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Christopher Paul "Chris" Gardner (born February 9, 1954) is an American entrepreneur, investor, stockbroker, motivational speaker, author, and philanthropist who, during the early 1980s, struggled with homelessness while raising his toddler son, Christopher, Jr. Gardner's book of memoirs, ''The Pursuit of Happyness'', was published in May 2006.〔 As of 2012, he is CEO of his own stockbrokerage firm, Gardner Rich & Co, based in Chicago, Illinois, where he resides when he is not living in Toronto. Gardner credits his tenacity and success to the "spiritual genetics" handed down to him by his mother, Bettye Jean Triplett, née Gardner,〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title =Christopher Gardner: The Official Site )〕 and to the high expectations placed on him by his children, son Chris Jr. (born 1981) and daughter Jacintha (born 1985). Gardner's personal struggle of establishing himself as a stockbroker while managing fatherhood and homelessness is portrayed in the 2006 motion picture ''The Pursuit of Happyness'', directed by Gabriele Muccino and starring Will Smith.〔 ==Early years== Gardner was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on February 9, 1954 to Thomas Turner and Bettye Jean Gardner. He was the second child born to Bettye Jean. His older half-sister, Ophelia, is from a previous union. His younger siblings, Sharon and Kimberly, are children from his mother's marriage to Freddie Triplett. Gardner did not have many positive male role models as a child, as his father was living in Louisiana during his birth, and his stepfather was physically abusive to his mother and his siblings. Triplett's fits of rage made Gardner and his sisters constantly afraid.〔 In one incident, Bettye Jean was falsely imprisoned when Triplett reported her to the authorities for welfare fraud; the children were placed in foster care. When Gardner was eight years old, he and his sisters returned to foster care a second time when their mother, unbeknownst to them, was convicted of trying to kill Triplett by burning down the house while he was inside.〔 While in foster care, Gardner first became acquainted with his three maternal uncles: Archibald, Willie, and Henry. Of the three, Henry had the most profound influence on him, entering Gardner's world at a time when he most needed a father figure. However, Henry drowned in the Mississippi River when Chris was nine years old.〔 The children learned that their mother had been imprisoned when she arrived at Henry's funeral escorted by a prison guard.〔 Despite her very unhappy marriage and her periods of absence, Bettye Jean was a source of inspiration and strength to her son Chris. She encouraged Gardner to believe in himself and sowed the seeds of self-reliance in him. Gardner quotes her as saying, "You can only depend on yourself. The cavalry ain't coming." Gardner also determined from his early experiences that alcoholism, domestic abuse, child abuse, illiteracy, fear and powerlessness were all things he wanted to avoid in the future.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Chris Gardner」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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