Who's Your Octogenarian Role Model?

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

80 is the new 40: With life expectancy and the retirement age creeping inexorably upward, how are you planning to spend your eighth decade? Starting a new company? Writing your memoirs? Or sitting in a lawn chair, finally reading Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past?

T. Boone Pickens: More productive at 83 than most of us will ever be… 83 year old T. Boone Pickens’ c.v. reads like that of a small-to-medium-sized nation. He earned a fortune, lost it, then rebuilt it again around the age when most people retire. At the helm of Mesa Petroleum, he did battle with Big Oil, calling for massive, industry-wide restructuring. His Corporate Wellness program transformed Mesa into “the Most Physically Fit Company in America.” In 2008, he launched an $82 million advertising and lecture campaign in support of “the Pickens Plan,” an ambitious roadmap for American energy independence. And throughout his career, Pickens has given away almost $1 billion to support medical research, kids at risk, education, and athletics.

Other Unstoppable Octogenarians:

85 Year Old Publishing Tycoon Hugh Hefner’s legendary sexual prowess apparently remains undiminished.

At 87, 39th US President Jimmy Carter continues to write books, volunteer with Habitat for Humanity and travel the world engaging in conflict mediation. In a video interview with Big Think, he explains how he and his wife have stayed together for 64 years, and gives advice on how to sustain a healthy marriage.

At 82, former poet laureate Maya Angelou continues to publish her poetry, give frequent lectures, and host an XM radio show.

. . . Who’s your octogenarian role model, and why?

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people