organizations, politics, public policy, science, technology, writing, and other industries and fields. A 2024 study analyzed the educational backgrounds of the most successful and influential Americans—"30 different achievement groups totaling 26,198 people"—and found that Harvard alumni were unusually dominant. A 2025 study of 6,141 of the most influential people in the world discovered that Harvard alumni are massively overrepresented among the global elite, and that this finding remains true when all American elites are removed.
Among the world's universities and colleges, Harvard has the most U.S. presidents (eight), living billionaires (188), Nobel laureates (162), Pulitzer Prize winners (48), Fields Medal recipients (seven), Marshall scholars (252), and Rhodes Scholars (369) among its alumni. Harvard alumni also include nine Turing Award laureates, ten Academy Awards winners, and 108 Olympic medalists, including 46 gold medal winners.
=== Faculty ===
== In popular culture ==
Harvard's reputation …
