Highest IQ in the World

TOP 10 HIGHEST IQ INDIVIDUALS EVER RECORDED IN THE WORLD IN 2025

Who Has The Highest IQ Level In The World?

Intelligent quotient (IQ) is a total score that is taken from a fixed set of tests designed to assess human intelligence. The normal average IQ score varies from a range of 90-10 whereas high IQ score ranges from 140 and above. The following article highlights the top ten highest IQ individuals in the world. This article also forces on their achievements, contributions and ways through which they have excelled in their respective fields.

1.    Dr. Young Hoon Kim

Overview

Dr. Young Hoon Kim is entitled as “the world’s highest IQ individual now” with an IQ of 276. He was born on 25^th May 1989 in South Korea.

Achievements

• Leadership in mind sports: He is the vice-president of the World Memory Championship and Honorary Professor at the Tony Buzan Academy.
• Innovative Founder: He founded the United Sigma Intelligence Association and NeuroStory , advancing brain health and global intellectual collaboration.
• World Record IQ: Dr. Kim holds the highest recorded IQ ever-276- recognised by the World Mind Sports Council and official world record.

CURRENT ENDEAVOURS

At present, Dr. Kim is leading NeuroStory and serving as President of USIA, where he advances brain-health innovation and fosters global collaboration among top intellectuals.

2.     Terence Tao

Overview

Terence Tao is a child prodigy mathematician whose IQ level is around 230. He was born on 17^th July 1975 in Adelaide, South Australia. Tao showed extraordinary mathematical abilities from an early age.

Achievements

• Fields Medal (2006):  He was awarded the highest honor in mathematics for groundbreaking work in partial differential equations, combinatorics, harmonic analysis, and additive number theory.
• Green-Tao Theorem: Co-proved with Ben Green that prime numbers contain arbitrarily long arithmetic progression.
• Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics: Solved the 80-year-old Erdòs problem in 2015.

Current Endeavors

At present Terence Tao is a professor at UCLA’s Department of Mathematics. He is also involved in the” AI for Math Fund” formalizing major results like the Polynomial Freiman‑Ruzsa conjecture.

3.    Marilyn Vos Savant

 Overview

Marilyn Vos Savant is an American magazine columnist, author and lecturer, known for having the highest recorded IQs estimated around 228. She was born on 11^th august 1964 in St. Louis, Missouri. Savant gained fame through her “Ask Marilyn” column, where she solved complex logical and mathematical problems.

Achievements

• Guinness World Record for Highest IQ: She was listed in the Guinness book pf world records from 1985 to 1989 for having the highest recorded IQ.
•  “Ask Marilyn” Column: Her long running column in parade magazine became widely known for tackling logic puzzles, math problems and philosophical questions.
•   Author and Public Intellectual: She has written several books on logic, critical thinking and problem solving , such as “ The Power of Logical Thinking” and “ The World’s Most Famous Math Problem”.

  Current Endeavors

At present, Marilyn Vos Savant continues to write, speak and advocate for logical thinking and education. She remains an influential public intellectual, occasionally contributing to publications and engaging in discussions on intelligence, problem-solving, and rational thinking.

4.    Christopher Hirata

Overview

Christopher Hirata is a Japanese-American cosmologist and astrophysicist. He was on 30^th November 1982 in Michigan. His high IQ score is estimated to be around 225.

 Achievements

• Youngest Gold medalist (1996): Christopher won gold medal at the age of 13 at international physics Olympiad.
• New horizons in physics prize (2017) : He received the prestigious award “Oscar of science” for his breakthrough contributions in cosmology.
• PECASE: Hirata earned the highest U.S. government honor for early career scientists (PECASE) in 2012.

 Current Endeavors

Christopher is currently a professor at OSU’s Centre for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics (CCAPP). He is also a member of NASA’s proposed Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.  

5.    Sho Yano

 Overview

Sho Yano is a former child prodigy American physician. She entered Loyola University Chicago at the age nine. She was born in the year 1990 in Portland. Her IQ score is estimated to be around 200.

Achievements

• Entered Loyola university at age 9: after scoring 1500/1600 on the SATs at the age of 8 then he entered Loyola university at the age of 9.
• Earned Ph.D. by the age of 18 and MD by the age of 21: By 18, he completed a doctorate in molecular genetics and cell biology at the university of Chicago. At the age 21, he became the youngest person ever to receive an MD from that institution.
• Prodigious early development in reading, writing ,music and academics: He was reading at two, writing at three, playing classical piano at four.

Current Endeavor:

At present, Sho Yano is an assistant professor of Pediatrics and Pediatric Neurology at the university of Chicago, conducting clinical and genetic research on rare neurological disorders.

