You know you're important when people try to assassinate you multiple times! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the highest number of times high-profile figures managed to escape being bumped off in history.
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00:00 - How do you account for the fact that you survive each time?
00:02 - I'm an Irish Catholic with the grace of God on my shoulder.
00:05 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the highest number of times
00:10 high-profile figures managed to escape being bumped off in history.
00:14 [Sirens]
00:17 [Gunshot]
00:19 Number 20. Alexander II of Russia.
00:23 After Alexander II took control of Russia in 1855,
00:26 he quickly initiated sweeping reforms across the country.
00:30 This included abolishing serfdom, building a mass railway network,
00:34 and restructuring the military.
00:36 Alexander even famously sold Alaska to the U.S. in 1867.
00:40 However, not everyone was happy about these changes.
00:43 Revolutionaries and Polish nationalists attempted to cut Alexander's life short
00:47 on five occasions between 1866 and 1880.
00:51 Notably, at the World's Fair in 1867,
00:54 Antony Berezovsky attempted to shoot the czar,
00:57 only for his weapon to break and strike a horse.
01:00 The sixth attempt on Alexander's life would ultimately prove fatal.
01:04 In 1881, members of the revolutionary group Narodnaya Volya
01:08 used explosives to assassinate him as he traveled in St. Petersburg.
01:12 Number 19. Pervez Musharraf.
01:14 - I don't believe in dishonesty.
01:16 I believe in telling a person right straight,
01:18 because then that is how trust is developed.
01:21 Pervez Musharraf was the president of Pakistan from 2001 to 2008.
01:25 Musharraf was seen as a controversial figure,
01:28 having seized power through a military coup
01:30 and aligned with the U.S. during their conflict with neighboring Afghanistan.
01:34 Unsurprisingly, he made several enemies who tried to assassinate him over four times.
01:39 In December of 2003 alone,
01:41 there were two attempts on Musharraf's life involving explosives.
01:44 - He's trying to further reinforce his stance that his life is at threat.
01:51 While the president managed to escape unharmed on both occasions,
01:55 the second attack resulted in the loss of 16 other lives.
01:59 Then, in 2007, an unknown group shot at Musharraf's airplane
02:03 as it departed the city of Rawalpindi.
02:05 All of these attempts proved futile,
02:07 and in 2023, Musharraf passed away from natural causes.
02:11 - I should have done something with this Osama bin Laden card
02:14 and gained advantage.
02:16 So obviously it is illogical.
02:19 Number 18. Danny Green.
02:21 - There's lots of stories going around that it might have been a dissident group,
02:25 either one of them.
02:26 I believe that either one of them would do anything so obvious.
02:29 I think it's the work of a crank of some sort.
02:32 Known as the Irishman,
02:34 Danny Green was a former U.S. Marine who grew up in Cleveland, Ohio
02:38 and was an influential figure in the Longshore Workers' Labor Union.
02:42 He later became a notorious crime boss,
02:44 forming his own gang called the Celtic Club
02:46 and taking part in the Cleveland Mafia War.
02:49 It's believed that Green was involved in up to 80% of incendiary attacks
02:53 in Cleveland over a 10-year period.
02:55 - If any of these maggots from the so-called Mafia want to come after me,
02:59 I'm not a hard man to find.
03:01 As such, he became the target of at least four assassination attempts,
03:05 including a devastating explosion that destroyed a whole floor in his home.
03:09 However, his luck ran out in 1977
03:12 when an explosive placed in an adjacent car went off,
03:15 fatally injuring him.
03:16 [Music]
03:22 Number 17. Vladimir Lenin
03:24 Vladimir Lenin was one of the key figures in the Russian Revolution,
03:28 which changed the landscape of the country forever.
03:31 As a result, he was seen as a hero by many and an adversary by others.
03:36 [Music]
03:39 Lenin's influence and high-profile status
03:42 made him the target of around five assassination attempts,
03:44 the most infamous of which occurred in 1918.
03:47 After speaking at a factory in Moscow, Lenin headed towards his car.
03:51 Fanny Kaplan, a member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party,
03:55 then fired at him, striking the leader twice and inflicting severe injuries.
03:59 - I can't believe you shot Lenin!
04:02 - He was my best customer!
04:04 - I shot him three times and didn't even kill him, the cockroach!
04:07 What is he, Rasputin?
04:09 Kaplan was swiftly arrested and executed for her deed.
04:12 Although Lenin survived the attack,
04:15 it's believed that it contributed to his declining health
04:18 and eventual passing in 1924.
04:20 - Comrade Lenin!
04:22 - Yes, my shepherd.
04:23 When my revolution is complete, the flock's laugh will be so powerful.
04:29 You want problem, we'll be finding my equal to balance from the right.
04:33 Number 16. Bill Clinton
04:35 - I never told anybody to lie, not a single time, never.
