Who has the highest IQ in the world? Top 25 people with highest IQ ever
While Intelligence Quotient (IQ) is not the sole measure of intelligence, it does provide a benchmark for understanding exceptional cognitive abilities. People with the highest IQs in the world are regarded as individuals whose minds crack codes, unlock scientific breakthroughs, and push the boundaries of human understanding.
Source: UGC
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- 25 people with the highest IQs ever
- 1. YoungHoon Kim
- 2. Marnen Laibow-Koser
- 3. Ainan Cawley
- 4. William Sidis
- 5. Terence Tao
- 6. Marilyn vos Savant
- 7. Christopher Hirata
- 8. Kim Ung-Yong
- 9. William Shakespeare
- 10. Nathan Leopold
- 11. Edith Stern
- 12. Michael Grost
- 13. Sho Yano
- 14. Michael Kearney
- 15. Thomas Wolsey
- 16. Evangelos Katsioulis
- 17. Christopher Michael Langan
- 18. Garry Kasparov
- 19. Rick Rosner
- 20. James Clerk Maxwell
- 21. Voltaire
- 22. Isaac Newton
- 23. Srinivasa Ramanujan
- 24. Adragon De Mello
- 25. Leonardo da Vinci
- Who has the highest IQ now?
- What is Einstein's IQ?
- Who are the famous world leaders with the highest IQ?
To compile the list of individuals with the highest IQs worldwide, we drew data from various reputable sources, including Reader's Digest, WFLA, and BBC Science Focus Magazine. Many of these individuals are celebrated as top scientists, known for their ability to analyse complex situations and devise innovative solutions quickly.
25 people with the highest IQs ever
Have you ever wondered who the most intelligent person on Earth might be? Below is a list of some of the world's most brilliant minds with the highest IQ scores recorded in history.
| No | Name | IQ score |
| 1 | YoungHoon Kim | 276 |
| 2 | Marnen Laibow-Koser | 268 |
| 3 | Ainan Cawley | 263 |
| 4 | William Sidis | 250–300 |
| 5 | Terence Tao | 230 |
| 6 | Marilyn vos Savant | 228 |
| 7 | Christopher Hirata | 225 |
| 8 | Kim Ung-Yong | 210 |
| 9 | William Shakespeare | 210 |
| 10 | Nathan Leopold | 210 |
| 11 | Edith Stern | 200+ |
| 12 | Michael Grost | 200+ |
| 13 | Sho Yano | 200 |
| 14 | Michael Kearney | 200–325 |
| 15 | Thomas Wolsey | 200 |
| 16 | Evangelos Katsioulis | 198–205 |
| 17 | Christopher Michael Langan | 195 |
| 18 | Garry Kasparov | 194 |
| 19 | Rick Rosner | 192–198 |
| 20 | James Clerk Maxwell | 190–205 |
| 21 | Voltaire | 190–200 |
| 22 | Isaac Newton | 190–200 |
| 23 | Srinivasa Ramanujan | 185 |
| 24 | Adragon De Mello | 185 |
| 25 | Leonardo da Vinci | 180–220 |
1. YoungHoon Kim
- Full name: YoungHoon Kim
- Date of birth: 7 February 1992
- IQ score: 276
- Nationality: South Korean
YoungHoon Kim is a South Korean intellectual with the highest recorded IQ score of 276. He has the official world record certificate for being the world's highest IQ. YoungHoon Kim is the Founder & President of the United Sigma Intelligence Association (USIA).
2. Marnen Laibow-Koser
- Full name: Marnen Laibow-Koser
- Date of birth: 1982
- IQ score: 268
- Nationality: Egyptian
Marnen Laibow-Koser, who scored an extraordinary 268 on a childhood IQ test, displayed remarkable talent from an early age. He began studying, playing, and composing music at 3 years old. Today, Marnen Laibow-Koser is a composer, a web application developer, and a graduate of the New England Conservatory.
3. Ainan Cawley
Source: UGC
- Full name: Ainan Celeste Cawley
- Date of birth: 23 November 1999
- IQ score: 263
- Nationality: Singaporean
With an IQ of 263, Ainan Cawley displayed exceptional intellectual abilities from a young age. By nine, he could recite pi to 518 decimal places. At six, he delivered a science lecture on acids and alkaloids, and by seven, he had passed the O Level Chemistry exam designed for 16-year-olds.
4. William Sidis
Source: UGC
- Full name: William James Sidis
- Date of birth: 1 April 1898
- IQ score: 250–300
- Nationality: American
William James Sidis was an American mathematical prodigy who joined Harvard University at age 11 and displayed remarkable talent in numerous fields, including mathematics, history, and languages. He also authored books under various pseudonyms, such as The Animate and the Inanimate and was known to be conversant in about 25 languages and dialects.
