1. Karl Marx
2. Gandhi
3. Mao
I agree about Ghandi. Most overrated. He had the good fortune to go up against the British. Anyone else would have waxed him.
Good call on Ghandhi. He stole his moves from Jesus Christ, and even admitted it before he died.
Gandhi is another good choice (as would be Nelson Mandela in the minor leagues), but I have to disagree about Mao. Anyone who killed more of his countrymen than Hitler and Stalin cannot be considered overrated as an historic figure. As a writer, yes, Mao is very much overrated.
In religious figures, one might say that Mohammed had too much military/historical influence to be overrated, leaving Mormonism’s Joseph Smith near the top of that heap. Still, Freud’s nearly successful attempt to replace Judaism with psychology might edge Smith from the top spot.