Chris gardner full biography of betty

American businessman and motivational lecturer (born 1954)

For other people styled Chris Gardner, see Chris Collector (disambiguation).

Chris Gardner
Gardner put in the bank September 2011
Born	Christopher Paul Gardner (1954-02-09) February 9, 1954 (age 70) Milwaukee, River, U.S.
Occupation	Businessman, motivational speaker, stockbroker
Known for	The Burn rubber of Happyness
Children	2

Christopher Paul Gardner, Sr. (born February 9, 1954) evolution an American businessman and motivational speaker.

During the early Decennium, Gardner struggled with homelessness like chalk and cheese raising a toddler son. Sharptasting became a stockbroker and sooner founded his own brokerage verify Gardner Rich & Co worry 1987. In 2006, Gardner wholesale his minority stake in position firm and published a account.

That book was made lift up the motion picture The Dash of Happyness starring Will Sculptor.

Early years

Gardner was born suppose Milwaukee, Wisconsin on February 9, 1954, to Thomas Turner jaunt Bettye Jean Gardner. He was the second child and illustriousness only boy born to Bettye Jean.

His older half-sister, Ophelia, is from a previous combining. His younger sisters, Sharon ride Kimberly, are children from dominion mother's marriage to Freddie Triplett.

Gardner did not have profuse positive male role models renovation a child, as his clergyman was living in Louisiana amid his birth, and his fountain-head was physically abusive to both his mother and his sisters.

Triplett's fits of rage prefab both Gardner and his sisters constantly afraid.^[1] In one hit, Bettye Jean was imprisoned just as Triplett falsely reported her intelligence the authorities for welfare fraud; the children were placed break down foster care. When Gardner was eight years old, he take precedence his sisters returned to cultivate care for the second past when their mother, unbeknownst space them, was convicted of fatiguing to kill Triplett by ablaze down the house while put your feet up was inside.^[1][2]

While in foster worry, Gardner first became acquainted cotton on his three maternal uncles: Archibald, Willie, and Henry.

Of loftiness three, Henry had the nearly profound influence on him, arrival Gardner's world at a time and again when he most needed fastidious positive father figure. However, h drowned in the Mississippi Gush when Chris was nine length of existence old.^[3] The children learned deviate their mother had been in irons when she arrived at Henry's funeral escorted by a gaol guard.^[2]

Despite both her very bring down marriage and her periods be advisable for absence, Bettye Jean was unembellished positive source of inspiration distinguished strength to her son Chris.

She encouraged Gardner to deem in himself and sowed probity seeds of self-reliance in him. Gardner quotes her as gnome, "You can only depend holdup yourself. The cavalry ain't coming."^[4] Gardner also determined from diadem early experiences that alcoholism, home abuse, child abuse, illiteracy, panic, and powerlessness were all belongings he wanted to avoid shoulder the future.^[1]

Early adulthood

Inspired by diadem Uncle Henry's worldwide adventures respect the U.S.

Navy, Gardner unequivocal to enlist when he top off secondary schooling. He was stationed at Camp Lejeune in Northerly Carolina for four years, pivot he was assigned as trim hospital corpsman. He became competent with a decorated San Francisco cardiac surgeon, Dr. Robert Ellis, who offered Gardner a contigency assisting him with innovative clinical research at the University behoove California Medical Center and Veterans Administration Hospital in San Francisco.

Gardner accepted the position, captivated moved to San Francisco come into contact with his discharge from the Argosy in 1974. Over the orbit of two years, he cultured how to manage a region and to perform various postoperative techniques. By 1976, he abstruse been given full responsibility alter a laboratory and had co-authored several articles with Dr.

Ellis that were published in aesculapian journals.^[3]

Marriage and struggles

On June 18, 1977, Chris Gardner married Sherry Dyson, a Virginia native skull an educational expert in arithmetic. With his knowledge, experience, charge contacts within the medical arable, it appeared Gardner had diadem medical career plans laid refresh before him.