5. Terence Tao
Source: Getty Images
- Full name: Terence Tao
- Date of birth: 17 July 1975
- IQ score: 230
- Nationality: Australian
Terence Tao is a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He holds the James and Carol Collins Chair in the College of Letters and Sciences. Tao is renowned for his work in partial differential equations, combinatorics, harmonic analysis, and additive number theory.
6. Marilyn vos Savant
Source: Getty Images
- Full name: Marilyn vos Savant
- Date of birth: 11 August 1946
- IQ score: 228
- Nationality: American
Marilyn vos Savant is an American magazine columnist, author, and lecturer. Between 1986 and 1989, she held the title of the person with the highest recorded IQ in the world. Since 1986, she has written the popular Ask Marilyn column for Parade magazine, where she answers readers' questions on various topics.
7. Christopher Hirata
Source: Getty Images
- Full name: Christopher Michael Hirata
- Date of birth: 30 November 1982
- IQ score: 225
- Nationality: Japanese-American
Christopher Hirata is a Japanese-American cosmologist and astrophysicist. He gained recognition at a young age by winning a gold medal at the International Physics Olympiad at just 13 years old. Hirata's research focuses on cosmology and astrophysics.
8. Kim Ung-Yong
Source: UGC
- Full name: Kim Ung-Yong
- Date of birth: March 8 1962
- IQ score: 210
- Nationality: South Korean
Kim Ung-Yong is a civil engineer and former child prodigy who gained international fame for his extraordinary intellectual abilities. By age three, he could solve calculus problems; by age five, he was solving complex differential equations on Japanese television. He was invited to work at NASA at eight, making him one of the youngest workers.
9. William Shakespeare
Source: Getty Images
- Full name: William Shakespeare
- Date of birth: 23 April 1564
- IQ score: 210
- Nationality: English
William Shakespeare is celebrated as the greatest English-speaking writer and playwright in history. With an estimated IQ of 210, his timeless works—such as Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and A Midsummer Night's Dream—continue to be read, performed, and studied worldwide.
10. Nathan Leopold
Source: UGC
- Full name: Nathan Leopold Jr.
- Date of birth: 1900s
- IQ score: 210
- Nationality: American
Nathan Leopold was born in Chicago in the early 1900s. He had an IQ of 210 and spoke for the first time at the age of four months. In 1924, he eliminated a 14-year-old kid with his companion, Richard Loeb, in an attempt to accomplish "the perfect crime."
11. Edith Stern
Source: UGC
- Full name: Edith Helen Stern
- Date of birth: 1952
- IQ score: 200+
- Nationality: American
Edith Helen Stern is an American inventor and one of the best mathematicians. She is known for her remarkable intellectual achievements from a young age. At five, she read the Encyclopedia Britannica and graduated from Florida Atlantic University at fifteen.
12. Michael Grost
Source: UGC
- Full name: Michael Edward Grost
- Date of birth: 1954
- IQ score: 200+
- Nationality: American
Michael Grost attended Michigan State University in 1964 at age ten. With an IQ of over 200, he received his doctorate in mathematics at age 23. In 2005, he worked as a system architect for a Detroit-based computer company.
13. Sho Yano
Source: Getty Images
- Full name: Sho Timothy Yano
- Date of birth: 22 October 1990
- IQ score: 200
- Nationality: American
Sho Yano is an American physician and former child prodigy. He is renowned for his remarkable intellect, with an estimated IQ of 200. In 2009, at 18 years old, he earned a doctorate in molecular genetics and cell biology.
14. Michael Kearney
Source: UGC
- Full name: Michael Kevin Kearney
- Date of birth: 18 January 1984
- IQ score: 200–325
- Nationality: American
In 1994, at just 10 years old, Michael Kearney earned a bachelor's degree in anthropology from the University of South Alabama. By age 14, he had completed a master's in chemistry at Middle Tennessee State University.
15. Thomas Wolsey
Source: Getty Images
- Full name: Thomas Wolsey
- Date of birth: March 1473
- IQ score: 200
- Nationality: English
Cardinal Thomas Wolsey was one of the last politically important clergymen in England. The cardinal was appointed Lord Chancellor and commanded England's foreign affairs. He supposedly had an IQ of 200. Wolsey was captured and charged with treason in 1530 and died en route to his trial.
16. Evangelos Katsioulis
Source: UGC
- Full name: Evangelos Katsioulis
- Date of birth: 19 January 1976
- IQ score: 198–205
- Nationality: Greek
Evangelos Katsioulis is a Greek physician, psychiatrist, and psychotherapist with doctoral degrees in philosophy and information technology. He is the founder of the World Intelligence Network and is said to have an IQ of 198 to 205.
