The Longevity of the Old and Famous

A few weeks ago, I noted the passing of several famous (or once-famous) persons aged 90 and older, as recorded at Dead or Alive? (one of my favorite reads). I noted also the survival of 80 percent of the oldsters whom I had mentioned almost a year earlier. Kent, the proprietor of Dead or Alive?, graciously sent me the following statistics about survival rates for the older persons in his database:

		Number of persons
Period	Age bracket	Beginning	End	Survival rate
1/1/2004 - 12/31/2004	80-89	392	362	92%
	90-99	84	71	85%
	100+	3	3	100%

The most recent mortality statistics for the United States (from the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) indicate annual survival rates of 94 percent for persons aged 75-84 and 85 percent for persons aged 85 and older. By inspection, it seems that the old and famous have higher survival rates than the general population, which is what you'd expect: Fame generally yields greater wealth, and greater wealth generally yields better health.