Entrepreneurs over 70 that have defied old age (2024)

7 entrepreneurs over 70 are breaking the boundaries

Here are nine entrepreneurs over 70 who will inspire you to get off your coach:

Colonel Sanders

By now the world-famous fast food chain KFC has been the realization of a dream that one 65-year-old Harland David Sanders had almost all his life. After building the foundation of KFC in his 60s Colonel Sanders continued his active role in making KFC an international icon using his own brand as a huge part of the success that KFC has these days. He is a timeless example of perseverance, resilience, and going after your goals hard when people are doubting you because of your age. 

Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett is about to hit that sweet 100 billion dollars net worth in the incoming years and he is not backing from business and investments in his 90s! Being part of the financial for almost 60 years now, he has a unique perspective and experience that without a doubt allows him to see financial opportunities that others would miss. He is a prime example being an entrepreneur over 70 gives you experience and gives you an edge over all those young and upcoming entrepreneurs.

Radha Daga

Just as she was about to hit 70, at the age of 69, Radha Daga founded her company Triguni Eze Eats.  It is a company that sells ready-to-eat boxed meals on trains and planes such as IndiGo and Air Asia, as well as on Amazon and in retail outlets across the country. Today at 79, Radha is still going strong and after dealing with the blowbacks from the COVID-19 impact on the travel industry, her company is back on track to crushing its business goals.

Richard Branson

Of course, serial-entrepreneur Richard Branson is on our entrepreneurs over 70 years list because we are all lucky that Branson is still heavily invested in his business endeavors and sharing his wisdom with all of us along the way. More than 50 years have passed since Branson founded Virgin Group, which today consists of more than 400 companies in various fields all across the globe. He is a great example of keeping the entrepreneurial spirit that many of us have at a young age, well into our old age, and continuing to build and grow businesses no matter where we find ourselves on the age scale.

Ben Van Praagh

Ben Van Praagh started his first company in London when he was just 19 years so without a doubt he has a place on our entrepreneurs over 70 list as a hard hitter. Ben grew up with dogs, so they have always been just part of his life. Later, when he started trialing his dogs, he realized that ordinary dog food was just not enough. This is when his company Benyfit Natural was born in 2014 when Ben was 74.

Ernestine Shepherd

Ernestine “Ernie” Shepherd, in her 80s, is a personal trainer and a professional model. She was the oldest competitive female bodybuilder in the world, as declared by the Guinness Book of World Records in 2010. She provides a burning motivation for anyone at any age that wants to get in better shape. If Ernestine can do it in her 80s for sure many of us that are younger than her can get ourselves in a gym and get into shape.

Elizabeth Isele

Conclusion

These seven entrepreneurs over 70 can help provide inspiration and motivation for anyone that is contemplating starting a business or someone in his 40s or 50s that is perhaps overthinking that they might be too old for starting a business. With the right mindset, age can really be just a number and we can use the business knowledge and experience of old age that can make us great leaders and entrepreneurs. So stop googling “ is XX age too old for starting a business” and go chase your dreams – who knows, they might even come true!