Chris Gardner facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Chris Gardner
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Gardner in September 2011
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Christopher Paul Gardner
February 9, 1954 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
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| Known for | The Pursuit of Happyness |
| Children | 2 |
Christopher Paul Gardner, Sr. (born February 9, 1954) is an American businessman and motivational speaker. His life story is famous because he went from being homeless with a young son to becoming a successful business owner.
In the early 1980s, Gardner and his toddler son had nowhere to live. Despite this, he worked hard to become a stockbroker. A stockbroker is a person who helps people buy and sell stocks, which are small pieces of a company. In 1987, he started his own company called Gardner Rich & Co.
In 2006, Gardner wrote a book about his life. This book was turned into the popular movie The Pursuit of Happyness, starring Will Smith.
Contents
A Difficult Childhood
Chris Gardner was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on February 9, 1954. His parents were Bettye Jean Gardner and Thomas Turner. He had an older half-sister, Ophelia, and two younger sisters, Sharon and Kimberly.
Gardner's childhood was very challenging. His father lived far away in Louisiana, and his stepfather was not a kind man. This made life hard for Gardner, his sisters, and his mother. At one point, his mother was sent to prison because of a false report. During this time, Gardner and his sisters had to live in foster care.
Later, his mother was in trouble with the law again, and the children returned to foster care. It was a very difficult time for them.
Despite her own struggles, Gardner's mother, Bettye Jean, was a big inspiration to him. She taught him to be strong and to believe in himself. She often told him, "You can only depend on yourself. The cavalry ain't coming." This meant he had to learn to rely on his own strength. Gardner decided early on that he wanted a better life for himself and his future family.
Starting His Career
As a young man, Gardner was inspired by his uncle's adventures in the U.S. Navy. After high school, he joined the Navy and served for four years as a hospital corpsman, helping doctors and nurses.
After the Navy, he met Dr. Robert Ellis, a heart surgeon in San Francisco. Dr. Ellis offered him a job helping with medical research at a hospital. Gardner moved to San Francisco in 1974 and took the job. For two years, he learned a lot about running a lab and even helped write articles for medical journals.
Marriage and New Plans
In 1977, Chris Gardner married Sherry Dyson. It seemed like he was on his way to becoming a doctor. However, after thinking about the long years of training, he changed his mind. He told his wife he no longer wanted to be a doctor and wanted to find a career that would earn more money.
His marriage to Sherry became strained, and they grew apart. Gardner started a relationship with a dental student named Jackie Medina, who soon became pregnant. Gardner left Sherry to live with Jackie and prepare to be a father.
His son, Christopher Jarrett Gardner Jr., was born on January 28, 1981. At the time, Gardner was working as a research lab assistant, but his job didn't pay enough to support his new family. He quit and found a better-paying job selling medical equipment.
One day, Gardner saw a man in a fancy red Ferrari. He asked the man what he did for a living. The man said he was a stockbroker. From that moment, Gardner knew what he wanted to do. The stockbroker, Bob Bridges, helped Gardner get interviews at big companies.
Gardner was accepted into a training program at a firm called E.F. Hutton. He quit his sales job to focus on his training. But when he showed up for work, he found out the manager who hired him had been fired.
Around the same time, his relationship with Jackie ended. After a disagreement, Jackie left and took their son with her. Gardner also had to go to jail for ten days because he couldn't pay $1,200 in parking tickets. When he got out, he returned to an empty apartment.
Homelessness and Fatherhood
With no home, no connections, and very little money, Gardner didn't give up. He got a spot in another stockbroker training program at a company called Dean Witter Reynolds. The problem was that this was an unpaid position. He had to live on the small amount of money he made selling medical equipment on the side.
Gardner worked incredibly hard. He would arrive at the office early and stay late, making hundreds of phone calls to find clients. In 1982, he passed his stockbroker exam and became a full employee of the company.
About four months after Jackie left, she returned and left their son, Chris Jr., with Gardner. He was happy to take care of his son, but he was living in a boarding house that didn't allow children. Even though he had a job, Gardner and his son were homeless for almost a year.
They slept wherever they could find a safe place: in his office, in cheap motels, in parks, at airports, and even in a locked bathroom at a train station. None of his coworkers knew about his struggle. He would drop his son off at daycare, work all day, and then pick him up, often having to stand in line at soup kitchens for food.
A local church leader, Reverend Cecil Williams, allowed Gardner and his son to stay at a shelter for homeless women. This gave them a safe place to sleep. Years later, Chris Jr. said he didn't realize they were homeless. He just remembered that they were always moving.
A Successful Career
After saving enough money, Gardner was finally able to rent a home for himself and his son. He also had another child with Jackie, a daughter named Jacintha, in 1985.
In 1987, Gardner was ready for a new challenge. He moved to Chicago, Illinois, and started his own brokerage firm, Gardner Rich & Co. He started the company in his small apartment with just $10,000 and a wooden desk. The company became very successful.
In 2006, Gardner sold his part of Gardner Rich & Co. in a deal that made him a multimillionaire. He then started a new company, Christopher Gardner International Holdings, with offices in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco.
Helping Others
Gardner has never forgotten his difficult past. He is a philanthropist, which means he gives money and time to help others. He supports the church that gave him and his son shelter. He also helped fund a $50 million project in San Francisco to build low-income housing and create jobs in the same area where he was once homeless.
He is also dedicated to helping children and supports education. He is on the board of the National Education Foundation and sponsors awards for school staff.
Awards and Honors
Chris Gardner has received many awards for his work and his life story.
- In 2002, he received the Father of the Year Award.
- In 2006, he received the Friends of Africa Award.
- He has given speeches at university graduations, including his daughter's graduation in 2008 and at the University of California, Berkeley in 2009.
See also
In Spanish: Chris Gardner para niños
- Rags to riches
