Who Are America’s Favorite CEOs?

Amid an increasingly unpredictable second Trump administration in which several business leaders are playing prominent roles, worsening economic sentiment and ongoing worker and consumer fatigue, Americans’ relationship to the executive class is in a precarious place.

According to data featured in our latest report, the share of U.S. adults who say they have a favorable opinion of CEOs across several major industries is nearly equal to those who say they have an unfavorable opinion. The same is true of those who say they do and do not trust CEOs to do the right thing. 

However, despite this broad uncertainty, some individual executives remain notably well-liked. In fact, our survey — which asked Americans about their opinions on 27 leaders of major companies — found that there are some near-universally beloved members of the C-suite.

Americans’ favorite CEOs

Oprah Winfrey (OWN), Warren Buffett (Berkshire Hathaway) and Jeff Bezos (Amazon) were the top three most favored business leaders for all U.S. adults. They appeared on the top five lists for nearly every other key demographic, too.

Tim Cook (Apple), Ron Vachris (Costco), Mark Zuckerberg (Meta) and Elon Musk (Tesla, SpaceX, X) make up a decidedly second-tier executive cohort: Each appeared on roughly half of the most favored lists for the 14 consumer groups we explored, with the latter topping Republicans’ chart by a wide margin.

Several leaders also made one-time appearances, reflecting the tastes and priorities of specific groups. For example, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew was the second most favored executive among Gen Z adults, who are well-documented lovers of the video app. Bob Iger’s presence on their list is also notable; a separate survey question found that Gen Zers are especially fond of media and entertainment CEOs relative to most other groups, likely a result of their outsized participation in all forms of media consumption. 

Baby boomers’ favorability toward General Motors CEO Mary Barra, meanwhile, speaks to the older cohort’s outsized affinity for businesses that manufacture their products domestically.

Considered together, these lists underscore another important dimension of CEO public perception — which is that, oftentimes, opinions of an executive are closely tied to (or even interchangeable with) that of the company they work for. Case in point: Unlike Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk, Costco’s CEO Ron Vachris isn’t a household name or frequently making news. And yet, because Costco is such a widely known and loved brand, he appeared as a favorite business leader for all U.S. adults and several other groups. 

This transference also explains, in part, why our rankings are filled with so many technology leaders.  

Tech executives on top (and bottom)

Given technology’s ubiquity, Americans have long been extremely aware of and amenable to leaders in this space — so it’s not surprising that at least one tech CEO appeared among the most favored executives for all demographics. 

What is notable, however, is their broad resiliency amid a steady stream of public controversies in recent months, which have included everything from Mark Zuckerberg ordering Meta to adopt several right-leaning policies to Elon Musk spearheading unprecedented government spending cuts via the Trump administration’s newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

That said, Bezos, Zuckerberg and Musk were also among the top five CEOs with the highest unfavorable ratings, making clear that the industry’s halo effect isn’t totally impenetrable.

What’s more, CEO favorability isn’t created equal to begin with, as opinions of the executive class vary starkly along several demographic lines. In general, men, Republicans and high earners are much more likely to have positive feelings about CEOs than women, Democrats and low-income Americans. A similar pattern exists among those with and without college degrees, respectively, too. 

CEOs’ sphere of influence

Regardless of their personal views on specific business leaders, most consumers see CEOs as direct proxies of the brands they lead: Roughly 8 in 10 U.S. adults said a company’s CEO impacts their perception of that company in some way.  

There are many possible outcomes — both good and bad — that can stem from this relationship. Tesla offers perhaps the clearest example of the latter. 

Since Tesla co-founder and CEO Elon Musk began inserting himself into divisive political and cultural conversations, several of the electric vehicle maker’s brand metrics, including favorability, purchase consideration and sales, have steeply declined.

That said, Tesla’s situation is fairly rare. Potential CEO-related risk increases with name recognition, and most CEOs are not as visible (or routinely disruptive) as Musk. As is the case with other one-off brand scandals, a single executive snafu is something companies can recover from, but consistent issues could permanently erode consumer sentiment.