RISMEDIA, Sept. 20, 2007- Oprah Winfrey, Elvis Presley and Donald Trump ranked as the top three celebrities Americans wished they had as their next-door neighbor, according to a recent survey by Homes & Land. Its Celebrity Neighbor Survey polled thousands of Americans, resulting in many surprises in the complete top 20 ranking.Movie Stars, Music VIPs or Media Moguls: Most consumers chose movie stars, but many chose personalities within other professions as well. Tiger Woods was the only athlete to make an appearance on the top 20 list. Five singers topped the chart including Elvis, Dolly Parton, Kenny Chesney, Frank Sinatra and singer-actress Jennifer Lopez. The top twenty list also included three high-powered businessmen (Donald Trump, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett) and three media moguls (Oprah, Martha Stewart and Hugh Hefner).
Venus or Mars: For all women surveyed, the following celebrities ranked as their top five choices overall: 1) Oprah Winfrey, 2) Paris Hilton, 3) Dolly Parton, 4) John Travolta and 5) George Clooney. For men participating in the survey, their top five choices included an all-male line-up: 1) Elvis Presley, 2) John Wayne, 3) Donald Trump, 4) Tiger Woods and 5) Bill Gates.
Certain personalities received all-male or all-female votes: Pamela Anderson, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino made the Top 20 overall list through an all-male consensus. Princess Diana and Richard Gere had an all-female following. Oprah Winfrey’s following was primarily female, but 12% of those who named her as their number one neighbor choice were male. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were usually named individually – not as a couple. Interestingly, they tied for the number ten spot as individuals. Angelina Jolie’s admirers were split equally between men and women, while two thirds of those who voted for Brad Pitt were female.
Stars Still Shining Bright: There is no question that some legendary celebrities still resonate with the public. Elvis, John Wayne, Princess Diana and Frank Sinatra may no longer be with us but they are still first choice for many participants wishing for the stars as their neighbors.
Anecdotal Evidence: Those participants who selected Oprah or Elvis as their ideal neighbor appreciated their talent. However, they also cited personal attributes such as Oprah’s inspirational and humanitarian qualities. Elvis was often cited as hard-working and generally, a “great guy.” Those participants who chose business tycoons like Donald Trump or Bill Gates were motivated by financial aspirations. For example, many concluded that “if I had an address next to Donald Trump, it would mean I’d be rich too.” Most Tiger Woods fans would tap into their champion neighbor for personal golfing lessons. However, several of the men said they’d choose Tiger for the women in their lives, since their wives were actually Tiger’s biggest fans. While many of the men wanting Pamela Anderson next-door claimed they’d “have a nice view from my window,” one fifty-something voter from California claimed he wanted to live next-door to Pamela because he “liked her politics.”
Top Twenty Results – Consumer Picks For Celebrity/Famous Neighbors
1. Oprah Winfrey
2. Elvis Presley
3. Donald Trump
4. John Wayne
5. Tiger Woods
6. George Clooney
7. (Tie) Paris Hilton, Dolly Parton
8. (Tie) John Travolta, Denzel Washington, Clint Eastwood, Bill Gates
9. Pamela Anderson
10. (Tie) Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie
11. Robert Redford
12. (Tie) Tom Selleck, Julia Roberts
13. (Tie) Tom Cruise, Kevin Costner, Mel Gibson
14. (Tie) Bruce Willis, Martha Stewart
15. Paul Newman
16. (Tie) Robert De Niro, Warren Buffet, Frank Sinatra, Princess Diana
17. (Tie) Jennifer Lopez, Kenny Chesney, Richard Gere
18. (Tie) Hugh Hefner, Jack Nicholson
19. Jennifer Aniston
20. Al Pacino
While they didn’t make the top overall rankings, below is a list of other celebrities that ranked high among different age groups:
- 20s Reese Witherspoon, Usher, Johnny Depp Tyra Banks, Beyonce Knowles, Jim Carrey
30s Queen Latifah, Rachael Ray, Tyra Banks Ozzie Osbourne, Eva Longoria, Scarlett Johansson
40s Matthew McConaughey, Dr. Phil Jon Bon Jovi, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. - 50s Sean Connery, Ellen Degeneres, Harrison Ford Alan Jackson, Ernest Hemingway,
Sylvester Stallone
60s Richard Gere, Barbara Streisand, Eleanor Roosevelt Winston Churchill, Joe Dimaggio, Mohammed Ali, Sophia Loren
70s Paul Newman, Barbara Streisand, Bob Barker Mickey Mantle, Roy Rogers, Jay Leno
80s Jay Leno, Billy Graham Chris Matthews, Roy Rogers
90s 2 Respondents for Joel Osteen; One for Rush Limbaugh; the other chose Anne Heche
Survey Methodology:
The Homes & Land Celebrity Neighbor Survey was conducted over a two-month period earlier this summer through “Homeline,” the company’s free, consumer telephone service center. The service center accepts thousands of calls each month to fulfill requests coming from home buyers and sellers across the nation wishing to receive the company’s free real estate magazines. Survey questions were open-ended and answers were unaided. Callers were allowed to provide only one celebrity name as their answer and could participate only once. Females represented 53% and males represented 47% of all callers surveyed. Respondents almost equally represented all regions of the country. Seventy percent of all callers were in the forties, fifties and sixties age ranges. Fourteen percent were in their twenties and thirties and 10% were in their seventies. A handful of intrepid eighty and ninety-something’s sought real estate information through the company’s toll free number and participated in the Homes & Land celebrity neighbor survey.
For more information, visit www.HomesAndLand.com.