Monday, May 13, 2013

Carl Icahn and Pope Francis

I was reading an issue of Forbes today with Carl Icahn on the cover.  Icahn has been all over the news over the past few years because he is going on a frenzy of activity buying up stakes in various companies.  He is at the peak of his long career in business investing and is a much feared 'activist investor' who is able to shake up boards of major corporations.  The article mentioned that he was 77 and that reminded me of Pope Francis' election.  Specifically, the first reactions I heard at work when the new Pope was announced was 'Why do they keep electing these older guys, why not someone younger?'.  Icahn shows that age is not a factor when it comes to vitality and the article made me think:  If a 77 year old (with billions of dollars) can be so influential in the corporate world where morality is not valued highly, can the 76 year old Pope be highly influential (with no money) in the Church where morality should be the #1 concern?

Related:  Here is a post on the ages of Popes through the centuries from a blog at the NY Times.

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