Dr. Farrah Gray, 25, became a self-made millionaire at age 14 after formulating a think tank and investment club at age 8, selling prepaid phone cards and hosting a radio talk show at 11, and moving his venture capital firm to Wall Street at 13, making him the youngest tenant in Wall Street’s history. His natural inclination for business and commerce began more as a product of practicality and survival than a means to an end.
“Growing up I didn’t know [that] what I was doing was entrepreneurship. I just knew that after my mother had had a heart attack … I said to myself ‘What is it I can do to help pay the bills?’ … I saw oversized rocks in the street and I started painting them with water paint and knocking on doors. I made $50 telling people that they were bookends, paperweights and doorstops,” reminisces Gray regarding one of his earlier business ventures. He was 6 then.
That may be Gray’s real claim to fame — other than the Farrah Gray Prepaid MasterCard® bearing his likeness, the White House appointment to the African American Roundtable, and being the youngest board member in the history of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce — he redirects the way consumers see themselves in the marketplace and think about products and services. “I think that we are all entrepreneurs and CEOs even if you work in corporate America, you are a CEO of one. [Actually] think of yourself as the OOO, the only operating officer,” he explains. “Kids in the lunchroom saying, ‘Hey I’ll trade you my chocolate cookies for your chocolate milk,’ are already bartering.”
Gray, also the author of the best-seller, Reallionaire, was in Atlanta Jan. 29-31 to accept a Trumpet Award for his accomplishments and commitment to enhancing the quality of life for all citizens. “It’s like an out-of-body experience, because to me the Trumpet Awards are bigger than the Grammys and the Oscars,” he said laughingly. “It’s a monumental and unmatched platform for the best and the brightest. I grew up watching the Trumpet Awards and they have been around for almost 20 years. I’m only 25, and now I have one.” Dr. Gray is the youngest Trumpet Award honoree in history. Dr. Gray’s next project is the release of Ky-mani Marley’s highly controversial tell–all auto biography about life with his legendary father Bob Marley.
–roz edward
