An asterisk (*) indicates a significant number of followers, while a double dagger (‡) marks those referring to a royal line of deification rather than an individual.
| Who | Image | When | What |
| Hogen Fukunaga | | 1951- | In 1987 after an alleged spiritual event he claimed to realize he was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ and the Buddha. |
| Jim Jones | | 1931–1978 | Also claimed
to be the reincarnation of Jesus and Buddha. Further he added that he was the reincarnation of Akhenaten, Father Divine, and Vladimir Lenin |
| *Lu Sheng-yen | | 1945- | Founder of the True Buddha School. Professes to be the incarnation of Padmakumara, a deity in Sukhavati, calling himself "Living Buddha Lian Shen" |
| *Ching Hai | | 1950s | A meditation master who professes to be an incarnation of God, the Buddha, and the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, popularly known as Guan Yin, for which her meditation method is named after |
| Ruth Norman | | 1930s | Leading member of the Unarius Academy of Science. She claimed to have had 55 past lives. One of these was as Sakyamuni Buddha. Others included Socrates, King Arthur, Confucius, and a King of Atlantis. |
| *Guan Yu | | 160-219 | Legendary military warrior during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms period in ancient China. Today, many people, including both police and mafia, consider him to be a divine
object of reverence. In certain schools of Taoism and Chinese Buddhism he has been deemed divine or semi-divine status. The reverence for him may date back to the Sui dynasty. He is generally believed by many Buddhists as a Bodhisattva that guards the Buddhist faith and the temples. He is known as Sangharama in Sanskrit. He is the most recent person to be considered a Bodhisattva. |
| Maitreya | | Unknown | A man who calls himself Maitreya is professed by Benjamin Creme |
| ‡Nurhaci | | 1559-1626 | Also known as Emperor Tai Zu. Founder and leader of the Qing Dynasty, believed he was a manifestation of Manjushri Bodhisattva. |
| Samael Aun Weor | | 1917-1977 | Claimed to be Maitreya Buddha, as well as the avatar Kalki |
| L. Ron Hubbard | | 1911-1986 | Founder of Scientology. Claimed that he was the fulfillment of Maitreya in a prophecy he wrote |
| Lu Zhong Yi | | 1849-1925 | The 17th patriarch of the I-Kuan Tao, proclaimed himself as an incarnation of Maitreya. |
| *Li Hongzhi | | 1951- | Founder of Falun Gong who proclaimed himself as a Buddha () |
| *Ram Bamjan | | 1989- | A 15-year old Nepalese Buddhist monk who many have hailed as a new Buddha, with some to have seen light emanating from the teenager's forehead. Despite his protestations of not attaining enlightenment, many continue on insisting he is a Buddha. |
| *Peter Deunov | | 1864-1944 | Also known as Master Beinsa Douno. Spiritual teacher, founder of a teaching and school of Esoteric Christianity. Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian philosopher, identified Master Beinsa Douno as manifestation of Maitreya in the late 20th century |