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This article examines how the forms of ‘grandeur’ (a term which is preferred to charisma here) attached to certain individuals function. Taking as its starting point the work of Max Weber on charisma, complemented by a Bourdieusian analysis, the argument reveals a genuine sociology of grandeur. One of its principal virtues is to bring to light mechanisms which are more subtle than other writings on charisma might suggest. It concludes by addressing the delicate question of what effects these categorisations have on an individual’s self-image.