Farrah Gray

Farrah Gray Speaker 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. At 21 years old, he was recognized by Ebony Magazine 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 became Dr. Farrah Gray, receiving 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.

He is also a syndicated columnist with the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) federation of 200 weekly newspapers and more than 15 million readers. As an AOL Money Coach, Dr. Gray gives advice to millions of AOL subscribers daily.

Dr. Gray addresses more than half a million people per year on leadership, personal development, diversity, strategic planning, creativity, business development and financial management. At the age of 22, 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, Tom Joyner Show, The Tavis Smiley Show, CNBC, BET, NBC, FOX, CBS, NPR, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post.

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.

Dr. Gray's work did not remain under the radar-screen for long. He was given a three-year term on the Board of Directors of United Way of Southern Nevada at the age of 15 and also became the youngest member of the Board of Advisors for the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce. Dr. Gray was also the youngest member of the "African-American Leadership Roundtable" to be invited by President Bush and the Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Dr. Gray is also the spokesman for the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Marrow Donor Program. 

Dr. Gray is the Co-Chair of Relational Brokers Alliance Consultancy (RBA). In addition, he has consulted with JP Morgan Chase and the U.S. Department of Commerce Minority Development Agency. The Farrah Gray Foundation is also in partnership with the Kauffman Foundation, launching entrepreneurship programs in inner-city schools across the country.

Dr. Gray is the author of Reallionaire which 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. 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. Reallionaire has been endorsed by former President Bill Clinton, Pierre Sutton, Stedman Graham, Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen. Gray is also a contributing author to Chicken Soup for the African-American Soul. He is also the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Prominent Magazine, an entertainment, business, fashion, and lifestyle and culture publication.

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 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. Gray's biography is recognized in the Marquis "Who's Who in America."