04:40 While he's most notorious for his affair in office,
04:43 President Bill Clinton is also one of America's most targeted politicians.
04:47 There have been at least six attempts on his life, four of which occurred in 1994.
04:52 That January, Ronald Barber threatened to take out Clinton as he jogged.
04:56 Later in September, Frank Corder crashed a small plane onto the White House lawn,
05:01 losing his life in the process.
05:03 The following month, Francisco Duran mistakenly shot at a group of people at the White House,
05:08 believing Clinton was among them.
05:10 He landed himself a 40-year prison sentence.
05:13 Finally, Clinton was a target for Ramzi Youssef,
05:16 who orchestrated the 1993 World Trade Center attack.
05:19 However, Youssef abandoned his plan due to the president's robust security.
05:24 - So if something was discovered, a bomb,
05:26 the change from the initial plan to plan B, C, or D should be relatively seamless.
05:31 That's part of their planning process.
05:33 Number 15. Grigori Rasputin
05:36 - Time to dance on your graves.
05:40 According to popular legend,
05:43 one of the most difficult people to take out was Russia's Grigori Rasputin.
05:47 Known as the Mad Monk, his first brush with death seemingly took place in 1914.
05:52 While leaving his home, Rasputin was stabbed in the abdomen by Hyonya Guseva.
05:57 He managed to knock her out and she was institutionalized.
06:00 Then in 1916, Rasputin was killed by three nobles.
06:04 Felix Yusupov, Dmitri Pavlovich, and Vladimir Purishkevich.
06:08 However, the story goes that he put up a fight before eventually going down.
06:12 Rasputin reportedly withstood being poisoned with cyanide and shot multiple times
06:17 before being wrapped in a cloth and thrown into the Malaynevka River,
06:20 where some believe he met his end.
06:22 Number 14. Sukarno
06:33 In 1945, Sukarno made history as the first president of Indonesia
06:38 after leading the country to independence from the Netherlands.
06:41 His growing relationship with the USSR raised concerns for the CIA,
06:45 which opposed communist nations.
06:47 As such, they backed actions against him, including a coup attempt and assassination plots.
06:52 It's believed there were at least six attempts made on Sukarno's life.
06:56 In 1957, while visiting a school in central Jakarta,
07:00 the militia group Darul Islam used grenades to try and take out Sukarno.
07:04 He survived the attack, but sadly, six minors died.
07:08 Another infamous attempt came in 1960,
07:10 when Air Force pilot Daniel Maukar used a plane to fire at Sukarno's residences.
07:15 Yet, the president was not harmed.
07:17 Number 13. Rajiv Gandhi
07:20 In 1984, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her bodyguards
07:25 in response to Operation Blue Star, a military operation to remove Sikh separatists
07:30 from the Holy Golden Temple.
07:32 This incident resulted in her son assuming leadership, which also made him a target.
07:36 Between 1985 and 1991, there were nine attempts on his life.
07:41 In 1987, one such attack was filmed when sailor Vijita Rohana struck Gandhi with his rifle
07:47 as he inspected the Guard of Honor at the house of the Sri Lankan president.
07:51 Tragically, in 1991, time ran out for Gandhi.
07:55 He was assassinated alongside 14 others by a member of the separatist group
07:59 Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, who was wearing an explosive device.
08:03 Number 12. Yasser Arafat
08:05 As a prominent figure in Palestinian politics,
08:15 Yasser Arafat was beloved by many but despised by others.
08:19 By some estimates, Arafat survived at least 13 assassination attempts.
08:23 There was reportedly a plan by Israeli forces to shoot down a passenger plane in 1982,
08:29 believing he was on board.
08:30 It was scrapped after they realized it was his lookalike brother on the plane,
08:34 alongside some injured Palestinian youngsters.
08:37 In 1996, another attempt was foiled after Palestine officials discovered a plot by
08:42 Hamas to attack Arafat with weapons and explosives.
08:45 Due to the constant threats, Arafat stated he never spent more than one night in the same room.
08:50 Although official records attribute his 2004 death to a stroke,
08:54 some still believe that Arafat was poisoned.
08:57 Suspicions of poisoning grow, and Palestinians point the finger at Israel,
09:01 as Torfik Tirawi, the president of the Palestinian Commission of Inquiry
09:05 on Arafat's death, said on Tuesday.
09:08 Number 11. Muammar Gaddafi
09:19 After leading a coup in 1969, Muammar Gaddafi took control of Libya and ruled the country
09:24 for over four decades as a dictator.
09:26 Throughout that time, he made many enemies, especially in the West.
09:30 In 1986, the US, believing that Gaddafi was involved in a Berlin attack,
09:35 launched a military campaign that targeted his compound with explosives.
09:39 While he survived, many did not.
