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See what remarkable builders and entrepreneurs achieved at age 65
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Notable Achievements at Age 65
Died of cardiac arrest in Los Angeles
Richard Pryor died on December 10, 2005 of cardiac arrest at a Los Angeles-area hospital/at home (sources note cardiac arrest).
Dies of complications related to cancer
Paul Allen dies in Seattle of septic shock related to cancer on October 15, 2018.
Defeated in 2012 presidential election
Lost the general election to incumbent President Barack Obama; Romney received 206 Electoral College votes to Obama's 332.
Mentored Alex Krizhevsky and Ilya Sutskever leading to AlexNet
Supervised graduate students Alex Krizhevsky and Ilya Sutskever; collaborative work produced AlexNet and later led to DNNresearch.
W. Mark Felt (Deep Throat) died
Mark Felt, confirmed as 'Deep Throat,' died in December 2008 at age 95; Woodward later memorialized Felt publicly January 16, 2009.
Died in Boston, Massachusetts
Died in Boston while visiting; left a significant body of essays, lectures and books that influenced later organizational theory.
Inauguration of the Institut Pasteur in Paris
Official opening/inauguration of the Institut Pasteur (14 November 1888); Pasteur served as director until his death.
Recipient of Charles Stark Draper Prize (joint award)
Awarded (with David A. Patterson, John L. Hennessy, and Stephen B. Furber) the Charles Stark Draper Prize for Engineering for invention, development and implementation of RISC chips.
Finalized transition from BP CEO (succeeded by Bernard Looney)
Dudley's successor Bernard Looney took the reins as BP Group Chief Executive in 2020, marking the end of Dudley's decade-long tenure.
Escaped Japan to Lebanon
While under house arrest awaiting trial, Ghosn fled Japan hidden inside a large road/instrument case on a private jet via Osaka → Istanbul → Beirut; described as 'escape from injustice.'
Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2019).
Georgina Chapman leaves Weinstein
Shortly after the allegations became public, his wife Georgina Chapman announced she was leaving him.
Fired from The Weinstein Company
Following the growing allegations, Weinstein was fired by the board of The Weinstein Company (Oct 8, 2017).
New York Times exposé (first major public allegations)
The New York Times published an investigation detailing decades of sexual harassment and assault allegations against Weinstein (Oct 5, 2017).
Secured Republican nomination (RNC)
Won the Republican Party’s presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida.
Co-founded International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM)
Co-founded ICHOM with Stefan Larsson and Martin Ingvar to create global outcome standards for health conditions.
Co-founded DNNresearch Inc.
Co‑founded DNNresearch with graduate students Alex Krizhevsky and Ilya Sutskever based on University of Toronto research.
Death of brother Bob Humphrys
Brother Bob Humphrys, a sports presenter on BBC Wales Today, died of lung cancer aged 56.
Awarded Padma Shri (Public Affairs)
Received the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award in India, for service to public affairs.
Elected Foreign Member of the Royal Society (ForMemRS)
Elected as a Foreign Member of the Royal Society (London) in recognition of lifetime contributions.
💡 What this means for you
At age 65, 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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