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NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release:
October 13, 2009
TEENS ADMIRE STEVE JOBS MOST
AMONG CELEBRITY ENTREPRENEURS
National survey shows teens admire
celebs for making a difference in the world over fame and wealth
Colorado Springs, Colo. — More than ever, being a celebrity means
being a brand. The fabulous and famous increasingly are entrepreneurs, marketing
products to their adoring fan base. For example, Britney Spears, Sarah Jessica
Parker, Paris Hilton and Jennifer Lopez-in addition to numerous other stars-have
fragrances. Supermodel and Dancing with the Stars contestant Kathy
Ireland oversees a home furnishings empire and was introduced on the show as an
entrepreneur.
Junior Achievement recently surveyed 1,000 U.S. tweens and teens ages 12-17
and asked them to choose the well-known entrepreneur they most admired from a
list provided. Surprisingly, teens chose a business legend from the technology
sector over fashionistas, Facebook and even the Queen of Daytime. Steve Jobs,
the Apple co-founder responsible for bringing cool gadgets to the iPhone
generation, was selected over Tony Hawk, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Kimora Lee
Simmons, Oprah Winfrey and Mark Zuckerberg.
Jobs received 35 percent of the votes, Winfrey 25 percent, Hawk 16 percent,
Zuckerberg 10 percent, the Olsen twins seven percent and Simmons four percent.
The list was focused on celebs who had started business enterprises themselves,
as opposed to licensing their names and images to products produced by someone
else.
Nearly two-thirds (61 percent) selected Steve Jobs because he "made a
difference in/improved people's lives or made the world a better place."
Eighty-five percent of teens who selected Oprah cited the same reason. One-third
(33 percent) of those selecting Mr. Jobs cited his "success in multiple fields,"
assuming teens are making a distinction between Apple's iMac and iPod/iTunes
brands.
Indicating that teens may be more altruistic than adults give them credit
for, the predictable reasons why a teen might admire a hugely successful
entrepreneur like Steve Jobs or Oprah Winfrey-wealth and fame-were selected by
only four percent of those who admire Jobs most and three percent of those who
admire Winfrey most.
To teach aspiring teen moguls how to start their own business enterprises,
Junior Achievement recently unveiled its newest program,
JA Be EntrepreneurialTM,
created through support from the U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention. The program, whose implementation is sponsored by UPS, is targeted
to high school students. Through hands-on activities and the support of a
classroom volunteer, students start and run their own business ventures.
Jack Kosakowski, president of Junior Achievement USA, commented, "We live in
a celebrity-obsessed culture, so it's no surprise that teens admire famous
entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs and Oprah Winfrey, who have built brands around
their personas as well as around their products. More importantly however, given
that many teens show interest in entrepreneurship, we want to provide them with
the tools to start successful businesses. Junior Achievement's programs, such as
JA Be Entrepreneurial, give teens a solid foundation upon which to
achieve their dreams of business ownership."
More information about JA Be Entrepreneurial, including a series of
free, supplementary podcasts, can be found at:
http://www.ja.org/programs/programs_high_be_entre.shtml.
This is the seventh year that Junior Achievement has conducted the poll,
which attempts to gauge teens' attitudes around business ownership. The survey
was conducted by Opinion Research Corporation from August 20-24, 2009, and
surveyed 1,000 U.S. teens ages 12-17 by telephone. The survey's margin of error
is +/- 3.2 percent.
Visit www.ja.org to read an executive
summary of Junior Achievement's
"Teens and Entrepreneurship" survey results.
About JA Worldwide® (Junior Achievement)
Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to inspiring
and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy. Through a dedicated
volunteer network, Junior Achievement provides in-school and after-school
programs for students which focus on three key content areas: work readiness,
entrepreneurship, and financial literacy. Today, 131 individual area operations
reach more than four million students in the United States, with an additional
five million students served by operations in 125 other countries worldwide. For
more information, visit www.ja.org.
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