09:42 Also, former UK security officer David Shaler claimed that in 1996,
09:47 MI6 botched an attempt to assassinate Gaddafi by placing an explosive under the wrong car,
09:52 resulting in several casualties.
09:55 In 2011, a NATO airstrike took the life of one of Gaddafi's sons,
09:59 but yet again, he evaded death.
10:01 Gaddafi was eventually killed months later by rebel forces.
10:16 Number 10. Vladimir Putin
10:18 Due to his divisive nature, especially in recent times,
10:29 Vladimir Putin has become a prime assassination target.
10:32 To date, it's believed Putin has survived six attempts on his life.
10:44 The first known incident was in 2002 when an Iraqi man
10:47 planning to attack the leader in Azerbaijan was arrested.
10:50 Following his decision to invade Ukraine, two more attempts were made.
10:54 In 2022, Ukrainian official Kirill Budenov disclosed an unsuccessful attack on Putin
11:00 that was made in the Caucasus region.
11:02 Then in 2023, two drones were shot down near the Kremlin,
11:06 which Russia claimed were sent by Ukraine to kill Putin.
11:09 These incidents seem to have made Putin so paranoid
11:12 that he is allegedly using a body double in public.
11:15 Number 9. Jawaharlal Nehru
11:18 Jawaharlal Nehru became India's first prime minister
11:20 after the country gained its independence from Britain in 1947.
11:24 Despite being widely loved, Nehru was a target for extremists,
11:28 and this threat became heightened after his fellow activist Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated.
11:33 Altogether, Nehru is believed to have survived six attempts on his life.
11:37 In 1955, it was reported that a knife-wielding man jumped on the prime minister's car.
11:42 Interestingly, he played down the incident in the press, calling the weapon "very small."
11:48 That same year, there was also an alleged plot by the CIA to take him out.
11:52 The final attempt came in 1961 when a device exploded in Delhi shortly after Nehru passed by.
11:58 While he was unhurt, five people sustained injuries.
12:02 My being told that you must not say anything when evil is happening,
12:05 lest the evil may become worse.
12:08 Number 8. Barack Obama
12:10 To those Americans whose support I have yet to earn,
12:13 I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voice.
12:19 With at least seven known incidents, it appears no other U.S. president
12:23 has had as many assassination attempts as Barack Obama.
12:26 In November 2011, Oscar Romero Ortega Hernandez fired several shots at the White House,
12:32 hoping to hit the president, who was fortunately not present.
12:36 This is a man who just charged a rifle in downtown D.C. I think that speaks volumes.
12:42 No injuries or fatalities resulted from the incident,
12:45 and Ortega Hernandez received a 25-year prison sentence.
12:49 Then in 2013, Glenn Scott Crawford, who had ties to the KKK,
12:53 and Eric J. Fyte hatched a bizarre plot involving a death ray
12:57 to target several individuals, including Obama.
13:00 Their plan to use this radiation device was foiled,
13:03 and Crawford was sentenced to 30 years in prison,
13:06 while Fyte got eight years and one month.
13:08 Crawford wanted help and money to execute the death ray.
13:12 The only thing that won't kill is trees.
13:14 Number 7. Queen Victoria
13:17 Throughout her long reign, Queen Victoria,
13:19 one of the most influential British monarchs in history,
13:22 was nearly killed on eight occasions.
13:25 The majority happened the same way.
13:27 A man with a firearm attacked as Victoria was in her carriage.
13:30 The first attempt occurred in 1840 as Victoria,
13:33 four months pregnant with her first child,
13:35 rode with her husband, Prince Albert.
13:37 Edward Oxford stepped forward and fired two pistols,
13:41 missing the target.
13:42 "For pity's sake, smile, woman. Anyone would think great quarrel."
13:45 "Don't talk to me."
13:49 Oxford was subdued and committed to an asylum.
13:52 In 1850, Robert Pate, a former army officer who was known for his odd behavior,
13:57 struck the Queen on the head with his cane.
13:59 He was quickly apprehended and confined to a penal colony in Tasmania, Australia.
14:05 "An armed man has been found in the gardens."
14:06 "What?"
14:09 "He said he wished to harm the Queen."
14:11 Number 6. Hussein of Jordan
14:14 "And you'd realize that security is really a state of mind."
14:18 In his early years, Hussein, the future monarch of Jordan,
14:22 had a close relationship with his grandfather, King Abdullah I.
14:25 In 1951, while Hussein accompanied Abdullah for prayers,
14:29 Mustafa Shukri Ashu, a Palestinian extremist, opened fire at the pair.
14:34 King Abdullah was fatally hit,
14:35 but Hussein miraculously survived after the bullet struck a medal given to him by his grandfather.
14:41 Throughout his reign as king, which ended with his passing in 1999,
14:45 Hussein is said to have survived around 12 attempts on his life.
