Photo: dbking / CC BY 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Chris Gardner is one of those rare people whose story genuinely earns the word "inspirational" without making you roll your eyes. The guy was literally homeless in San Francisco in the early 1980s — sleeping in shelters and subway bathrooms with his toddler son — while simultaneously grinding through an unpaid broker training program at Dean Witter. That's not hustle-culture meme material, that's actual survival. He clawed his way up to founding his own brokerage, Gardner Rich & Co., and then told the whole story in a memoir that Will Smith turned into a film. When he speaks now, you can tell the motivation isn't just a polished stage act — it's someone who has genuinely been at the bottom and knows the way up is real but brutal.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Chris Gardner
- Name (Japanese)
- クリス・ガードナー
- Reading
- くりす・がーどなー
- Born
- February 9, 1954 (age 72)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Aquarius / Horse
- Origin
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
- Occupation
- stockbroker / motivational speaker / writer / financier / businessperson
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Chris Gardner born?
Born February 9, 1954 (age 72).
Where is Chris Gardner from?
Chris Gardner is from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States.
What does Chris Gardner do?
Chris Gardner works as stockbroker, motivational speaker, writer, financier, businessperson.
Stockbroker — see all → · Motivational speaker — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.