“Know Your Value” recognizes Forbes women who are winning the second half of their lives

Huma Abedin, co-chair of Forbes' 30/50 Summit and Know Your Value and MSNBC contributor, echoed that sentiment.

“We had a pandemic. We have had a widely reported epidemic of loneliness. We have young women who don’t have the opportunities I had five years ago, and that makes the urgency of our work and the examples you will show us in the world even more important.”

The 50 Over 50 list highlights prominent women who have rejected the conventional wisdom that their best years are behind them. And the women on this year's list came from dozens of industries, including biotech, education, retail, architecture and beyond.

The 2024 list included actress and entrepreneur Brooke Shields and Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett. Both women spoke at the event during a fireside chat with Brzezinski, along with former 50 Over 50 lister and personal finance expert Suze Orman.

Brzezinski asked Shields, 59, if she ever imagined her career in her 20s and 30s.

“If you told me 50, I would say, ‘Oh, those are old, those are old people,’” Shields said. “And the older I get, the younger I feel.”

After a life as an actress and model, Shields, at 59, is redefining her career as the founder and CEO of Commerce — a hair company for women over 40. And earlier this year, Shields was elected president of the Actors Equity Association, a union that represents about 51,000 actors and stage managers represented in the United States.

Shields said she came up with the idea for Commence during the pandemic while having conversations with women over 40 online. She said that so many women have a general feeling that once you reach midlife, you suddenly lose all your value.

“I was so shocked at how universal that feeling was. Your kids start leaving, you're in your 40s and all of a sudden you have one foot in the grave and people are counting you out without telling you and not appreciating your worth,” Shields said.

“I started to really get to know these women. They wanted to go into this age, this next third of their lives, as I call it, with power and agency and belief in and pride in their individual selves and their differences. So there was an emotional reason (in addition to a need) why I started the company.”

During the onstage conversation, Brzezinski asked Orman for her best financial advice for younger women.

“Money has no age,” said Orman, 73. “There is no age. It has no gender, it has no religion, it has no political affiliation. Money is truly your key to security, and the goal of money is to keep you safe. So I don't care if you're 20, if you're 30, if you're 50, or if you're 73 like me… The best advice I can give you all is to never be powerful in life if you are not powerful over your own money.”

And Jarrett talked about career choices and politics.

Jarrett, who entered the White House at age 52 as an adviser to President Obama and is the longest-serving presidential adviser in U.S. history, was nominated to the “50 Over 50” list by her daughter Laura Jarrett, co-host of Saturday's show “TODAY.”

Jarrett told Brzezinski that the birth of her daughter gave her the courage to leave her hated job as a lawyer and pursue a career in public service.

“Having Laura really gave me the courage to kind of give up on that plan… And to listen for the first time to the quiet voice inside me, which is actually the most important one, and all of my passion that led me into public service away from this fancy law firm and into a cubicle with a window that opens onto an alley, for a lot less money,” said Jarrett, 67. “But when I walked in the door, I said, 'This is actually the place.' “Where I want to be.” And I think part of life is finding that and knowing that life can change. And it took a while, and that's okay…There's nothing better than being unhappy and bored at the same time and being motivated to make a change.”

Jarrett also weighed in on the upcoming presidential election — and the outsized role women will play.

We're at “a moment here in our country where the stakes are really much higher…You're literally on the precipice,” Jarrett said. “A lot of people ask themselves, 'What can I do?' Does my vote matter?' Yes, it does. Because I don’t believe in polls and I actually believe Vice President Harris will win, but that’s because of the energy that we see in this country, which is overwhelmingly coming from women.”