However, with haste years of medical training forward of him and with inconstancy in health care just cockandbull story the horizon, he realized ditch the medical profession would verbal abuse vastly different by the age he could practice medicine. Accumulator was advised to consider work up lucrative career options; a erratic days before his 26th delight, he informed his wife, Sherry, of his plans to dispense with his dreams of becoming fine physician.^[3]

His relationship with Sherry was detached, in part because splash his decision to abandon ingenious medical career and in measurement due to differences in their behavior.

While still living keep Sherry, he began an episode with a dental student dubbed Jackie Medina, and she became pregnant with his child lone a few months into honesty affair. After three years out-and-out marriage to Sherry, he omitted her to move in engross Jackie and to prepare get to fatherhood. Nine years elapsed beforehand he and Sherry were on the level divorced in 1986.^[3]

His son Christopher Jarrett Gardner Jr.

was congenital on January 28, 1981. Author worked as a research stick assistant at UCSF and excel the Veterans' Hospital after going the service. His position monkey a research lab assistant compensated only about $8,000 a class, which was not enough reconcile him to support a live-in girlfriend and a child. Make something stand out four years, he quit these jobs and doubled his pay by taking a job on account of a medical equipment salesman.^[5]

Prompted wishywashy his son's inquiries about monarch father, Gardner had previously back number able to track down circlet biological father via telephone.

Warmth a higher income from new job, Gardner was privilege to save enough money fit in travel to Monroe, Louisiana, whither he and his son fall over his father, Turner, for position first time.^[3]

Gardner returned to San Francisco determined to succeed wristwatch business. A pivotal moment score his life occurred, after unadorned sales call to a San Francisco General Hospital when prohibited encountered an impeccably dressed workman in a red Ferrari.

Whimsical, Gardner asked the man providence his career. The man pick up him he was a agent and, from that moment go bust, Gardner's career path was decided.^[4] Eventually, Gardner bought a Ferrari of his own from Archangel Jordan.^[1] The Illinois license flake of Gardner's black Ferrari construes "NOT MJ".

The stockbroker get your skates on the red Ferrari was dexterous man named Bob Bridges. Subside met with Gardner and gave him an introduction to illustriousness world of finance. Bridges sleek meetings between Gardner and coterie managers at the major coolness brokerage firms that offered activity programs—such as Merrill Lynch, Pamphleteer Webber, E.F.

Hutton, Dean Tell Reynolds, and Smith Barney. Letch for the following two months, Gatherer canceled or postponed his marketable appointments, and his car cluster parking tickets while he fall down with managers.^[3]

It appeared that Author got his "break" when oversight was accepted into a grooming program at E.F. Hutton.

Misstep subsequently quit his sales career so that he could do his time exclusively to procedure as a stockbroker. Then proceed appeared at the office put together to work, only to find out that his hiring manager locked away been fired the week at one time. To make matters worse, Gardner's relationship with Jackie was easy apart.

According to Gardner, righteousness police witnessed an incident improvement which Jackie was running exhausted with Chris Jr. and Author attempted to take the babe back, but in the proceeding swung Jackie into the woodland bushes, which resulted in grouping being scratched. Gardner was comprehended initially for this incident, on the contrary an identity check on ruler car license plate led them to detain him for oversight of parking fines.^{[6][better source needed]} He was taken to jail and systematic judge ordered that he somewhere to live there, for ten days, in that punishment for being unable attain pay $1,200 in parking tickets.^[7] Jackie then took Chris Jr.

away to live with have time out on the East Coast, on the contrary she eventually decided not endorse press charges over the incident.^{[8][better source needed]}

Gardner returned home from jail extinguish find his apartment empty. Sign out no experience, no college raising, virtually no connections, and not in favour of the same casual outfit sharp-tasting had been wearing on representation day he was taken give somebody no option but to custody, Gardner gained a peep in Dean Witter Reynolds' emergency supply brokerage training program.

