Meet 5 Famous People Who Started Businesses in their 50s and Above

There are a lot of people who started businesses in their 50s- these ones make it easy to believe it’s never too late to start anything.

While we applaud young entrepreneurs and successful company owners, RNN will not fail to acknowledge the oldies who dared to start up businesses/companies despite being 50 years old and above.

The good thing about the success story of these individuals is that it inspires people across various age groups to pursue their dreams no matter their current age. You may be shocked to find out about some of them.

5 Famous People Who Started Businesses in their 50s

The 5 people on this list are successful entrepreneurs/company owners, well-known for their craft and innovation. They are:

5. Julie Wainwright

4. Bernie Marcus

3. Leo Godwin

2. Harland Sanders

1. Ray Kroc

Sound familiar? Lets’s see more about them. 

5. Julie Wainwright- RealReal

Julie Wainwright is an American entrepreneur who is also a well-known name in the e-commerce industry.

In the year 2000, Wainwright shut down Pets.com, a  company where she served as the CEO. That same year, her husband asked for a divorce and according to Wainwright, having to deal with these two occurrences within a week was a major crisis in her life. It however led to her healing and the birth of something new and “Real”- RealReal.

11 years down the line, Wainwright sets up her fashion company, RealReal, an online marketplace where she resells designer items. In the first year of its operation, the company made $10 million in sales. As of 2018, the company had made $207.4 million in revenue.

In a recent development, however, the millionaire entrepreneur has stepped down as CEO and chairperson as a result of financial losses in the company.

This, however, does not dismiss her from the list of people who started businesses in their 50s.

4. Bernie Marcus- Home Depot

Bernie Marcus is an American billionaire businessman who set up his home improvement center at the age of 50. He is a vivid description of the never-stay-down-too-long saying.

At 49, Marcus was sacked from the home improvement retailer company where he worked as the chairman. The following year (1979), he co-founded Home Depot alongside a colleague, Arthur Blank, who was also sacked at the same time he was dismissed.

Later in 1981, Marcus, Blank, and an investor, Ken Langone successfully took Home Depot public. Marcus served as the CEO and chairman of the company until 2002 when he retired.

The American billionaire is now 93 years old and his fellow co-founder, blank, and early investor, Langone, are equally billionaires.

3. Leo Godwin- Geico

Geico is another successful company founded by a determined man in his 50s. Leo Godwin was 50 years old when he and his wife founded their insurance company- Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO).

Prior to this time, he wrote insurance policies for other companies for many years. In the first year of Geico’s operation, the company already had 3,700 policies.

At the moment, Geico has over 17 million policies and has become one of the notable insurance companies in the United States of America. The company was founded in 1936. Godwin died later in 1971.

2. Harland Sanders- Kentucky Fried Chicken

Colonel Harland Sanders started the famous Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) restaurant at the age of 62. According to reports, the late American businessman became responsible for himself and his younger siblings before he clocked 10 and this heightened his business and work skills in no time.

Sanders had to work different jobs as a farmer, streetcar conductor, insurance salesman, and steam engine stoker, among others before eventually setting up KFC.

At age 40, he was already running a service station in Kentucky where he fed travelers. After some time, he moved the business to a restaurant, featuring a tasteful fried chicken with a “secret recipe” that became popular at some point. Later on, Sanders moved on to various parts of the country, striking franchise deals with restaurant owners to boost the KFC brand before eventually standing on his own.

In 1964, he sold the company for $2 million (worth over $16 million today).

1. Ray Kroc- McDonald’s

Ray Kroc is the first on our list of successful people who started businesses in their 50s and above; his story is quite inspiring.

The late American Businessman is popularly known to have purchased the famous McDonald’s at the age of 62. He began by working as a franchising agent for the McDonald brothers (the original owners of the restaurant) before eventually purchasing the company in 1961.

Before this feat, Kroc toiled for over 34 years as a salesman, selling milkshake machines and paper cups. It was during his time as a salesman that he came across McDonald’s and approached the brothers for partnerships.

People Who Started Businesses in their 50s- Summary

The aforementioned success stories make it easier for others to start their own businesses or companies no matter the age they’ve reached. These legends, most of whom have been long gone, have created brands that are still existing today, despite not being able to live long enough to witness its blossom in the past few years.

Innovation never ends and it’s never too late to build a brand. The names and achievements on this list says as much.