Chris Gardner

Now here is a person you all probably know the story of, or at least you heard of, as per the Academy Nominee performance by Will Smith in the film The Pursuit of Happiness. This was a film from 2006 that more or less chronicled the hardships of Chris Gardner as he struggled with homelessness while trying to raise his infant son. 

Chris Gardner was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin into a severe set of conditions. His mother was living off of welfare, his step-father was an abusive alcoholic, and his biological father was living in Louisiana and wanted nothing to do with him. By the time he was eight, Chris had been placed into foster care for the second time when his mother was arrested and convicted of attempted murder of his step-father. Then a year later, when he was nine years old, his closest foster father figure, Uncle Henry, drowned in the Mississippi River. All of these trials and tribulations only lead to further steel Chris’s resolve to avoid all of the issues he saw in his early life. From child abuse to alcoholism, Chris wanted to make a name for himself that entirely excluded these horrific behaviors.

So, following the best example he could find, Chris enlisted in the US Navy after being influenced by Uncle Henry’s stories in the Navy. While there Chris became acquainted with a highly skilled and influential San Francisco heart surgeon, Dr. Robert Ellis, who offered him a laboratory position at the University of California after his enlistment. Years passed and Chris eventually got married and had plans for a medical career ten years in the making. However, due to the time frame, Chris deterred from his medical career and, along with an affair and a child he subsequently lost his marriage as a result.

When Chris’s son Chris Jr. was born in 1981, Chris was still a lab assistant making a couple thousand a year, which could not support his girlfriend or his child forcing Chris to find better paying work. For years he was able to get by but just barely, and on one fateful sales call to the San Francisco General Hospital, Chris spotted a man with a fancy red Ferrari and he asked the man what his profession was. He responded with “stockbroker” and Chris suddenly knew what he wanted to be. That man, Bob Bridges, would then go on to help Chris set up numerous meetings between branch managers at many of the major stock brokers that were offering training programs. While attending these meetings, Chris neglected his most recent salesman job as well as his car’s parking eligibility, which ended up amassing $1200 worth of tickets. Chris kept this up for two months on end and he finally was accepted into a training program for E.F. Hutton. 

Chris Gardner and his son, Chris Jr. 1980s

Then everything hit the fan when Chris had a very emotional incident with his girlfriend Jackie that resulted in the police being called. Everything was actually fine between Chris and Jackie as there was nothing of this incident that could get Chris arrested unless Jackie pressed charges, however, during this the police checked his car’s registration and he was arrested for his outstanding parking tickets. Being unable to pay them, Chris was sentenced to ten days in jail and during which Jackie left for the east coast with Chris Jr. and Chris was left with nothing but the same suit he had on when he was thrown in jail and his unpaid internship. Chris was already broken but he was far from rock bottom.

Jackie came back to give Chris sole custody of his son, and Chris then continued in his passion of becoming a stock broker and spent the next five or so years of his life juggling homeless and fatherhood. Eventually he got a legitimate job position where he would always be sure to get to work early and leave late. He would sleep wherever he and his son could, and he always relied on his own strength and perseverance to not only survive but to flourish. 

Eventually Chris was able to save up for a house and his homeless troubles were over, but his dreams were not. Chris continued to work hard for years and in 1987 Chris Gardner created his own brokerage firm Gardner Rich & Co. He started with ten thousand dollars in his pocket and a single wooden desk that was often used for family dinners. Chris sold his share of his firm in 2006 for millions and bought himself his very own Ferrari (from Michael Jordan).