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Today Forbes announced its list of the thirty most important people under thirty.  Fortune did the same thing recently.  Are you tired of reading lists of “Thirty Leaders Under Thirty”?  Here is a list of the sixty most influential, annoying, important or just folks over sixty.  Here then, sorted by age, is The Sixty Most Important People Over Sixty.
  1. Henry Kissinger.  Still the U.S. best thinker on foreign policy and diplomacy.
  2. Jimmy Carter.  Better as an ex-President than President.  His work for Habitat for Humanity is a lesson for all of us.
  3. T. Boone Pickens.  Oilman, energy expert.  Creator of The Pickens Plan for energy independence.
  4. Frank Gehry.  Showing the world what new materials and CAD design can do to architecture.
  5. Warren Bufett. Best investor in history.  Becoming one of the best philanthropists in history.
  6. Alan Simpson.  Former Senator who, along with Bowles (below) is trying to get U.S. to fiscal sanity.
  7. Diane Feinstein.  Influential Sr. Senator from CA.
  8. Carl Icahn.  Activist investor.
  9. Anthony Kennedy.  Supreme Court Justice
  10. Jack Nicholson.  Actor
  11. Freeman Morgan.  Actor.  “Through the Wormhole” commentator.
  12. Yvon Chouinard. Founder of Patagonia, environmental activist and enemy of dams.
  13. Ralph Lauren.  Fashion industry titan.
  14. Harry Reid.  Senate Majority Leader.
  15. Toby Cosgrove.  MD and President of The Cleveland Clinic.
  16. Nancy Pelosi.  House Minority Leader.
  17. William Kock.  Billionaire businessman and Libertarian.
  18. Roger Ailes.  Founder of Fox News.
  19. Don Imus. Radio personality, philanthropist, professional curmudgeon.
  20. Barbara Boxer.  Jr. Senator from CA.
  21. Martha Stewart.  Fashion arbiter, CEO of Martha Stewart Omnimedia.
  22. Michael Bloomberg.  Former Mayor of NYC; eponymous founder of Bloomberg.
  23. Mitch McConnell.  Senate Minority Leader.
  24. Aretha Franklin.  Soul and R&B singer.
  25. Joe Biden.  VP of the U.S.
  26. Newt Gringrich.  Former House Speaker, author and conservative thought leader.
  27. Jerry Bruckheimer.  Co-creator of CSI, Cold Case, many others.
  28. George Lucas. Motion picture producer and director; world builder.
  29. Larry Ellison.  Founder of Oracle.
  30. Lorne Michaels.  Founder of Saturday Night Live.
  31. Erskine Bowles.  Co-leader of Simpson Bowles Committee. Prophet.
  32. Harold Hamm.  Founder & CEO of Continental Resources, shale/fracking leader.
  33. Diane Sawyer.  ABC news anchorwoman.
  34. Dolly Parton.  Singer, songwriter, entrepreneur.
  35. Cher Sarkisian.  Singer and entertainer.
  36. Janet Yellen.  President-Federal Reserve Bank; arguably the world’s most powerful woman.
  37. Bill Clinton.  Former President.  Co-founder of Clinton Global Initiative.
  38. Stephen Spielberg.  Motion picture producer and director.
  39. Dick Wolfe.  Co-creator of Law & Order franchise.
  40. James Rothman.  Yale Professor of Biomedical Science; Nobel Prize Winner.
  41. Camile Paglia.  Professor and author.
  42. Hillary Clinton.  Former Senator, former Secretary of State, Presidential candidate.
  43. Dick Parsons. Former CEO of Citibank, former CEO of Time-Warner, advisor to Providence Equity.
  44. Kathleen Sebelius.  Secretary of Health & Human Services. Charged with fixing Obamacare.
  45. Randy Schekman. California University Cell Biologist; Nobel Prize Winner.
  46. David Rubenstein.  CEO of private equity firm Carlyle.
  47. Bruce Springsteen.  Singer and songwriter.
  48. Mike Duke.  CEO of Wal-Mart.
  49. Timothy Dolan.  Cardinal of NY.
  50. Francis Collins.  Director, National Institute of Health.
  51. Chuck Schumer.  Sr. Senator from NY.
  52. Rush Limbaugh. Talk show host; most influential conservative.
  53. Bob Iger.  Chairman & CEO: Disney.
  54. Keith Alexander. General; Director of NSA.
  55. John Noseworthy.  CEO of The Mayo Clinic.
  56. Danielle Steele.  Top ten best-selling author of all time.
  57. Maureen Dowd.  Influential NY Times editorialist.
  58. Martin Dempsey.  General-U.S. Army. Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff.
  59. Rex Tillerson. CEO of Exxon Mobile.
  60. Howard Schultz.  Founder and CEO of Starbucks.

There were many other excellent choices, and my selection is largely arbitrary.  But I welcome your suggestions for additions (please don’t bother with deletions) and will consider them for my next update.  Post your comment here.

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