President Barack Obama has honored 21 luminaries including Bill and Melinda Gates with the  prestigious Presidential Medal of Freedom honor, who inspired him over the years and "helped make me who I am."

Obama said after presenting the prestigious presidential medal of freedom, that, "Today, we celebrate extraordinary Americans who have lifted our spirits, strengthened our union, pushed us toward progress."

"Everybody on this stage has touched me in a very powerful, personal way, in ways that they probably couldn't imagine," said the outgoing US president.

The other prominent recipients to this award were Ellen DeGeneres, an award-winning comedian, Margaret H Hamilton, who led the team that created the on-board flight software for NASA's Apollo command modules and lunar modules, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who is the National Basketball Association's all-time leading scorer,Rear Admiral Grace Hopper, known as "Amazing Grace", Richard Garwin, a polymath physicist

Obama said in his remarks on the occasion, "For two decades, the Gates Foundation has worked to provide lifesaving medical care to millions boosting clean water supplies, improving education for our children, rallying aggressive international action on climate change, cutting childhood mortality in half.”

"The list could go on. These two have donated more money to charitable causes than anyone, ever," the president added.  

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Nandini