14:48 These plots ranged from the typical armed rebel schemes
14:51 to more sinister ones like replacing his nose drops with acid.
14:55 Another plan to poison Hussein was discovered
14:57 after several deceased cats were found in the palace.
15:00 Number 5. Josip Broz Tito
15:03 In 1948, then Prime Minister and later President of Yugoslavia,
15:07 Josip Broz Tito was fed up with the attempts on his life
15:10 by his former World War II ally, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.
15:14 Tito issued a stern letter to Stalin, demanding he stop sending killers,
15:18 otherwise, quote, "I'll send one to Moscow, and I won't have to send a second."
15:23 Reportedly, Stalin kept this letter in his office until his death in 1953.
15:28 But it didn't stop him or others from trying to take out Tito,
15:32 who allegedly survived 22 assassination attempts.
15:35 There's even speculation that Stalin didn't perish from natural causes but due to poisoning,
15:40 as Tito may have followed through on his chilling promise.
15:43 Number 4. Charles de Gaulle
15:46 Not every failed assassination gets turned into a best-selling novel
15:49 and an Oscar-nominated movie, but not everyone was like Charles de Gaulle.
15:53 After fighting for France in World War II and leading resistance movements,
16:11 de Gaulle later became Prime Minister and then President of France.
16:15 However, by ending colonial rule in Algeria,
16:18 he drew the ire of the extremist group Organisation Armée Secrète.
16:22 On August 22, 1962, an ambush organized by Colonel Jean-Marie Bastien-Thierry
16:27 peppered de Gaulle's motorcade with bullets.
16:29 Although two guards reportedly perished, the president and his wife were miraculously okay.
16:34 Bastien-Thierry was executed for his involvement,
16:37 and other conspirators were sentenced to life in prison.
16:40 "An hour ago, in the courtyard of the Fort de Vries outside Paris,
16:44 Lieutenant Colonel Bastien-Thierry was executed by a firing squad
16:48 for leading the attempt on the life of General de Gaulle last August."
16:51 In addition to this, it's believed de Gaulle survived at least 30 assassination attempts.
16:57 Number 3. Adolf Hitler
16:59 "If they are trusted, if they can get a weapon into proximity with Hitler
17:03 inside the inner defense zone, then yes, they have a shot at taking Hitler out."
17:08 While the Allied forces had ambitions to snuff out the Führer of Germany,
17:11 Adolf Hitler also had internal threats on his life.
17:15 Historians have so far uncovered evidence of at least 42 plans to assassinate him.
17:20 In many of these, luck played a big part in Hitler's survival.
17:24 In 1943, German officer Rudolf Christoph von Gerstorff planned to detonate timed explosives
17:29 as he hugged Hitler after showing him captured weaponry.
17:32 However, with the timer set to 10 minutes, Hitler finished quickly,
17:36 leaving von Gerstorff to quietly diffuse the device in a bathroom.
17:39 Similarly, the infamous 20 July plot by Klaus von Stauffenberg failed
17:43 when the explosive briefcase he placed beside Hitler was moved before it detonated.
17:48 Number 2. Saag the 1st of Albania
18:01 With around 600 blood feuds, King Saag the 1st of Albania had a lot of enemies looking to knock
18:07 him off. After all, he reportedly survived over 55 assassination attempts. Saag began his career
18:13 in the military and later rose to power as prime minister, then president, and finally king in 1928.
18:20 One notable attempt occurred in 1924 when he was shot twice by Becer Valtteri as he entered
18:26 parliament. The future monarch reportedly continued working as if nothing happened.
18:30 Another daring incident happened in 1931. Saag and his entourage were shot at at the
18:35 opera in Vienna, Austria. While the king was fine, a guard was killed and a minister was wounded.
18:40 It's said that Saag fearlessly fired back at the retreating assailants.
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18:58 1. Fidel Castro
19:02 Few people have danced with death as much as Cuba's Fidel Castro.
19:16 There were allegedly 638 plans to take the revolutionary out,
19:21 many of which were orchestrated by the CIA. Some of these plots were cartoonish.
19:26 Two involved tainting Castro's beloved cigars with an explosive agent or a toxin.
19:31 Another featured booby-trapping a seashell that would be painted to entice the scuba diving
19:35 enthusiast. One plan even seemed straight out of a James Bond movie, involving a poison
19:47 administered through a pen. At one point, the CIA lazily considered throwing leaflets throughout
19:53 Cuba, offering a reward to take out Castro. Ultimately, the man who said he would've won
19:58 gold if surviving assassinations were an Olympic event passed away in 2016 at age 90.
20:04 Which fictional assassination attempt left the biggest impact on you? Let us know below.
20:19 Check out these other clips from WatchMojo, and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell
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20:25 [music]
20:35 (whooshing)
20:37 [BLANK_AUDIO]