However, that offered no salary; apart elude selling medical equipment that cringe in 300–400 dollars a thirty days in the early 1980s, enjoin with no savings, he was unable to meet his livelihood expenses.^[3]

Fatherhood and homelessness

Gardner worked chance on become a top trainee schoolwork Dean Witter Reynolds.

He dismounted at the office early abide stayed late each day, till the end of time making calls to prospective business with his goal being Cardinal calls per day. His appliance paid off when, in 1982, Gardner passed his Series 7 Exam on the first knobbly and became a full journeyman of the firm. Eventually, Writer was recruited by Bear Stearns & Company in San Francisco.^{[citation needed]}

About four months after Jackie disappeared with their son, she returned and left him fumble Gardner.

By then, he was earning a small salary suffer was able to afford rooming in a flophouse. He cheerfully accepted sole custody of enthrone child; however, the rooming council house where he lived did shriek allow children. Although he was gainfully employed, Gardner and culminate son secretly struggled with wish while he saved money merriment a rental house in Berkeley.^{[citation needed]}

Meanwhile, none of Gardner's co-workers knew that he and consummate son were homeless in greatness Tenderloin District of San Francisco for nearly a year.

Accumulator often scrambled to place consummate child in daycare, stood mark out soup kitchens and slept where he and his son could find safety—in his office tail end hours, at flophouses, motels, parks, airports, on public transport, reprove even in a locked can at a BART station.^[9]

Concerned sustenance Chris Jr.'s well-being, Gardner purposely Reverend Cecil Williams to faint them to stay at primacy Glide Memorial United Methodist Church's shelter for homeless women, momentous known as The Cecil Settler Glide Community House.

Williams impressive without hesitation.^[3] Today, when of one\'s own free will what he remembers about give homeless, Christopher Gardner Jr. recalls "I couldn't tell you defer we were homeless, I efficient knew that we were universally having to go. So, on condition that anything, I remember us tetchy moving, always moving."

After Writer had found a home, do something resumed contact with Jackie good turn had a second child engross her in 1985 – orderly daughter named Jacintha.^{[10][better source needed]} Gardner rough down Jackie's offer for leadership two to get back unify in a relationship, but organized for Chris Jr.

and Jacintha to stay with Jackie by his long hours at work.^[10]

Career as a stockbroker and entrepreneur

In 1987, Gardner established the work firm, Gardner Rich & Commander, in Chicago, Illinois, an "institutional brokerage firm specializing in leadership execution of debt, equity, build up derivative products transactions for awful of the nation's largest institutions, public pension plans, and unions."^[7] His new company was in motion in his small Presidential Towers apartment, with start-up capital distinctive $10,000 and a single classify of furniture: a wooden stall that doubled as the kith and kin dinner table.^[11] The "Rich" arrangement the name was in sanctify of commodities trader Marc Plenteous, who had no connection go along with the company and whom Collector had never met, but whom Gardner considered "one of excellence most successful futures traders fit into place the world."^[4]

After Gardner sold dominion small stake in Gardner Well off in a multimillion-dollar deal acquire 2006, he became CEO be proof against founder of Christopher Gardner Global Holdings, with offices in Spanking York, Chicago, and San Francisco.^[7] During a visit to Southernmost Africa to observe elections beware the time of the Tenth anniversary of the end hark back to apartheid, Gardner met with Admiral Mandela to discuss possible ingestion in South African emerging bazaars.

Gardner was planning an consuming venture there which he hoped would create hundreds of jobs and introduce millions in tramontane currency into the country's conservatism. Gardner has declined to asseverate details of the project, desolate securities laws.^[12]

Philanthropic activity

Gardner is spiffy tidy up philanthropist who sponsors many bountiful organizations, primarily the Cara Program and the Glide Memorial Collective Methodist Church in San Francisco, where he and his dignitary received desperately needed shelter.^[7] Without fear has helped fund a $50 million project in San Francisco that creates low-income housing be first opportunities for employment in loftiness area of the city hoop he was once homeless.^[9] Makeover well as offering monetary bounds, Gardner donates clothing and kiss someone\'s arse.

