So begins a summary of a report from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation which is devoted to the study and promotion of entrepreneurship.
The report entitled "Elon Musk, Oprah Winfrey, and Steve Jobs: Who is an Entrepreneurial Role Model?" examines the results of a survey of 1,000 Americans ages 18 or older regarding their awareness of five prominent current and historical entrepreneurs.
If you think entrepreneurship is important to the future of the American economy, the results are depressing.
Among survey respondents, Steve Jobs was the most recognized, with 53% awareness; Oprah Winfrey was next at 39%, followed by Walmart founder Sam Walton (38%) and Thomas A. Edison (33%.) Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Motors, was recognized by only 13%.
By way of context, 24 out of 25 people knew who Marilyn Monroe was, even though she died more than 50 years ago.
My takeaway from all this: Maybe People, and US Weekly magazine should create special issues devoted to entrepreneurs.