A Decade After Saying He’d Die at 75, This Penn Doctor Still Means It

Penn doc Ezekiel Emanuel doesn’t want to live forever. / Photograph by Olivia DAngelo/Communications Specialist Penn Global International Policy

I am talking to Ezekiel Emanuel about when he will die, which can be a heavy topic to discuss with someone you’ve just met. But he doesn’t think so — it’s a natural, definite part of life. Plus, as a medical ethicist, health policy professor, and oncologist, he’s spent a lot of time researching end-of-life care.

In 2014, the Penn doctor made waves on the subject: In an essay penned for the Atlantic, he revealed that he hoped to die at age 75. Now 67, he tells me it’s more nuanced than that. “The point of life isn’t to live longer — it’s to live a fulfilling life. I believe a large part of that — as an oncologist, and a person trained in philosophy and ethics — is living for and helping others. A large part of your purpose is to make this world better in some way.”

Emanuel’s central argument in selecting a somewhat arbitrary number like 75 — health and quality of life start to decline around that age, he notes — was to highlight that the goal of life should not be to extend it indefinitely. He believes that life’s aim should not be about pursuing a “fountain of youth,” but rather about living as meaningful and intentional a life as possible — and then being ready to let go when the time comes.

“I’m an oncologist. Part of what I hear from people over and over again in terms of what matters to them is quality of life, not the length of life.”

You could comfortably call Ezekiel Emanuel an anti-Bryan Johnson. (Johnson, an undead-looking tech millionaire, spends his wealth on anti-aging treatments, like unsuccessfully using his teenage son’s blood and plasma to remain young.) He believes that as mental and physical faculties naturally decline, the goal of care should be palliative and supportive, rather than focused on increasing longevity. He posits that money and energy invested into biohacking and research to extend old age is a poor use of scientific, economic, and creative resources.

Policy-wise, Emanuel advocates that the health of a country shouldn’t be tracked by life expectancy — the CDC’s most recent data puts life expectancy at 78.4 years for the total U.S. population in 2023 — which he says is a false measure of a country’s health. Instead, he argues, it should be measured by how many people are dying under that age. Research into the causes of these early deaths, and programs to prevent them, could, perhaps, improve the country’s high mortality rates.

His personal choice to have a sort of “marker” of death acceptance at 75, he says, also allows him to instill more zest into his life. In recent years, he has raised bees, participated in 100-mile bike rides, and learned how to make chocolate bars.

“Part of what I’m suggesting is, as you get older, to work actively to live a good life, to make sure your life doesn’t get more circumscribed, to remain curious and take on challenges,” Emanuel says.

It’s not surprising that his article made people uncomfortable — many want to avoid the topic of death altogether. But he says nothing — not having a happy life, not his grandchildren, not the passage of time — has changed his stance whatsoever on preparing for death by age 75, even as that number creeps up on him.

“The purpose,” he says, “was to challenge people to not go through life in an unconscious, unthought-out way. I don’t want to think about living forever. I want to think, ‘I’m here for a finite period of time. I should savor things.’”

Emanuel plans to have a living memorial service when he celebrates his 75th birthday in a few years. “I want people to come and tell stories about me, things they love or stupid things I’ve done. Why should they wait until I’m six feet under? That’s ridiculous.”

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Published as “Live & Let Die” in the May 2025 issue of Philadelphia magazine.