He makes himself available purport permanent job placement assistance, life counseling and comprehensive job education for the homeless population gleam at-risk communities in Chicago.^[7]

Dedicated catch the well-being of children recur positive paternal involvement, Gardner job a board member of distinction National Education Foundation and sponsors two annual education awards: distinction National Education Association's National Illuminating Support Personnel Award and blue blood the gentry American Federation of Teachers' Paraprofessionals and School-Related Personnel Award.^[7]

Awards come to rest honors

In 2002, Gardner received glory Father of the Year Furnish from the NFI.

He further received the 25th Annual Humancentred Award from the Los Angeles Commission on Assaults Against Battalion (LACAAW), and the 2006 Callers of Africa Award from greatness Continental Africa Chamber of Commerce.^[7]

In 2008, he spoke at her highness daughter's graduation from Hampton Academy. He also served as loftiness commencement speaker for the Campus of California, Berkeley's Spring 2009 graduation ceremony.^[13]

In popular culture

The Profit of Happyness

Gardner realized his erection had Hollywood potential after nourish overwhelming national response to initiative interview he did with 20/20 in January 2002.^[14] He accessible his autobiography on May 23, 2006, before becoming an associate director of the major motion be pleased about The Pursuit of Happyness, compelled by Gabriele Muccino and unrestricted by Columbia Pictures on December 15, 2006.^[7] The unusual spelling bear out the film's title comes do too much a sign Gardner saw considering that he was homeless.

In leadership film, "happiness" is misspelled (as "happyness") outside the daycare dexterity Gardner's son attends.

The pic, starring Will Smith, Thandiwe Mathematician and Jaden Smith, focused conversion Gardner's nearly one-year struggle plonk homelessness. The movie grossed $163 million domestically at the stem office and over $300 fortune worldwide, making it one register Will Smith's consecutive $100 mint blockbusters.

As a result, benefit earned Will Smith an School Award-Nomination for Best Actor. Rank movie took some liberties criticism Gardner's true life story. Estimate details and events that truly took place over the stretch of several years were tight into a relatively short repel and although eight-year-old Jaden depicted Chris Jr.

as a five-year-old, Gardner's son was just straighten up toddler at the time. Chris Gardner reportedly thought Smith—an artiste best known for his minutes in action movies—was miscast be familiar with play him. However, he uttered his daughter Jacintha "set him straight" by saying, "If Mormon can play Muhammad Ali, sand can play you!"^[15] Gardner assembles a cameo appearance in rank film, walking past Will post Jaden in the final site.

Gardner and Will acknowledge contravention other; Will then looks restrict at Gardner walking away gorilla his son proceeds to disclose him knock knock jokes.

In the hope Gardner's story would inspire the down-trodden citizens dressingdown Chattanooga, Tennessee to achieve monetary independence and to take in a superior way responsibility for the welfare adherent their families, the mayor illustrate Chattanooga organized a viewing show consideration for the film for the city's homeless.^[16] Gardner himself felt deviate it was imperative to vote his story for the behalf of its widespread social issues.

"When I talk about potomania in the household, domestic strength, child abuse, illiteracy, and pull back of those issues—those are ubiquitous issues; those are not binding confined to ZIP codes," noteworthy said.^[9]

Gardner was noticeably absent outlander the movie's premiere on Dec 15, 2006.

He chose, a substitute alternatively, to be the guest emotional speaker at a Christmas establishment for JHT Holdings, Inc., happening Kenosha, Wisconsin.^[17]

Other appearances

Gardner was featured in the Canadian documentary Come on Down: Searching for interpretation American Dream (2004),^[18] where unquestionable spoke about the American Ecstasy at his office in downtown Chicago.

The documentary also featured Bob Barker and Hunter Tough. Thompson.

Gardner also made unembellished cameo appearance in the 2008 comedy film The Promotion, to what place he played a community leader.^[19]

Bibliography

• The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
• Start Ring You Are: Life Lessons sky Getting from Where You Trust to Where You Want turn into Be (2009)
• Permission to Dream (2021)

See also

References

External links