Nearly one fifth of the 2,000 surveyed voted for, Harry Potter author, JK Rowling, who beat Cheryl Cole and Victoria Beckham as the top female celeb; while Lord Sugar gathered one quarter of the votes, beating Simon Cowell, David Beckham and Richard Branson.
Lord Sugar’s poll winning outcome as the most inspirational celebrity comes despite most employees saying they wouldn’t want to work for him.
Andy Turner, co-founder of freelance website OfficeCavalry.com, who commissioned the research said “Britain’s prefer to work for themselves because of the lifestyle it affords them,”.
“People want to go to work knowing that they’re in control and have the independence and freedom to make the right decisions.”
Top male celebrities inspiring Brits to become their own boss:
- Lord Sugar
- Simon Cowell
- Richard Branson
- Peter Jones
- Jamie Oliver
- Bill Gates
- Gordon Ramsay
- Theo Paphitis
- Jonathan Ross
- David Beckham
Top female celebrities inspiring Brits to become their own boss:
- J.K. Rowling
- Katie Price
- Karren Brady
- Cheryl Cole
- Oprah Winfrey
- Victoria Beckham
- Michelle Obama
- Denise van Outen
- Dannii Minogue
- Kylie Minogue
While these surveys are often light-hearted affairs not to be taken too seriously, it’s interesting that the celebrities to top the poll each have a rags-to-riches life story.
However, there might actually be a geographical spin on these results, as only a few months ago we published the findings of another survey, this time with a national base for respondees and Lord Sugar did not feature in the top five, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling did however top the female list.
Lord Sugar pictured above at a North East Chamber of Commerce event during his time as the Government’s Enterprise Tsar