The official retirement age for executives at many large U.S. corporations has been 65 for several decades – unless the executive also happens to be the founder.
Forty years ago, 65 was considered old. The average life expectancy for a man born in 1900 was 46 and, by 1950, had only risen to 68 . At one time, it made sense to require CEOs to step down at 65.
Now, many people who are 65 years old are in the prime of their lives. The number of people living well into their 90s has soared. There are rare cases of powerful chairmen and CEOs in their 70s and 80s still leading their companies. Surprisingly, the tradition of CEO’s retiring around the age of 65 has not changed.
Another reason CEOs retire in their mid-60s is that boards of directors want the best and the brightest of the next generation of management to take the CEO’s place. Executives who have waited their entire careers for the chance at the top job expect to be considered while still in their 50s, if not younger.
General Electric’s Jack Welch,viewed by many to be one of the best CEOs of all time, retired at 65. It was not because he wasn’t doing his job. There were, in the view of the GE board, three men at the company who had competed for the top spot and who were “CEO material.” The job went to Jeff Immelt and the two other men left to run other large corporations.
Rules governing retirement are not applied even-handedly. At IBM, the mandatory age of retirement was 60. Thomas Watson Sr. the de facto founder of IBM, ran the company until just before his death in 1956, at the age of 82. Henry Ford held a number of titles at the company that shared his name. Although he may not have remained the CEO, it is generally accepted that he ran the company until he was forced to hand it over to his grandson. Ford was 81 at the time.
The experiences of Ford and Watson are similar to almost every person on our list. Nearly all of them are either the founder of their company or are related to the founder by blood. All are 75 years of age or older and hold the position of president, chairman or chief executive officer.
This raises the questions: why do they continue to hold their jobs, and why have they held them for so long?
Rupert Murdoch, Warren Buffett, J.W. Marriott Jr, and Sumner Redstone would almost certainly not have their jobs at a typical company. Even if they were competent, they would have stepped aside for younger men. Their protracted tenure undermines the idea that American corporations are meritocracies – as far as job promotions go.
Perhaps there is another reason the mandatory retirement age for many companies’ executives is 65. Being the CEO is a hard job. It requires the stamina to manage tens of thousands of employees, develop strategies that require forecasts that look several years into the future and travel hundreds of thousands of miles a year. These are some reasons that boards of directors choose highly trained people at the peak of their careers to lead their companies.
Based on our review of publicly available financial information, 24/7 Wall St. created this list of the oldest CEOs, chairmen and presidents of the Fortune 500 companies. The CEOs and Chairmen on this list are people who have kept the top job long past typical retirement age. They often control their companies and to a large extent the boards as well. Whether this is good for the companies they run is another matter.
The compensation and net worth numbers are based on 2009 data.
| Images | CEO/Chairman (Title, Company) | Age | Biography |
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Warren Buffett (Chairman, Berkshire Hathaway) | 79 | Warren Buffett is the most well-known investor in history. In 1947, he graduated from high school. After briefly attending Wharton, he graduated from University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a BA economics. After a brief stint working for legendary investor, Benjamin Graham, Buffett formed Buffet Partnerships, Ltd. He lives in the same home he purchased for $31,500 in 1957. In his spare time, Buffett plays scrabble against his computer. He has been a director of Berkshire Hathaway since 1965 and became Chairman and CEO in 1970. Buffett has a net worth of $47 billion. |
| Images | CEO/Chairman (Title, Company) | Age | Biography |
|---|---|---|---|
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Bruce Crawford (Chairman, Omnicom Group, Inc.) | 81 | Crawford began his career in advertising in 1956, eventually making his way to an executive position at was an executive at an BBDO, an ad agency in 1963. BBDO was eventually bought by Omnicom. After the acquisition, Crawford made himself known at the umbrella company. In 1989, Crawford became CEO of Omnicom. In 1995, he became Chairman of the Board of Directors. Crawford is an Honorary Director of The Metropolitan Opera and Chairman Emeritus of Lincoln Center. He is also a Director of The Animal Medical Center in New York. He has an annual compensation of $985 thousand. |
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Charles F. Dolan (Chairman, Cablevision Systems Corporation) | 83 | The founder and current chaiman of the board of Cablevision. His son, James Dolan, 54, is currently CEO. Cablevision, one of the largest cable companies in the United States, concentrates service in the New York City region. They also have partial ownership of major sports venues, including Madison Square Gardens. Dolan was a cofounder of HBO before he started his cable company. He and his son have the controlling stake in the company. He has an annual compensation of $2.3 million. |
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Warren Eisenberg (Chairman, Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc.) | 78 | One of the cofounders and co-Chairmen of Bed, Bath & Beyond. Eisenberg has shared these titles with his lifelong friend, 72 year old Leonard Feinstein, since they started the company in 1971. The partners are very reclusive, and generally avoid interviews and being photographed. Their quarterly reports usually last 15 minutes, and there is no question or answer session afterwards. They are reported to never fight, and appear to adhere to their original system very seriously – for example, they prefer to advertise through direct mail rather than television or online ads. Eisenberg was compensated $4.2 million in 2009. |