 6.    Evangelos Katsioulis

 Overview

Evangelos Katsioulis is a Greek psychiatrist and intellectual and has an IQ score of around 198. He was born on 19^th January 1976 in Ioannina, Greece.

Achievements

• High IQ score and high IQ recognition: He achieved some of the highest recorded IQ score-205 in the year 2002 and 198-205 on various tests in 2012- earning him membership in elite societies like GIGA.
•  National level success in STEM: He ranked 3^rd in the Thessaloniki National Mathematics Contest (1989) and topped Greece’s final National Physics Exam in 1993.
• Founder and leader of Global High IQ Organisations: Since 2001 , he has founded and presided over several high IQ societies like (WIN) , QIQ, GRIQ, CIVIQ and Greek high IQ society.

Current Endeavors

 At present, Dr. Katsioulis works as psychiatrist in Greece, focusing on mental health, intelligence and psychometric evolutions. He continues to lead several high IQ societies.

7.    Christopher Harding

Overview

Chris Harding is a sports owner, investor and philanthropist. He was born on 28^th January 1973 in Louisville, Kentucky. He has a high IQ score of around 197.

Achievements

• International Society For Philosophical Enquiry: Chris established ISPE open to people who score at or above the 99.9th percentile on a standardised psychometric test of intelligence.
• Guiness Book Of World Record: Chris records high IQ score from 1966 to 1988 under the category “Smartest Man In The World’.
• Recognized in Biographical “ Great minds” List: Chris was featured in the “500 great minds of the early 21^st century (2002)” and “ 2000 outstanding people of the 20^th century (1998)”.

 Current Endeavors

At present, Chris Harding continues to be involved in high IQ communities as a retired founder and honorary member. His legacy endures through the societies he established such as ISPE and 606 society.

8.    Christopher Langan

 Overview

Christopher Michael Langan is an American hoarse rancher and former bar bouncer. He was born on 25^th March 1952 in San Francisco, California. He is known for high IQ score which is around 195.

Achievements

• Guinness World Record: From 1980s-1990, Langan was listed in the Guinness book of world record alongside Marilyn Vos Savant as one of the few people with exceptionally high IQ level.
• Creator of CTMU (Cognitive-theoretical Model of the Universe): He developed and self- published the CTMU in 2002, a comprehensive “theory of everything” aiming to bridge consciousness and the cosmos. It was later revised in 2020.
• Formed the Mega Foundation and Mega Society Membership: In 1986, he gained entry to the Mega Society (top 1‑in‑1 million IQ), and later co-founded the Mega Foundation in 1999 to support highly gifted individuals.

 Current Endeavors

 At present, Langan continues to promote his CTMU, publishing essays and papers through Mega Foundation and helping out individuals to gain more knowledge

9.     Rick Rosner

 Overview

Richard G. Rosner is an Emmy nominated American television writer and reality television personality known for his high IQ score of 192. He was born on 2^nd May 1960 in Colorado.

   Achievements

•  Exceptionally High IQ :  He scored 44/48  on RonHoeflin’s Mega test in 1985, later achieving a perfect score of 47/48 in 1991. He also completed the Hoeflin’s Titan Test becoming the first and served as editor for the Noesis journal.
• Gunnies level “ Smartest Man” and Pop Culture Presence :  Often cited among the highest IQ individuals, Rosner has appeared in documentaries and garnered media attention for his offbeat professions.
• Emmy Nominated Writer and Producer for many major TV shows: Since 1987, he has written and produced for MTV’s Remote Control and later became a writer/producer—and occasional on-screen talent—for top series such as The Man Show, Crank Yankers, and Jimmy Kimmel Live!. His work has earned Emmy nominations and several Writers Guild nods.

Current Endeavours

At present Rick Rosner continues to work as a television writer and producer in Los Angeles while also developing and promoting his theories on physics and cosmology. 

10.    Garry Kasparov

 Overview

Garry Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster , former world chess champion, political activist and writer. He was born on 13^th April 1963 in Baku, Azerbaijan. He has a high IQ score of around 190.

Achievements

• Youngest World Chess Champion: He defeated Anatoly Karpov to claim the title in the year 1985 at the age of 22 , setting a record that stood still until 2024.
• Longest Reign as World no.1 (1984-2005) : Kasparov held the world #1 ranking for 255 months , the most in history and reached a peak FIDE rating of 2581 in 1999.
• Pioneer in man-vs-machine chess battles : He defeated Deep Blue in 1996 , then faced its upgraded version in 1997, the first time a reigning world champion lost to a computer under standard conditions .

  Current Endeavours

At present, Garry Kasparov is a prominent human rights activist and political commentator. He also chairs the Human Rights Foundation leads initiatives defending democracy and digital freedom.