Christopher Gardner (Age: 57) – Rags to Riches

1. Christopher Gardner (Age: 57) – Rags to Riches • Born:February 9, 1954 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin • Family Background: • He has a single mother whose main job was teaching although she did take on other jobs to provide for her children. • Only son out of 12 children • Christopher is divorced with 2 children – Jaccintha (Age: 26) and Chris (Age: 30) • Christopher’s one piece of advice he gives to most people is to continue to move forward in their lives no matter what.. • Overcoming Adversity: • Christopher Gardner as a child had a hard life being one of 12 children and the only son. His mother had many struggles trying to provide for their family because she was single and their father had left them. Even through many of their struggles such as living on next to nothing, Christopher was always told that if he dreamt anything he could do it. Christopher grew up and proved this lesson. As his life continued and he got older, things went from bad to worse. He got married and had son Chris in 1981. After Gardner was suddenly being jailed for parking violations, Christopher's wife left him alone with his son once his term was completed. One thing that Christopher had learnt from his childhood is that whatever children he had they would know their father, and from this his son became his number one priority . He was quickly finding that making money was a real struggle and found himself and his son basically homeless in a short amount of time. • Christopher found that shelter was available for them in a Church at San Francisco. Having this shelter allowed him to begin to focus on his job slightly more. In 1981, Christopher passed his licensing exam on the first go and he began to make money and fix the struggles that his family went through. He worked as hard as he could, every hour he could to afford an apartment for himself and his son. By 1983, the firm he was currently working for became the top firm in San Francisco. Finally, through all of Christopher’s hard work and positive attitude through his life, he broke off from his firm in 1987 and constructed his own firm, Gardner Rich & Company. Today, this company is extremely successful in both New York and Chicago. • Today Christopher is a current advocate for many of the homeless, fathers and also many families with problems with education around the world. In 2002, Gardner was awarded the Father of the Year award and wrote the book which is a Hollywood movie called “The Pursuit of Happiness”. • Bibliography: • 'CHRISTOPHER GARDNER' 2001, Ebony, 57, 2, p. 46, Australia/New Zealand Reference Centre, EBSCOhost, viewed 8 September 2011 • Spokane, 2007, Community Hero: Christopher Gardner, My Hero Project, viewed 12 September 2011, http://www.myhero.com/go/hero.asp?hero=Christopher_Gardner_whitworth_07_ul • Neil, C n.d., 'Christopher Gardner International Holdings - CEO Interview', Your World with Neil Cavuto (FOX News), Australia/New Zealand Reference Centre, EBSCOhost, viewed 13 September 2011 By Keneshia Chapman