Billy Graham again – for 60th time – among men most admired by Americans

For a record 60th year, Charlotte-born evangelist Billy Graham has made the Gallup Poll's list of the 10 men most admired by Americans.

Leading that 2016 list, released Wednesday by the polling organization, was President Barack Obama, No. 1 for the ninth year in a row. The runner-up was President-elect Donald Trump. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who lost this year’s presidential race to Trump, was the Most Admired Woman of the Year for the 15th consecutive year.

Graham, who turned 98 in November, spoke at his last crusade 11 years ago and now rarely leaves his mountaintop home in Montreat. But he finished fifth place on the latest list. Another religious figure, Pope Francis, finished third.

Graham first appeared on the list in 1955, and has been on it every year since then except in 1962. Gallup didn’t ask the question.

Graham’s record is likely to endure for a long time. His closest competitor for number of times on the list: Former President Ronald Reagan, who died in 2004. Reagan made the list 31 times.

Graham, a pastor to presidents and globe-trotting evangelist, has never finished first on the Most Admired list – a spot that usually goes to U.S. presidents. But he was runner-up from 1969 through 1974 and again in 1997 and 1999.

Queen Elizabeth holds the record among women, appearing on the Most Admired Women list 48 times (including this year).

Gallup conducted its poll Dec. 7-11, with a random sample of 1,028 adults in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Here are the lists for 2016:

MOST ADMIRED MEN

1. President Barack Obama – 22 percent.

2. President-elect Donald Trump – 15 percent.

3. Pope Francis – 4 percent

4. Sen. Bernie Sanders – 2 percent

5. Rev. Billy Graham – 1 percent.

6. (four-way tie) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, The Dalai Lama, former President Bill Clinton and philanthropist Bill Gates, all 1 percent.

10. Vice President-elect Mike Pence – 1 percent.

MOST ADMIRED WOMEN

1. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton – 12 percent.

2. First Lady Michelle Obama – 8 percent.

3. German Chancellor Angela Merkel – 3 percent.

4. TV host Oprah Winfrey – 3 percent.

5. TV talk show host Ellen DeGeneres – 2 percent.

6. Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain – 2 percent.

7. Nobel Peace Laureate Malala Yousafzai – 2 percent.

8. Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice – 2 percent.

9. Sen. Elizabeth Warren – 1 percent.

10. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin – 1 percent.

This story was originally published December 28, 2016 at 6:46 PM with the headline "Billy Graham again – for 60th time – among men most admired by Americans."