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Dr. Ray R. Irani (Chairman and CEO, Occidental Petroleum Corporation) | 75 | Ray Irani, a man of Palestinian descent, was born in Lebanon in 1935. Went to college at the American University in Beirut, graduating summa cum laude with a doctorate in chemical science. Beginning in 1957,he moved to the U.S. and worked as a research scientist at Monsanto. Irani eventually became protégé of former Chairman and CEO Armand Hammer – a man born in the 19th century. Irani has been the Chairman and CEO of Occidental Petroleum since Hammer’s death in 1990. Irani is often noted for his hefty salary demands: he was the second highest paid CEO for the majority of the last decade, making $460 million at his peak in 2006. Outcry from shareholders caused him to cut back on his annual compensation, and he is now only the fourth highest paid CEO – his total compensation in 2009 was $31 million. Irani lives in Beverly Hills, California |
| CEO/Chairman (Title, Company) | Age | Biography | |
|---|---|---|---|
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Charles B. Johnson (Chairman, Franklin Resources, Inc.) | 77 | Franklin Resources was founded by Rupert H. Johnson, Sr. in 1947. In 1957, three years after graduating from Yale University, Charles B. Johnson was appointed President and CEO. Johnson is now active Chairman. Charles’ son, Greg Johnson, became president and CEO in 2005. In 1992, Johnson was lauded for his part in Franklin’s acquisition of Templeton, Galbraith & Hansberger Ltd -then the largest merger of an independent mutual fund company in history. Johnson ranks 212th on Forbes’ list of the world’s richest people. He has a net worth of $4.3 billion. |
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Carl H. Lindner (Chariman, American Financial Group) | 89 | Lindner dropped out of high school during the Great Depression. He then helped expand his family’s dairy business into United Dairy Farmers, a large chain of convenience stores. In 1955, Lindner and his brother formed a company, which later became American Financial Group. He served as the company’s chairman and CEO until 2005, when he handed the top position to his two sons, who now serve as co-CEOs. The company has owned hundreds of corporations, including Chiquita Brands International, the Cincinnati Reds and Financial World Magazine. Lindner is #202 on Forbes 400 Richest People, and has an estimated net worth of $1.7 billion. |
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J.W. Marriott, Jr. (Chairman and CEO, Marriott International, Inc.) | 78 | The company was founded by his father J. Willard Marriott. J.W. Jr. earned the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America in 1947. In 1956, two years after graduating from the University of Utah, he joined the Marriott Corporation. He became president of the company in November 1964, was elected Chief Executive Officer in 1972, and became Chairman of the Board in 1985. He has fifteen grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. He was compensated $1.5 million in 2009. |
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Rupert Murdoch, (Chairman and CEO, News Corporation) | 78 | His career as a businessman began in Queensland, Australia with a single newspaper, originally owned by his father. Murdoch has used his legendary entrepreneurial skills to acquire and expand his businesses to become one of the global juggernauts of publishing. The media mogul, through News Corporation, now owns 175 newspapers, including the New York Post, The Wall Street Journal, and the Times of London. His ownership and management style of the Fox News Network showcases Murdoch’s penchant for blending conservative politics and business. Murdoch has been Chief Executive Officer of News Corporation since 1979 and its Chairman since 1991. He has had three wives, six children, and has many grandchildren. Murdoch ranks #117 on the Forbes’ wealthiest list, and has an estimated net worth of $6.3 billion. |
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David H. Murdock (Chairman, Dole Food Company, Inc.) | 86 | David Murdock, not to be confused with the famous Australian on this list, has been Chairman of Dole Foods, one of the original large global food companies, since 1985. Murdock is also the controlling shareholder of the company, and has a net worth of over $3 billion. |
| Images | CEO/Chairman (Title, Company) | Age | Biography |
|---|---|---|---|
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Richard G. Newman (Chairman, AECOM Technology Corporation) | 75 | Newman earned a B.S. in civil engineering from Bucknell University in 1956 and four years later earned a Master’s in hydraulics and hydrology from Columbia University. Newman founded AECOM Technology Corporation in 1990. He became Chairman and CEO in 1991, giving up the latter position to John Dionisio in 2005. AECOM, a professional technical and management support services firm, was created by a group of employees who left Ashland Inc., which included Newman, director of the organization at the time. Under his management, AECOM has acquired more than 30 companies. Newman had a total compensation of $4.5 million in 2009. |
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Sumner Redstone (Chairman, CBS Corporation; Chairman, Viacom, Inc.) | 86 | After serving as a decoder during World War II, Redstone graduated from Harvard Law School and worked for the U.S. Department of Justice. He joined his father’s company, Northeast Theater Corporation, which later became National Amusements. Redstone, using the umbrella of National Amusements, has purchased controlling interests in CBS Corporation and Viacom . Redstone became Chairman of the board of Viacom in 1986. He is known to have disputes with his family and potential successors – most recently having a fallout with his one-time protege Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin. Through Viacom, Redstone owns MTV, BET, Paramount and DreamWorks. Redstone has a net worth of $2.4 billion. |
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O. Bruton Smith (Chairman and CEO, Sonic Automotive) | 83 | As a boy, Smith promoted racing on dirt roads and bought his first track at 17. In 1959, Smith founded Speedway Motorsports, an owner and operator of racetracks for NASCAR. In 1997, Smith founded Sonic Automotive, one of the largest car dealerships in the country. Since then he has been the company’s chairman and CEO. Smith has an estimated net worth of $1.5 billion. |
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William R. Tiefel (Chairman, CarMax, Inc.) | 75 | Tiefel has been Chairman of the Board of CarMax since 2007. After receiving his B.A. from Michigan State University in 1956 in the hospitality business, he made his career in the hotel industry, serving for decades in various executive roles at Marriott International and Ritz Carlton Hotel Company. Tiefel recently retired as chairman of the Ritz-Carlton and vice chairman of Marriott International. Tiefel and his wife live in Palm Beach, Florida. His total compensation in 2009 was $300,000. |
Michael B. Sauter, Ashley C. Allen, and Douglas A. McIntyre
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