The Michael Smurfit's and Richard Branson's of this world have a better public image than one might imagine. In a decade when greed is again fashionable and anyone with the right numbers can become a lottery millionaire the idea of being a "fat cat" business tycoon has become desirable, seen by many as an attractive career choice. A survey by Liverpool Victoria, the UK's largest friendly society, reveals that heading a big company is now the more popular career for those seeking fame, wealth and influence compared to 50 years ago when more people said they would like to be a doctor.

To celebrate its 50th anniversary, the society has repeated a 1947 Gallup survey into preferred routes to fame and fortune. The report said the desire to succeed in business was the hot favourite among those canvassed, a negligible aspiration 50 years ago. A career as prime minister came bottom of the list, as it did in 1948, at a static 2 per cent. The attractions of top flight business are seen as money, power and a high public profile, attributes considered to be in short supply in other professions. A spokesman for the society said that "we live in an age where more people would like to be Richard Branson or Anita Roddick than Albert Einstein or Marie Curie". All vaguely unsettling.