Groups often confer high prestige on individuals even when few members of the group ever interact with those individuals. To account for this phenomenon, I present a multilevel simulation model of a group's selection of its top-ranked member. In the model, the mechanism for social agreement on a top person is aggregation of group members' private acceptance of that rank due to the person's likely provision of a collective benefit. The simulation shows this process can generate group consensus on a top person, even in large groups in which there is no consensus on who has the most ability. It also generates predictions, including one that large groups will grant prestige primarily for nonrival benefits. (Contains 1 table, 4 figures and 5 notes.)