Have you seen this year’s global list of 60 top entrepreneurs over 60? What about the best novelists over 50? Or the winner of the old scientist award? No? That’s no surprise. These things scarcely exist.
If you want to know about 30 entrepreneurs under 30, though, look no further than Forbes and its annual list of hot young trailblazers. For 40 under 40, go to Fortune. Lists of best young novelists have been around for more than 30 years. Prizes for young scientists are dished out by everyone from Google to the EU.
There is nothing wrong with recognising youthful accomplishment. Young people shackled with explosive student debt and soaring rents in gig economies need all the help they can get. They should be inspired to achieve and their successes should be celebrated. But the same should apply to older people.