Society of Certified Senior Advisors: Famous and 65

Look who's turning 65 this month

February 8 - John Grisham, Writer

The author of over 40 successful novels, John Grisham began life as the second of five siblings in Jonesboro, Arkansas. His father worked construction and farmed cotton, while his mother was a homemaker. It was his mom who encouraged the youngster to read and go to college, but Grisham had his heart set on a career in baseball until a pitcher intentionally aimed a pitch at his head that narrowly missed its target.

After a series of dead-end jobs, Grisham drifted among three colleges before earning a degree in accounting. He enrolled in the University of Mississippi School of Law to become a tax attorney, but switched to civil litigation and practiced for ten years before getting elected to the state House of Representatives for six years. His first book, A Time To Kill, was rejected by 28 publishers before a small press agreed to a tiny run of 5,000 copies. He immediately started work on his second book, The Firm, which remained on The New York Times bestseller list for nearly a year. Several movies have been made from his novels.

Grisham married in 1981 and the couple have two children. He is a devout Christian and avid philanthropist. The author is on the board of directors for the Innocence Project, which works to free prisoners on the basis of DNA evidence. He holds that wrongful convictions, far from being rare or isolated cases, are plentiful and arise from defects in the system.

Febraury 10 - Greg Norman, Golfer

Born in Queensland, Australia, “The Shark” learned to play golf from his mother although he had aspirations to be a professional surfer. Norman dominated pro golf in the 80s and 90s, spending 331 weeks at the top spot in the Official World Golf Rankings. He beat the field in 88 tournaments, including two majors.

Norman is no slouch in the business arena, presiding over global corporations with interests in apparel, interior design, real estate, private equity, golf course design and more. He’s also proven himself a generous philanthropist, having established and donated to a bevy of charities championing such causes as finding a cure for childhood cancer to environmental concerns.

February 10 - Jim Cramer, Television Personality

And what personality he has! If you’ve ever watched Mad Money you can’t forget Cramer’s liberal use of sound props or his exuberant style. In a financial world dominated by pressed suits and decorum, the host’s rolled-up sleeves and sometimes-frantic style has won converts (and the opposite) from across the country. One thing’s for sure: he has brought the world of stock trading to the common man.

Cramer began studying stocks in fourth grade, and was magna cum laude at Harvard College before going into journalism. But he didn’t have it easy; he still remembers sleeping in his car for 9 months and using the migrants’ health care to get treatment because that’s all he could afford after getting robbed. Cramer went back to get a law degree from Harvard and started investing in stocks and offering picks on his answering machine. He went on to work at Goldman Sachs and ran his own hedge fund from 1987 to 2001, where he reportedly exhibited a violent temper.

Cramer launched TheStreet, a financial news and literacy site, where he is still the chief commentator although it was purchased in 2019 for 16.5 million. He is famous for his “They know nothing!” rant criticizing the fed just before the 2008 market crash, for sleeping only four hours per night, his hectic work schedule and stock picking expertise. He also formerly partnered with Larry Kudlow, currently serving as the Director of the National Economic Council under President Trump.