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Are you smarter than Einstein?
Reviewed September 2026By the LifeScore Editorial TeamEditorial policy
An IQ of 130: about 1 in 44 people score this high.
Do not know your IQ? Turn a score you already have into an estimate with the score converters, or take a reasoning test below.
At an IQ of 130 you clear
0 / 132historical figures
and 5 of 81 fictional characters.
Blue: you clear their whole estimated range. Yellow: inside it. White: below it. (Everyone)
That is the IQ you typed. Figures like these are guesses from history and fiction, so the comparison is only as good as your number. If you are not sure of it, measure how you reason instead of guessing.
25 questions, 12 minutes. Free to take. Your score and full report are a paid unlock once you finish.
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe190 (range 190 to 210) · Low-60
- Hannibal Lecter180 (range 170 to 190) · Fan estimate-50
- Rick Sanchez180 (range 170 to 190) · Fan estimate-50
- Mycroft Holmes178 (range 170 to 185) · Fan estimate-48
- James Moriarty175 (range 165 to 185) · Fan estimate-45
- Reed Richards175 (range 165 to 185) · Fan estimate-45
- Alan Turing170 (range 155 to 180) · Very low-40
- Carl Friedrich Gauss170 (range 160 to 180) · Very low-40
- Emmy Noether170 (range 155 to 180) · Very low-40
- Gottfried Leibniz170 (range 170 to 205) · Low-40
- John von Neumann170 (range 160 to 190) · Very low-40
- Kurt Gödel170 (range 160 to 180) · Very low-40
- Leonhard Euler170 (range 160 to 180) · Very low-40
- Ozymandias170 (range 165 to 178) · Fan estimate-40
- Pierre-Simon Laplace170 (range 170 to 190) · Low-40
- Srinivasa Ramanujan170 (range 155 to 185) · Very low-40
- Voltaire170 (range 170 to 190) · Low-40
- Gandalf168 (range 160 to 175) · Fan estimate-38
- Alexander von Humboldt165 (range 165 to 185) · Low-35
- Archimedes165 (range 155 to 175) · Very low-35
- Blaise Pascal165 (range 165 to 195) · Low-35
- Bruce Banner165 (range 155 to 175) · Fan estimate-35
- Ender Wiggin165 (range 150 to 180) · Fan estimate-35
- James Clerk Maxwell165 (range 155 to 175) · Very low-35
- Lex Luthor165 (range 150 to 180) · Fan estimate-35
- Paul Dirac165 (range 155 to 175) · Very low-35
- Senku Ishigami165 (range 155 to 175) · Fan estimate-35
- Sherlock Holmes165 (range 155 to 175) · Fan estimate-35
- Spock165 (range 155 to 175) · Fan estimate-35
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart165 (range 145 to 175) · Low-35
- Elliot Alderson163 (range 155 to 170) · Fan estimate-33
- Hercule Poirot163 (range 155 to 170) · Fan estimate-33
- Lisbeth Salander163 (range 155 to 170) · Fan estimate-33
- Albert Einstein160 (range 150 to 170) · Low-30
- Albus Dumbledore160 (range 150 to 172) · Fan estimate-30
- Aristotle160 (range 145 to 170) · Very low-30
- Bertrand Russell160 (range 150 to 170) · Very low-30
- David Hume160 (range 160 to 180) · Low-30
- Enrico Fermi160 (range 150 to 170) · Very low-30
- Francis Bacon160 (range 160 to 180) · Low-30
- Galileo Galilei160 (range 160 to 185) · Low-30
- Immanuel Kant160 (range 155 to 175) · Low-30
- Isaac Newton160 (range 160 to 190) · Low-30
- Johann Sebastian Bach160 (range 145 to 170) · Low-30
- John Milton160 (range 160 to 180) · Low-30
- L Lawliet160 (range 150 to 168) · Fan estimate-30
- Leonardo da Vinci160 (range 160 to 180) · Low-30
- Ludwig Wittgenstein160 (range 150 to 170) · Very low-30
- Nikola Tesla160 (range 145 to 170) · Very low-30
- Noam Chomsky160 (range 145 to 170) · Very low-30
- Plato160 (range 145 to 170) · Very low-30
- René Descartes160 (range 160 to 180) · Low-30
- Richard Feynman160 (range 145 to 170) · Very low-30
- Sosuke Aizen160 (range 148 to 172) · Fan estimate-30
- Stephen Hawking160 (range 150 to 170) · Low-30
- Tony Stark160 (range 148 to 170) · Fan estimate-30
- Victor Hugo160 (range 160 to 180) · Low-30
- William Shakespeare160 (range 145 to 170) · Very low-30
- Adam Smith155 (range 150 to 170) · Low-25
- Baruch Spinoza155 (range 155 to 175) · Low-25
- Bill Gates155 (range 150 to 165) · Low-25
- Christiaan Huygens155 (range 155 to 175) · Low-25
- Elon Musk155 (range 140 to 165) · Very low-25
- Friedrich Nietzsche155 (range 140 to 165) · Very low-25
- J. Robert Oppenheimer155 (range 145 to 165) · Very low-25
- Johannes Kepler155 (range 155 to 175) · Low-25
- John Locke155 (range 145 to 165) · Low-25
- Karl Marx155 (range 140 to 165) · Very low-25
- Kurisu Makise155 (range 145 to 165) · Fan estimate-25
- Leo Tolstoy155 (range 140 to 165) · Very low-25
- Light Yagami155 (range 145 to 165) · Fan estimate-25
- Louis Pasteur155 (range 140 to 165) · Very low-25
- Ludwig van Beethoven155 (range 145 to 165) · Low-25
- Michelangelo155 (range 155 to 180) · Low-25
- Nicolaus Copernicus155 (range 140 to 165) · Low-25
- Niels Bohr155 (range 145 to 165) · Very low-25
- Pythagoras155 (range 140 to 165) · Very low-25
- Sheldon Cooper155 (range 142 to 168) · Fan estimate-25
- Socrates155 (range 145 to 165) · Very low-25
- Werner Heisenberg155 (range 145 to 165) · Very low-25
Showing the top 80. Search to find anyone else.
