[krohrbaugh]

It's curious that so many of them are 70+ years old, which means they were the right age to benefit from the huge economic boom that occurred in the United States after World War II.

Seems to support the hypothesis that success is equal parts smarts, hard work and timing.

[portman]

Average age = 72.25

    Sheldon Adelson      77
    Carl Berg            73
    Stephen Bisciotti    50
    Leon Charney         72
    John Paul DeJoria    66
    Larry Ellison        66
    Alan Gerry           81
    Alec Gores           57
    Harold Hamm          64
    George Joseph        89
    Kirk Kerkorian       93
    Ken Langone          75
    Ralph Lauren         71
    Carl Lindner Jr      91
    David Murdock        87
    Thomas Peterffy      65
    Howard Schultz       57
    Kenny Troutt         62
    Albert Ueltschi      93
    Oprah Winfrey        56

[hop]

And compound interest.

[nico]

What about luck?

[maxklein]

Or maybe it just takes time to become a billionaire when you start out with nothing.