Philip Roth · Barack Obama Were Philip Roth and Barack Obama alive at the same time? Yes. Philip Roth and Barack Obama were alive at the same time for 56 years, from 1961 to 2018. Philip Roth was 28 when Barack Obama was born.Barack Obama was 56 when Philip Roth died, aged 85. Philip RothAmerican novelistBorn 19 March 1933 · died 22 May 2018, aged 85Barack Obama44th President of the United StatesBorn 4 August 1961 · living, 65 as of September 2026 Albert EinsteinAdolf HitlerRonald ReaganNelson MandelaPhilip RothDonald TrumpVladimir PutinMichael JacksonBarack Obama Philip Roth and Barack Obama in bold, with some of their best-known contemporaries. Drag across to see the age each reached in any year. Faded ends mark uncertain dates.