As one of the most talked-about figures, Christopher Gardner has built a significant fortune. Our team analyzed the latest data to provide a clear picture of their income.
What Is Christopher Gardner's Net Worth?
Finally, he was accepted into one brokerage firm – only to discover that the person who hired him had been fired. During this period, Jackie tried to run away with their son, Christopher Jr. The police got involved after a domestic altercation and discovered that Gardner had $1,200 worth of unpaid parking fines. He was subsequently arrested and spent 10 days behind bars after he admitted he was unable to pay the fines. While Christopher was in jail, Jackie took their son away to the East Coast.
Gardner returned from jail with virtually nothing to his name. However, he was accepted into another stock brokerage firm. Because the position did not come with a salary, Christopher was unable to meet his living expenses and moved into a flophouse. Determined to succeed, Gardner set a goal of making 200 calls per day as a stockbroker. It was during this time that Jackie returned with Christopher Jr. Gardner accepted custody of the child, but it caused him to be homeless as the flophouse didn't allow children.
Chris Gardner and son Christopher Gardner (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/WireImage)
Christopher Gardner is an American entrepreneur, author, motivational speaker, and investor who has a net worth of $70 million. Christopher Gardner's life story was popularized with the release of the film "The Pursuit of Happyness," which starred Will Smith. Having lived a true "rags to riches" story, Christopher successfully emerged from homelessness and became a multi-millionaire. He eventually founded a successful brokerage firm.
Christopher Paul Gardner was born on February 9, 1954, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Raised alongside three sisters by an abusive stepfather, Christopher did not have an easy childhood. Due to the instability of his parents' marriage, he and his sisters were in and out of foster care. However, his maternal uncles played a positive role in his upbringing, inspiring him to reach for higher levels of success. Gardner also stated that while his parents' marriage caused considerable strife, it taught him to avoid things like alcohol and illiteracy.
After marrying Sherry Dyson in 1977, Gardner realized that in order to advance as a medical professional, he would need to invest ten years of his life into a college education. Even after graduating, there was no guarantee he would find stable work. With these factors in mind, Gardner abandoned his medical career and instead went into sales (although he was still selling medical equipment). Shortly afterward, Gardner had an affair with a woman called Jackie Medina, who became pregnant with his first child. This prompted him to abandon Dyson to start a family with Medina.
Raising a child was expensive, and Gardner eventually met a man driving a Ferrari who told him he was a stockbroker. From that point on, he became focused on pursuing a career in stocks. The man with the Ferrari set up meetings between Christopher and several major stock brokerage firm managers, and Gardner willingly accepted a number of parking fines to make the meetings happen.
Marriage and Career Change
Military Service and Early Career
After graduating, Gardner followed in one of his uncle's footsteps and joined the Navy. He became a hospital corpsman and later took work as an assistant conducting clinical research at the University of California upon leaving the Navy. He became so knowledgeable that he was fully capable of running his own laboratory and performing various surgical procedures.
In summary, the total wealth of Christopher Gardner reflects strategic moves.
Disclaimer: All net worth figures are estimates based on public data.