Spirit Award 2006
Christopher Gardner—CEO, Gardner Rich & Co

A self-made multi-millionaire, Christopher Gardner is president and CEO of the Chicago-based brokerage firm Gardner Rich & Co., which he founded in 1987. His accomplishments as a business man are impressive in their own right, but are all the more extraordinary because of the obstacles he encountered on the road to success.

As a child, Chris lived with his mother, Bettye Jean Gardner, and when necessary, in foster homes, as they struggled to escape the violent and abusive ways of his stepfather. Chris was a witness to the battering and abuse of his beloved mother. He was also the recipient of sexual and domestic violence. Through all this, Bettye Jean encouraged Chris and taught him the most important lesson of his life- that he could attain whatever goals he set for himself. It was his mother’s love and words that helped Gardner persevere through the years when he and his own son were struggling for survival.

It was a chance meeting in a parking lot that ultimately gave Gardner his career direction. He met a man driving a red Ferrari who was looking for a parking space. Chris offered his space, and in exchange said “But I gotta ask you two questions: What do you do? And how do you do that?” It turned out he was a stockbroker making $80,000 a month. Chris decided that was the life he wanted and started at the very bottom of the financial industry ladder. Making very little money early on, however, a series of circumstances left him homeless in San Francisco and the sole guardian of his toddler son. Together they were forced to sleep in shelters, and sometimes the bathroom at BART stations in Oakland.

Determined not to abandon his son or his dream of financial independence, Gardner pulled his way up. His amazing story was published as an autobiography, The Pursuit of Happyness, by Amistad/Harper Collins on May 23, 2006, and will also be the subject of a movie with the same title starring Will Smith as Gardner to be released by Columbia Pictures in December 2006.

Throughout his life, Gardner never forgot his mother’s advice to live life to the fullest. His powerful journey from victim to survivor to thriver is a testament to her legacy. In his mother’s honor, Peace Over Violence is proud to recognize Chris Gardner with the 2006 Spirit Humanitarian Award for his determination never to give up and always to help others in need.