Ben Carson

Ben Carson's story is a modern American parable of triumph over circumstance. Growing up in dire poverty in Detroit with a single mother who, though illiterate, demanded excellence, he transformed from a boy with a violent temper and poor grades into a top student. His academic journey led him to Yale and the University of Michigan Medical School, culminating in a neurosurgery residency at Johns Hopkins. There, Carson made medical history. In 1987, he led a 70-person surgical team in a 22-hour operation to separate seven-month-old conjoined twins, the Binder brothers, who were attached at the back of the head—a procedure never before successful. This feat, among other complex pediatric surgeries, made him a national figure. His best-selling autobiography, 'Gifted Hands,' cemented his image as a role model. In a dramatic career shift, he leveraged that fame for a run in the 2016 Republican presidential primaries and later served as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, a move that placed his conservative personal philosophy at the center of federal policy.