PERSONALITY PROFILE
.co-founder of the Motion Fool
These Fools and their money stick together.
By Wendy Marinaccio
Tom Gardner and his brother Dave co-founded the Motley Fool (Fool.com), a web site offer
ing news, editorial and discussion boards about investing and personal finance. The
two also host a weekly radio show, oversee a syndicated newspaper column and have
written four bestselling books. Using humor and straightforwardness, the Gardners
communicate that individuals are the best people to handle their own money.
Tom Gardner says the Motley Fool is his first serious job. "I have to say,
coming to work is a tremendous amount of fun. I realize from talking to a lot of
my friends how fortunate I am for that," he says. After majoring in English
and Creative Writing at Brown and then going into finance, Gardner
says, "It surprised all my friends. People still look at me and go,
‘You?’ But I still see a lot of humanities in what we’re doing. I do
a lot of writing. I don’t think I’ll ever leave behind my interest in
creative writing."
Age: 32
Born: Philadelphia, raised in Washington, D.C.
Current Offices: Alexandria, Virginia
College: Brown, '90, with honors
Marital Status: Single
Favorite singer: Bob Dylan (Favorite Dylan song: bootleg version of
"Lay Lady Lay," sung "in a beautiful tenor voice, before he started
smoking opium").
Favorite web site: Encyclopedia Brittanica (eb.com)
Currently reading: The Road to Surfdom by libertarian thinker
Friedrich Hayek; Darwin's Ghost by geneticist Steve Jones
Favorite food: Salmon, although Stonyfield yogurt is gaining ground
Investing role model: His dad, a small shareholder who took the kids
on vacations to visit companies he invested in. He taught Tom and
Dave "Number one, there’s a face to business; number two, let’s
make jokes about them now that we’ve met them.”
Motley Fool core principle: Civil and open debate. "We have regu- »
lar debates from which no one holds grudges. The real value of our
service is that you’re encouraged to ask questions and to challenge us."
What he looks for when hiring a college student: Impatience. "If you
have someone who has creative ingenuity or spirit they’ve probably been
frustrated by college. Someone who wants to have fun and understands our
core philosophy. I look for somebody who might just as well be inclined to start
their own business."
On friends: "My best friends I met in ctollege."
For the complete Steamtunnels profile with Tom Gardner, go to Steamtunnels.net
and search for keyword “Fool.”