American businessman and motivational speaker Christopher Paul Gardner is a typical example of a man who fuses determination and resilience to changes narratives.
He is a Man who has faced several setbacks in life, but has gone on to brave the odds and the storms to establish himself as an accomplished businessman.
At the early age of 8, he had to move into a foster home with his siblings, following the separation of their parents, and the cruelty of a stepfather who came into their lives later.
His mother, on the wild allegations of their stepfather, was twice convicted falsely.
His first marriage collapsed partly as a result of his decision to pursue a career outside the medical field and perhaps because he cheated on his wife.
BestNewsGH.com can report that Chris Gardner, born on February 9, 1954, now 66 years old did not only woefully fail in his career as a medical equipment salesman, but also severely suffered the jilting of his fiancée, emanating from his deteriorating financial circumstances.
This situation eventually rendered him homeless, forcing him to stay with his son in motels, parks, airports and even at some point, in a public toilet.
He toiled incessantly at a brokerage firm during the daytime, stood in long queues so as to sleep under a roof at night.
In 1987, Gardner established the brokerage firm, Gardner Rich & Co, in Chicago, Illinois, an “institutional brokerage firm specializing in the execution of debt, equity, and derivative products transactions for some of the nation’s largest institutions, public pension plans, and unions.”
His new company was started in his small Presidential Towers apartment, with start-up capital of $10,000 and a single piece of furniture: a wooden desk that doubled as the family dinner table. The “Rich” in the name was in honor of commodities trader Marc Rich, who had no connection to the company and whom Gardner had never met, but whom Gardner considered “one of the most successful futures traders in the world.”
After Gardner sold his small stake in Gardner Rich in a multimillion-dollar deal in 2006, he became CEO and founder of Christopher Gardner International Holdings, with offices in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. During a visit to South Africa to observe elections around the time of the 10th anniversary of the end of apartheid, Gardner met with Nelson Mandela to discuss possible investment in South African emerging markets. Gardner was planning an investment venture there which he hoped would create hundreds of jobs and introduce millions in foreign currency into the country’s economy. Gardner has declined to disclose details of the project, citing securities laws.
Gardner is a philanthropist who sponsors many charitable organizations, primarily the Cara Program and the Glide Memorial United Methodist Church in San Francisco, where he and his son received desperately needed shelter. He has helped fund a $50 million project in San Francisco that creates low-income housing and opportunities for employment in the area of the city where he was once homeless. As well as offering monetary support, Gardner donates clothing and shoes. He makes himself available for permanent job placement assistance, career counselling and comprehensive job training for the homeless population and at-risk communities in Chicago.
Dedicated to the well-being of children through positive paternal involvement, Gardner serves on the board of the National Fatherhood Initiative (NFI). He is also a board member of the National Education Foundation and sponsors two annual education awards: the National Education Association’s National Educational Support Personnel Award and the American Federation of Teachers’ Paraprofessionals and School-Related Personnel Award.
Source: BestNewsGH.com with additional files from wikipedia
