar bouncer, stripper and nude model.

The 54-year-old, who currently lives in Los Angeles, recently told The Daily that he sometimes stays up 20 hours a day to finish IQ tests in a bid to knock his Greek competitor out of the top spot.

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Dr. Evangelos Katsioulis has an IQ of 198

Nationality: Greek

The smartest man in the world is a Greek psychiatrist who also holds degrees in philosophy, medical research technology and psychopharmacology.

Katsioulis, 36, also enjoys painting, swimmingand traveling.

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Now meet a crop of very smart ladies.

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FAQs

Who has a 400 IQ? ›

It's hard to believe such people exist. Nata-bird wrote: Adragon De Mello (IQ Score: 400)His record was broken in 1994 by another student, but today, De Mello is known to have one of the highest IQ scores in all of human history – an IQ score of 400!

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Who had an IQ of 270? ›

Helena Sidis told me that a few years before his death, her brother Bill took an intelligence test with a psychologist. His score was the very highest that had ever been obtained. In terms of I. Q., the psychologist related that the figure would be between 250 and 300.

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What is Bill Gates' IQ? ›

Bill Gates's IQ is 157 ± 6, according to our mathematical analysis based on SAT score averages. With a correlation coefficient of 0.8 between SAT scores and IQ, this approach provides a trustworthy approximation.

Who has a 192 IQ? ›

Rick Rosner: IQ 192 to 198

Rick Rosner has taken more than 30 IQ tests, revealing his IQ is between 192 and 198, depending on how the tests define their scores. Before the allegedly second-smartest man in the world became a TV writer, he worked as a bouncer, stripper, and nude model.

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What is Elon Musk's IQ? ›

IQ tests provide insight into an individual's cognitive ability. As mentioned earlier, Elon Musk's IQ score is believed to be between 155 and 160. Above-average IQ scores within this range are only reserved for the "Highly Gifted" IQ classification.

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What is the top 1% IQ? ›

An average person scores 100 on an IQ test using the Stanford-Binet IQ scale. A score of 137 to 160 is considered the top 1 percent to . 01 percent of all scorers. Frank Lawlis, director of psychological testing for American Mensa, also joined the discussion on The Daily Circuit.

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Who has the highest IQ 1,000? ›

Marilyn vos Savant

Author.
columnist.

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What was Cleopatra's IQ? ›

Cleopatra: IQ 180

After all, she spoke up to 12 languages and was educated in mathematics, philosophy, oratory, and astronomy. And that's on top of ruling Egypt for close to 30 years. Estimates put Cleopatra's IQ score around 180.

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Is 130 IQ genius? ›

While there is some debate among psychologists, a widely accepted threshold for genius IQ scores is 130 or above. This score places an individual in the top 2% of the population, making them exceptionally intelligent.

What was Nikola Tesla's IQ? ›

Nikola Tesla never had an IQ test, so any reports of his IQ are estimated. These estimates range from 160 to 300. Since his actual IQ can never be known, it is enough to say that he was a brilliant man who was able to learn eight languages and virtually memorize entire books after reading them one time.

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What is the IQ of Steve Jobs? ›

"Steve Jobs likely had an IQ roughly 160 or above. Near the end of 4th grade Jobs was tested. Jobs said: 'I scored at the high school sophom*ore level. ' This means he was a 4th grader performing at the 10th grade level.

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How intelligent is Taylor Swift? ›

Taylor Alison Swift is an American singer songwriter. According to some acclaimed websites, she is said to have an IQ of 160. As a matter of fact, she is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest singer ever to sign at age 11. If that doesn't impress you, know that she spoke her f…

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Is 120 a genius IQ? ›

An IQ level of 120 would be described as 'above average or bright' on an IQ scale. The average score is 100, and 68% of all people have scores between 85 and 115. What is a good IQ score?

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What is Batman's IQ? ›

In the comics he has an IQ of over 250. In simplest terms, he's Tony Stark, Reed Richards level intelligent. This is going to be a long answer, mostly scans to prove intelligence. Geoff Johns confirmed that Bruce Wayne is definitively the 2nd smartest person on Earth.

Who has the highest IQ in the world? ›

William James Sidis has the World's Highest IQ. Anywhere from 250 to 300 is his IQ score, almost twice the score of Albert Einstein. At the age of eleven, William famously entered Harvard University, becoming the youngest person to enter. He also claimed to be conversant in 25 languages.

What is the highest IQ ever? ›

What is the name of the highest IQ in the world? Born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1946 when Marilyn Vos Savant was 10 years old, in an adult level Stanford-Binet Test found out that her IQ is 228. Due to this record-breaking result, her name was recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records.

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Who is the highest IQ ever recorded? ›

Effectively tying for the title, though, is Marilyn Vos Savant. Her recorded IQ in the Guinness World Records was 228, awarded between the 1986-1989 editions until the record was discontinued in 1990, with IQ scores deemed too unreliable to document.