Chris Gardner is a famous businessman in America and a motivational speaker. In the early 1980s, he struggled a lot as he was homeless while raising a toddler son. Due to his incredible story, many people and fans wonder about Chris Gardner’s net worth.
Gardner became a stockbroker and finally founded his brokerage firm, Gardner Rich & Co, in 1987. In 2006, the businessman sold his minority stake in his firm and then published a memoir.
The following book was made into the motion picture The Pursuit of Happyness starring the amazing Will Smith and his son, Jayden Smith.
If the story of Chris Gardner also inspires you, then please engage with the article below. Let’s start.
Table of Contents
Chris Gardner: Quick Facts
| Birth Name | Christopher Paul Gardner |
| Nick Name | Under Review |
| Age | 68 years old |
| Sun Sign/Zodiac Sign | Aquarius |
| Birth Place | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US |
| Date of Birth | February 9, 1954 |
| Nationality | American |
| Mother’s Name | Bettye Jean Gardner |
| Father’s Name | Thomas Turner |
| Sibling | Ophelia |
| Height | 6 feet 1 inch or 188 cm |
| Weight | 80 kg or 176 pounds |
| Body Measurement | Under Review |
| Race / Ethnicity | Mixed |
| Hair Color | Bald |
| Eye Color | Dark Brown |
| Sexual Orientation | Straight |
| Shoe Size | Under Review |
| College/University | University of California Medical Center |
| Educational Qualification | Graduated |
| Profession | Businessman |
| Wife | Sherry Dyson, Jackie Medina |
| Children | Christopher Garden Jr and Jacintha |
| Net Worth (Approx.) | $70 million |
| Last Update | October 2022 |
What is Chris Gardner’s Net worth?
Christopher Paul Gardner is a very popular American Businessman and a motivational speaker who has earned quite a fortune from the hard work in his life.
Most of his income is from his brokerage firm and his investment.
There is not much information on how much Chris Gardner has earned from his business and investment, so it is hard to provide actual net worth.
Chris Gardner has a net worth estimated at around $70 million as of 2022.
Income and Earnings
After his struggle some life, Chris somewhat pulled himself up, leading him to start his own brokerage firm in 1987. He started Gardner Rich & Co. from his apartment in Chicago with $10,000.
Likewise, in 2016, Gardner sold off his minority stake and established Christopher Gardner Holdings.
Putting his life as a reference, Christopher wrote a book called “The Pursuit of Happyness” in 2006. The book was so successful that it was later adapted into a movie starring Will Smith and Jaden Smith.
Source: Bright Side
The movie managed to collect $300 million worldwide at the box office.
As much as he has earned, Chris never forgets to give back to the community. For someone who suffered from homelessness, he has donated a considerable amount to the Glide Memorial Methodist Church in San Francisco to eradicate that.
Apparently, he invested $50 million for low-income housing.
Who were Chris Gardner’s parents? Early Life and Parents
Chris Gardner was born in Wisconsin in Milwaukee, where he grew up in his early days as Christopher Paul Gardner. Chris’s father’s name is Thomas Turner, and his mother’s name is Bettye Jean Gardner.
Chris was the second eldest and the only boy child to his mother, Bettye Jean. Chris’s older half-sister Ophelia is from the previous union; his two younger sisters are from his mother’s marriage to Freddie Triplett.
Chris never had any role model during his childhood days as his father was in Louisiana during his mother and his step-father Freddie Triplett was super abusive to his mother and both of his sisters.
His mother and sisters were always afraid of his stepfather, Freddie. One time Chris’s mother Bettye was falsely accused of welfare fraud by Freddie and went to prison.
Similarly, the children along with Freddie were placed in foster care which was the second time him being in foster care. Interestingly, the first time was when his mother burned down the house to hurt Freddie, while he was still inside the house.
Chris admired his three maternal, Archibald, Willie, and Henry, in foster care. Henry was more profound and inspired among his three uncles as Henry entered Chris’s life when he needed a father figure, so Henry is most likely a father figure for him.
But sadly, Henry got drowned in the river of Mississippi when Chris was very young, only nine years old.
During the funeral of his dear uncle Henry, Chris, and his half-siblings learned that their mother was imprisoned as she arrived at Henry’s funeral escorted by a prison guard.
Despite having both unhappy marriages, Chris’s mother, Bettye Jean, was a positive source of inspiration for him.
Early Adulthood
He was so inspired by his beloved uncle Henry that he decided to enlist when he finished secondary school. Chris was also stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina for over four years, where he got assigned as a hospital corpsman.
Chris then became familiar with a decorated San Franciso cardiac surgeon called Dr. Robert Ellis, who then offered him the opportunity to assist him with innovative clinical research at the University of California Medical Center and Veterans Administration Hospital located in San Francisco.
