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Notable Achievements at Age 61
Death of eldest son Nicholas (Nick) Gilbert
Gilbert's eldest son Nick, who had neurofibromatosis, died on May 6, 2023 at age 26 after a long battle with the disease.
Died of complications from acute leukemia
Died in Duarte, California on September 14, 2021 from complications of acute leukemia; condition had been kept private.
Launched Fable app
Fable launched a subscription-based app: book recommendation engine + private social groups aimed at improving cognitive fitness and mental wellness (Jan 2021).
Awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom
Received the Presidential Medal of Freedom (with distinction) for pioneering contributions to medicine and surgery.
Died in Bad Homburg
Died on 20 August 1915 in Bad Homburg; Emperor Wilhelm II sent a telegram of condolence; buried at Old Jewish Cemetery in Frankfurt.
Died in Paris; buried at Auteuil
Benjamin Thompson (Count Rumford) died 21 August 1814 in Paris and was buried in the cemetery of Auteuil; his daughter inherited the title.
Died in Paris
Benjamin Thompson (Count Rumford) died in Paris on 21 August 1814; buried in the cemetery of Auteuil.
Re-elected to U.S. House (2024 primary won outright)
Won the November 5, 2024 nonpartisan primary outright for LA-2 with 60.3% (184,009 votes).
Announced new name 'Suzy' in addition to Eddie
Publicly stated she would begin using the name Suzy (becomes Suzy Eddie Izzard), asking people to choose which name to use.
Awarded the $1 million Genesis Prize
Awarded the 2022 Genesis Prize ($1 million) for leadership in development of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine; later directed the prize to Holocaust education initiatives in Greece.
Public tributes from peers and leaders after death
After his death, peers (Conan O'Brien, Dave Chappelle, David Letterman) and public figures (Canadian PM Justin Trudeau) paid tribute; Emmy winners dedicated wins to him.
Awarded the Berggruen Prize ($1,000,000)
Received the $1 million Berggruen Prize for Philosophy and Culture for reshaping understanding of health as a human right.
Delivered virtual Rutgers commencement address
Delivered a virtual commencement speech for Rutgers University’s graduating class due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Resigned as CEO following T‑Mobile and Sprint merger close
After the merger of T‑Mobile US and Sprint closed early, Legere officially resigned as CEO on April 1, 2020 (earlier than the originally planned May 1/March 30 transition).
Launched USAFacts (nonprofit civic data site)
Ballmer founded USAFacts to compile and publish official U.S. government data; initially funded with about $10M to populate the database.
Announced as ACM A.M. Turing Award winner (2016)
Awarded the 2016 ACM A.M. Turing Award 'for inventing the World Wide Web, the first web browser, and the fundamental protocols and algorithms allowing the Web to scale'.
Diagnosed with lymphoma
Announced diagnosis with a form of lymphoma and began treatment (publicly reported Sept 22, 2015).
💡 What this means for you
At age 61, you're at a pivotal point where many successful entrepreneurs made their breakthrough. Whether you're building your first company or scaling an existing one, these examples show what's possible with focus and execution.
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