The highest estimated IQs in history
The ranking below is sorted by estimate. Above about 160 the numbers stop being measurable, because real tests run out of headroom, so treat the top of any list like this as an argument and not a score.
| # | Figure | Estimate | Range | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johann Wolfgang von Goethe | 190 | 190 to 210 | Low |
| 2 | Alan Turing | 170 | 155 to 180 | Very low |
| 3 | Carl Friedrich Gauss | 170 | 160 to 180 | Very low |
| 4 | Emmy Noether | 170 | 155 to 180 | Very low |
| 5 | Gottfried Leibniz | 170 | 170 to 205 | Low |
| 6 | John von Neumann | 170 | 160 to 190 | Very low |
| 7 | Kurt Gödel | 170 | 160 to 180 | Very low |
| 8 | Leonhard Euler | 170 | 160 to 180 | Very low |
| 9 | Pierre-Simon Laplace | 170 | 170 to 190 | Low |
| 10 | Srinivasa Ramanujan | 170 | 155 to 185 | Very low |
| 11 | Voltaire | 170 | 170 to 190 | Low |
| 12 | Alexander von Humboldt | 165 | 165 to 185 | Low |
| 13 | Archimedes | 165 | 155 to 175 | Very low |
| 14 | Blaise Pascal | 165 | 165 to 195 | Low |
| 15 | James Clerk Maxwell | 165 | 155 to 175 | Very low |
| 16 | Paul Dirac | 165 | 155 to 175 | Very low |
| 17 | Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | 165 | 145 to 175 | Low |
| 18 | Albert Einstein | 160 | 150 to 170 | Low |
| 19 | Aristotle | 160 | 145 to 170 | Very low |
| 20 | Bertrand Russell | 160 | 150 to 170 | Very low |
See the full ranking of historical figures, or the smartest fictional characters.
How the comparison works
You clear a figure when your IQ is above the top of their estimated range. You sit inside the range when your IQ falls between its ends, and the estimate cannot tell you apart. You are below when your IQ is under the low end.
That is stricter than comparing with the single headline number, and it is fairer, because none of these people ever sat a supervised test. The historical estimates are retrospective, built from documented achievement and, where it exists, historiometric research. They are described on each profile, with the evidence for and against.
Are you smarter than...? Common questions
Are you smarter than Einstein?+
Einstein never took a recorded IQ test. The usual figure, 160, is a retrospective estimate with a plausible range of 150 to 170. Score above the top of that range on a proper test and you can say you cleared the estimate, though "smarter" is more than one number.
Do famous people have real IQ scores?+
Almost never. Nearly every historical figure died before IQ tests existed, and even living celebrities rarely publish a verified score. Every figure here is an estimate from their documented achievements, shown with a range and a confidence level.
What IQ do you need to be smarter than most geniuses on this list?+
On the standard scale, an IQ of 130 is above the whole estimated range of 0 of the 132 historical figures here. Estimates for the very top of the list run higher than any test can reliably measure.
How were the estimates made?+
They combine documented achievement records and, for a subset of figures, the historiometric estimates published by Catharine Cox in 1926, adjusted for later norms. The ranges and confidence labels show how uncertain each one is. The fictional characters use a separate, published five-part method.
What if I do not know my IQ?+
Convert a score you already have (SAT, ACT, GRE, LSAT and others) with the score converters, or measure how you reason with a short test. A number you guess will only give a guess.
Keep exploring
- Einstein IQ testEinstein, Hawking, Newton and da Vinci compared with a real test.
- Historical IQ estimatesEvidence, ranges and sources for every figure.
- Score to IQ convertersTurn an SAT, ACT or GRE score into an estimated IQ.
- IQ bell curveSee where an IQ sits on the curve.
- IQ scores explainedWhat every score from 55 to 200 means.
- Am I a genius?Two meanings of genius and a three-ring quiz.