Farrah Gray

Biography

Dr. Farrah Gray was named as one of the most influential Black men in America by the National Urban League`s Urban Influence Magazine. Ebony Magazine recognized him as an entrepreneurial icon, business mogul and best-selling author. Raised in the impoverished South side of Chicago, Dr. Gray defied the odds and became a self-made millionaire by the age of 14. At the age of 21, he received an Honorary Doctorate degree of Humane Letters from Allen University. This was in recognition of his ingenious economic mind and distinguished commitment to the development of values such as leadership, integrity and scholarship. In his rise from poverty to national and international prominence as an entrepreneurial icon and pre-eminent power speaker, Dr. Gray has inspired millions around the world. At the age of 26, he has achieved more than many achieve in a lifetime.

Since his first interview at 11 years old on KVBC Channel 3, Gray has become a celebrity, featured in thousands of print, magazine, radio and television media including The NBC reality show Starting Over, 20/20, Good Morning America, ABC World News Tonight, The Montel Williams Show, Oprah & Friends, Tom Joyner Show, The Michael Baisden Show, Russ Parr, Radio One, TV One, The Tavis Smiley Show, CNBC, BET, NBC, FOX, CBS, BRAVO, PBS, NPR, Bloomberg, Ebony, Jet, Essence, Upscale, Black Enterprise, Black MBA, "O" The Oprah Magazine, Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post. AOL Black Voices named Farrah Gray one of the Top Ten Sexiest Black CEO`s along with Kenneth Chenault, Tiger Woods and Sean "Diddy" Combs. What makes him extra attractive is the stack of accomplishments he has achieved at such a young age. He is also a syndicated columnist with the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) federation of 200 weekly newspapers reaching more than 15 million readers. As an AOL Money Coach, Dr. Gray gives advice to millions of AOL subscribers daily on leadership, personal development, diversity, strategic planning, creativity, business development and financial management.

Dr. Gray is the CEO of Farrah Gray Publishing (FGP) which is distributed by HCI Books, which published the world famous #1 New York Times, USA Today and Guinness Book of World Records; best-selling Chicken Soup for the Soul series. Chicken Soup for the Soul has sold more than 112 million copies, with titles translated into more than 40 languages and total retail sales of Chicken Soup for the Soul branded merchandise have topped $1.3 billion.

Dr. Gray began his entrepreneurial, personal and civic development as a stellar young citizen at six years old selling home-made body lotion and his own hand-painted rocks as book-ends door-to-door. At age seven, he was carrying business cards reading "21st Century CEO." At eight, Gray became co-founder of Urban Neighborhood Enterprise Economic Club (U.N.E.E.C.) on Chicago`s South side. U.N.E.E.C. was the forerunner of New Early Entrepreneur Wonders (NE2W), the flagship organization he opened on Wall Street. NE2W enlisted, educated and engaged "at-risk" youth by creating and developing legal ways for them to acquire additional income. Gray is the youngest person to have an office on Wall Street.

Between the ages of 12 and 16 years old, Dr. Gray founded and operated business ventures that included KIDZTEL pre-paid phone cards, the One Stop Mail Boxes & More franchise and The Teenscope "Youth AM/FM" interactive teen talk show, Gray was also Executive Producer of a comedy show on the Las Vegas Strip and owner of Farr-Out Foods, "Way-Out Food with a Twist," aimed at young people with the company`s first Strawberry-Vanilla syrup product. Farr-Out Foods generated orders exceeding $1.5 million.

As a pre-teen, Gray reached 12 million listeners and viewers every Saturday night as co-host of "Backstage Live," a syndicated television and radio simulcast in Las Vegas. Gray`s inspirational spirit and grounded personality sparked speaking requests from organizations around the country. Dr. Gray`s sense of social responsibility motivated him to create the non-profit organization, The Farrah Gray Foundation. Among other programs and initiatives, his foundation focuses on inner city community-based entrepreneurship education and provides scholarship & grant assistance for students from at-risk backgrounds to attend HBCU`s (Historically Black Colleges and Universities). Dr. Gray donates his honorariums from speaking engagements (which can be upwards of $15,000) and the proceeds of his book to his foundation in what he refers to as his "self-imposed" youth tax. The Farrah Gray Foundation is also in partnership with the Kauffman Foundation, launching entrepreneurship programs in inner-city schools across the country.

Dr. Gray`s work did not remain under the radar-screen for long. He soon then became the youngest member of the Board of Advisors for the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce. He was also given a three-year term on the Board of Directors of United Way of Southern Nevada at the age of 15. Dr. Gray`s continued his philanthropic work signing on as the spokesman for the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Marrow Donor Program. As a private consultant he was gone in to work with the likes of JP Morgan Chase and the U.S. Department of Commerce Minority Development Agency.

Dr. Gray`s latest books Get Real, Get Rich and The Truth Shall Make You Rich a no-holds-barred rejection of the fallacies we`ve all heard--and believed--about success and how to achieve it. Dr. Gray`s first book Reallionaire was nominated by NBC & Publishers Weekly Quill Awards in the category of "Health/Self-Improvement." His book appeared on the Amazon and Barnes & Noble`s Best-sellers lists two weeks before its international release. Reallionaire was also named as the #1 Best-selling Nonfiction Paperback book in the August 2005 issue of Essence Magazine.

Reallionaire was endorsed by Former President Bill Clinton, Pierre Sutton, Stedman Graham, Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen. Gray`s book and his journey to succeed against the odds have become required reading and part of classroom study from elementary school to entrepreneurship departments on college and university campuses such as Harvard University and Princeton. Gray`s books, Reallionaire, Get Real Get Rich and The Truth Shall Make You Rich, have been translated into Russian, German, Polish, French, Korean, Indonesian, and Vietnamese languages with book sales in Africa, Australia and Europe and in Central and South American countries.

Gray is also a contributing author to Chicken Soup for the African-American Soul. Dr. Gray`s honors include Keys to the Cities of Dallas, Shreveport, and Cincinnati. He has also received Proclamations from the Governors of Illinois and Nevada, the Mayors of Louisville, Kentucky, Chicago, Las Vegas, New Orleans and Wilmington, Delaware, and Clark County Nevada Commissioners. Dr. Gray`s Awards include The National Urban League Whitney M. Young Jr. Entrepreneurship Award, The Indiana Black Expo (IBE) Hoosier Lottery Entrepreneur Award, The Alabama A&M Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) Award, The Davidson College Love of Learning Lifetime Educational Achievement Award, Central State Award of Appreciation for contributions made in the area of entrepreneurship, NV Magazine Vision Award, and the American Red Cross Award of Appreciation."

Publications

Reallionaire

A remarkable teenager who went from public assistance to a million dollar net worth shares his story and offers 9 key principles to success.

Reallionaire tells Farrah`s extraordinary and touching story. When he was just six, Farrah`s mother became seriously ill, prompting his decision to provide for this family, and he spent the first $50 he ever made taking them for a real sit-down dinner. At the age of eight, he founded his first business club. By fourteen, with a million dollars in his pocket, Farrah was well on his way to business success.

Each stage of Farrah`s progress is marked by one of the principles of success he learned along the way, creating not just an extraordinary story but also a step-by-step primer for others to create success in their own lives with honor; charity and compassion.

In the tradition of great motivators and leaders, this is both an instructional book and a story to inspire others to live life to the fullest. And readers don`t have to be interested in business to enjoy it. In fact, Farrah is a role model for everyone.