Elon Musk is the CEO the world is most curious about; a new study has found.
The new research analysed Google Keyword Planner data to determine which entrepreneurs’ people from around the world are most interested in. After devising a list of more than 300 of the world’s most prominent CEO’s, the study combined five common search terms related to entrepreneurship to reveal the average monthly search volume for entrepreneurs over the past twelve months. The businesspeople were then ranked from highest to lowest.
Elon Musk is by far and away the entrepreneur people are most curious about. The SpaceX founder and CEO of Tesla amassed an average monthly search volume of more than 10 million (10,754,200) over the course of the past year – a figure that is more than eight million more than the next entrepreneur. Musk’s $44billion acquisition of Twitter in 2022, in addition to his regular promotion of cryptocurrencies like memecoins, has helped him to also become the most searched for name in both the USA and UK, as well as the standout searched for CEO in the field of technology.
The second entrepreneur the world is most interested in is American business tycoon, Bill Gates. The Microsoft co-founder is the only other CEO to have amassed more than two million (2,079,675) average monthly searches over the past 12 months, edging Amazon founder Jeff Bezos (1,998,241.7) in the rankings, who fell just short of the two million mark and consequently ranked third. However, Bezos did accumulate more searches than Gates in both the USA and UK.
Mark Zuckerberg ranked in fourth. The Facebook CEO amassed nearly 1.7million (1,698,675) average monthly searches over the past year, with more than 347,000 of those coming directly from the USA.
With more than 1.2million (1,287,511.7) monthly average searches, LVMH founder Bernard Arnault ranked in fifth, making him the most searched for CEO in the fashion industry. Meanwhile, Warren Buffet was the only other businessperson to amass more than a million (1,190,466.7) monthly average searches, making the Berkshire Hathaway CEO the most searched for entrepreneur in the finance and investments sector.
James Gunn ranked highest for entrepreneurs relating to the television industry. The filmmaker and DC studios co-CEO averaged more than 782,000 (782,695) monthly searches over the past year, with more than 245,000 of those searches coming from the USA alone.
Sundar Pichai followed next with more than 730,000 (730,423.3) average monthly searches. However, the Indian-American business executive, famed for being the CEO of Alphabet Inc. And its subsidiary Google, wasn’t among the top five searched for technology entrepreneurs in either the USA or the UK.
Fashion designer Giorgio Armani, who rose to prominence working for labels Cerutti, Allegri, Bagutta, Hilton and many others before launching his own company ‘Armani’ in 1975, ranked in ninth with more than 637,000 (637,450) average monthly searches.
Hungarian-American businessman George Soros, who was dubbed by Forbes as the ‘most generous giver’ thanks to his $32billion donations to the Open Society Foundations, ranked in tenth and is the final entrepreneur to amass more than 500,000 (583,143.3) monthly searches.
Apple CEO Tim Cook, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek, Google co-founder Larry Page, business magnate Jack Ma and Kering CEO Francois Henri-Pinault all ranked in the top 15.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who ranked 17th globally, was the most searched for entrepreneur related to the sports industry. Meanwhile, former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki is the most globally searched for businesswoman with more than 210,000 average monthly searches (210,405).
Steven Bartlett, who ranked 25th globally for CEO’s people are most curious about, ranked significantly higher in the UK. In fact, the British entrepreneur, who hosts one of Europe’s most listened to podcasts labelled ‘The Diary of a CEO’, ranked second in the UK’s average monthly searches (127,782.5) behind only Musk himself.
Filippo Ucchino, CEO of InvestinGoal, who commissioned the research, commented on the findings: “As some of the most powerful people globally, world renowned CEOs are capable of impacting society in many ways, and many have done so as a direct result of their wealth. It is therefore understandable that the public are directly interested in their lives and background. This research ultimately offers a fascinating insight into exactly how much that curiosity spans.”
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Elon Musk is the entrepreneur the world is ‘most curious’ about, study reveals