17. Christopher Michael Langan
Source: UGC
- Full name: Christopher Michael Langan
- Date of birth: 25 March 1952
- IQ score: 195
- Nationality: American
Christopher is an American horse rancher and former bar bouncer who excelled on an IQ exam and gained admission to a high-IQ society. He began speaking at six months old and learnt to read before turning four. Langan is most known for his cognitive theoretical model of the universe, which he created in the 1980s and is called "the CTMU."
18. Garry Kasparov
Source: Getty Images
- Full name: Garry Kimovich Kasparov
- Date of birth: 13 April 1963
- IQ score: 194
- Nationality: Russian
Garry Kasparov is recognised as one of the top individuals with the highest IQ globally, boasting an estimated IQ of 194. He is a legendary chess grandmaster who held the title of World Chess Champion from 1985 to 2000. Notably, at 22, Kasparov became the youngest to claim the world chess championship.
19. Rick Rosner
Source: Getty Images
- Full name: Richard G. Rosner
- Date of birth: 2 May 1960
- IQ score: 192–198
- Nationality: American
Richard G. Rosner is an American television writer and reality TV personality. He is well-known for his purported high intellect test results and unique professional background. He created and produced numerous quiz shows and Jimmy Kimmel-produced programs, including The Man Show, Crank Yankers, and Jimmy Kimmel Live!
20. James Clerk Maxwell
Source: UGC
- Full name: James Clerk Maxwell
- Date of birth: 13 June 1831
- IQ score: 190–205
- Nationality: Scottish
James Clerk was a Scottish physicist and mathematician. He was responsible for the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation. Maxwell's equations for electromagnetism achieved the second great unification in physics. Maxwell was also key in the creation of statistical mechanics.
21. Voltaire
Source: Getty Images
- Full name: François-Marie Arouet
- Date of birth: 21 November 1694
- IQ score: 190–200
- Nationality: French
François-Marie Arouet, better known as Voltaire, was estimated to have an IQ ranging between 190 and 200. Born in 1694, he became one of France's most celebrated writers and philosophers, renowned for his sharp wit, satirical works, and bold criticism of the nation's elite and nobility.
22. Isaac Newton
Source: Getty Images
- Full name: Sir Isaac Newton
- Date of birth: 4 January 1643
- IQ score: 190–200
- Nationality: English
Sir Isaac Newton, with an estimated IQ of 190 to 200, was a scientist and physicist far ahead of his time. He is renowned for his universal principles of gravity. Sir Isaac Newton was also a mathematician, astronomer, and writer.
23. Srinivasa Ramanujan
Source: UGC
- Full name: Srinivasa Ramanujan Aiyangar
- Date of birth: 22 December 1887
- IQ score: 185
- Nationality: Indian
Srinivasa Ramanujan is regarded as one of the most influential mathematicians of the 20th century. He discovered his passion for mathematics at age 15 and, with an estimated IQ of 185, is celebrated for his contributions to number theory.
24. Adragon De Mello
Source: UGC
- Full name: Adragon De Mello
- Date of birth: 8 October 1976
- IQ score: 185
- Nationality: American
Adragon De Mello made history as the youngest college graduate, earning a degree in computational mathematics at just 11 years old. He could read and write by age two and joined Mensa at 5. While his IQ was once reported as an extraordinary 400, more conservative estimates place it at around 185.
25. Leonardo da Vinci
Source: Getty Images
- Full name: Leonardo da Vinci
- Date of birth: 15 April, 1452
- IQ score: 180–220
- Nationality: Italian
Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian polymath. He is regarded as one of the greatest artists, best known for masterpieces like the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. Da Vinci was also an accomplished scientist, engineer, inventor, and anatomist, with notebooks filled with innovative ideas and detailed human body studies.
Who has the highest IQ now?
YoungHoon Kim, with a 276 IQ, is currently recognised as having the highest IQ in the world. The Korea Record Institute, World Genius Directory, Global Genius Registry, Esoteriq Society, and GIGA Society have verified his IQ.
What is Einstein's IQ?
Albert Einstein, a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of relativity, is said to have had an IQ score of around 160.
Who are the famous world leaders with the highest IQ?
According to World Data 3D, some examples of the smartest leaders known for their high IQ include Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Fumio Kishida, Viola Amherd, Xi Jinping and Isaac Herzog.
These people with the highest IQ in the world stand out in the field of intelligence due to their remarkable cognitive ability. But, it is crucial to remember that IQ is only one component of a person's talents and does not represent all types of intelligence.
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Source: Legit.ng
