It began on January 1 at one second past midnight with the birthday of Kathleen Casey, hailed as the nation’s first baby boomer; it will continue for the next 18 years. Every seven seconds, someone in the U.S. turns 60—an estimated 7,918 a day.

The leading edge of this wave, which is sweeping around the world, contains a cross-disciplinary Who’s Who. Some—like President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura; former president Bill Clinton; and Helmut Panke, the CEO who turned automaker BMW into the global luxury brand to beat but was forced into retirement in August—are making headlines. Following are other notables who turn 60 in 2006.