Here's who's getting President Joe Biden's final Medals of Freedom
President Joe Biden has handed out a lot of Medals of Freedom. After this next and final round, he'll have doled out a total of 56, the most ever bestowed in a single presidential term, per Entertainment Weekly. On Saturday, the White House announced Biden's last recipients of the prestigious honor, which include U2 frontman Bono, Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, ex-senator and former presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, and Denzel Washington, who was supposed to get his in 2022 but had to defer after contracting COVID.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the United States' highest civilian honor, presented to individuals who have made "exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors." In a statement (via EW), the White House said, "President Biden believes great leaders keep the faith, give everyone a fair shot, and put decency above all else. These nineteen Americans are great leaders who have made America a better place. They are great leaders because they are good people who have made extraordinary contributions to their country and the world."
Biden will hand out his final Medals of Freedom at an in-person ceremony in the White House on Saturday. In addition to Bono, Wintour, Clinton, and Washington, Biden's will award posthumous distinctions to former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy; former Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter; former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development George W. Romney; and civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer, per NPR. The rest of the honorees include:
- •Chef José Andrés
- •Entrepreneur Tim Gill
- •Zoologist and conservationist Jane Goodall
- •Fashion designer Ralph Lauren
- •Bill Nye (the Science Guy)
- •Carlyle Group co-founder David M. Rubenstein
- •American Film Institute and Kennedy Center Honors founder George Stevens, Jr.
- •Actor Michael J. Fox
- •Soccer player Lionel Messi
- •Former basketball player Earvin "Magic" Johnson
- •Billionaire and philanthropist George Soros