Chris accepted the position and moved to San Francisco after his discharge from the Navy in 1974. In the comprehensive course of two whole years, he finally learned how to manage a laboratory and perform various surgical techniques.
Chris finally got full responsibility for a laboratory and co-authored different kinds of articles with the excellent Dr. Ellis, published in journals of the medical field in 1976.
Chris Gardner Height and Body Measurements
Chris Gardener was born on February 9, 1954, so basically, he is currently 68 years old.
Gardner stands at 6 feet 1 inch tall or 188 cm and weighs around 80 kg or 176 lbs. Christopher has dark brown color eyes, whereas he is bald. Gardner’s body measurements are unknown, and it is also unclear which shoe size he wears.
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His zodiac sign explains his personality to be hardworking and not quit or give up in any challenging situation.
Chris is an American citizen and belongs to the Black ethnicity. Chris’s religion is methodist.
Career
- Chris Gardner became the owner of Gardner Rich & Co, his brokerage firm, in the year 1987.
- He established Gardner Rich Co in Chicago, USA. It operated a few of the nation’s most extensive public pension plans, companies, and different unions.
- The brokerage firm primarily specialized in executing derivative products transactions, debt, and equity.
- Chris’s new company got started in his small Presidential Towers Apartment. He started only with the wooden desk, which doubled as the family dinner table, and capital of just $10 000.
- The ‘Rich’ in the name of his honors of commodities trader named March Rich whom he has never met, but he does consider him one of the most successful futures traders in the world.
- Christopher sold all his small stakes in Gardner Rich, a multimillion-dollar deal in the following year, 2006. After that, he held the position of CEO and also the founder of Christopher Gardner International Holdings, with offices situated in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco.
- Chris met Nelson Mandela for the meeting where he would discuss the opportunity for lots of jobs and employment by establishing infrastructure. The plan was also to help the emerging markets in South Africa by investing in them.
- The discussion took place around the 10th anniversary of the end of apartheid which is a bigger deal for many African People.
Awards and Honors
In 2002, Christopher received the first-ever award called the father of the Year Award from the NFI.
Christopher also got awarded the 25th Annual Humanitarian Award from the Los Angeles Commission on Assaults Against Women (LACAAW).
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In 2006, he was awarded the Friends of Africa Award from the Continental Africa Chamber of Commerce.
Who is the wife of Chris Gardner
Chris Gardner was married to Sherry Dyson, who worked as a Virginia native and an educational expert in mathematics.
Chris changed his medical plans and told Sherry that he was abandoning his dreams of becoming a physician, which led him to be detached from his wife Sherry as various problems started to occur between them.
Meanwhile, he also created an affair with a dental student named Jackie Medina and got her pregnant just a few months after their affair.
After that, he decided to take care of Jackie’s child, so he moved in with her and separated from Sherry forever. Their separation was made official in the year 1986. Christopher Gardner Jr., son of Chris Gardner, was born on 1981 January 28.
But Chris did not have a good job or enough to support his child and his live-in girlfriend, Jackie. after that, he left his job and started working as a medical equipment salesman, which earned double that of his previous jobs.
Chris’s son started asking him about his father, which led him to track down his biological father, Thomas Turner, and both he and his son met his father for the first time in Monroe, Louisiana.
After that, his relationship with Jackie fell apart, leading him to lose his son and spend ten days in jail as his punishment to scratch Jackie while pulling his son. Returning from his ten days punishment, he came home to nothing.
Affair and Son
Chris worked to acquire the top trainee position at Dean Witter Reynolds. He often arrived at the office early and stayed late each day.
In 1982, Chris passed his Series 7 exam on the first try and started working as a full employee at the firm.
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After four months of disappearing with his son, Jackie returned and left their son with him. Chris was earning a certain amount of income and accepted his son’s full custody.
However, the place where he was staying didn’t allow children, so they were homeless and often slept at the motel, office, flophouse, parks, and airports wherever they felt safe.
Chris was super concerned about his son, so he asked Reverend Cecil Williams to allow him and his son to stay there at the Glide Memorial United Methodist Church’s shelter for homeless women.
After a lot of struggle when Chris found a home, he contacted Jackie and had a second child with her in the year 1985, who is a daughter named Jacintha.
Chris Gardner Social Media
Chris Gardner is a popular businessman who became a millionaire from this business. Gardner has a massive fan following due to its contribution to African industries and markets.
Let’s take a look at the social media he is active on and his followers down below:
Instagram – 216k followers
Twitter – 34.6k followers
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Chris Gardner’s net worth?
Chris Gardner has a net worth of approximately $70 million.
- Who is Chris Gardner?
Chris Gardner is a famous American businessman and also motivational speaker.
- How many children does Chris Gardner have?
Chris Gardner has two children, a son named Christopher Jr. and Jacintha’s daughter.
- Are Chris and Jackie still together?
No, Chris and Jackie separated long ago.
