"Usher, Xhibit, Clay Aiken and me," enthuses the face on the poster-sized MasterCard.
"Me!"
Farrah Gray is chipper this morning—laughing, joking, even dancing.
"Have you seen George Wallace's show? Have you seen him dance?" says Gray, 21, mimicking the Flamingo headliner's rocking chair-like pelvic thrust.
Gray has reason to be happy. He has multiple houses in Vegas, an office in Wall Street, a magazine in Chicago (Innercity), is a spokesman for raising awareness of homelessness and recently inked a deal with First Premier Bank and Diamond Financial Products for a MasterCard with his Colgate-smiling mug on it. As Dave Chappelle might say, "He's rich, beeyotch."
The Carson, California-born, Chicago-raised Gray has squeezed 60 years of accomplishments into two decades.
Peep this: Before age 15, Gray sold hand-painted rocks and body lotion (6 years old); co-founded Urban Neighborhood Enterprise Economic Club, a venture capital fund (age 8); hosted a segment on Backstage Live, a Saturday night radio show reaching 12 million listeners (age 9); landed paid speaking gigs (age 12); at age 14, started the NE2W U.S.A Venture Capital Search Fund on Wall Street, the youngest person to have an office the hallowed street.
During this time, he also created KIDZTEL pre-paid phone cards, opened the One Stop Mail Boxes & More franchise and established the Teenscope: Youth AM/FM interactive teen talk show.The entrepreneur is already into his second act, with one book out—Reallionaire: Nine Steps to Becoming Rich from the Inside Out — another due out in 2007, plus plans to implement entrepreneurship in schools and finding ways to make more money.
We're a few weeks into 2006, how busy have you been?
I set up about 13 schools to teach entrepreneurship—at high school, colleges, the Sullivan Learning Center, different learning centers, homeless shelters as well. I have a curriculum to take the mysticism out of entrepreneurship and make it more practical for people.
A book review on Amazon.com said Reallionaire is inspiring but doesn't provide a nuts-and-bolts plan to get me where you are.
I'm not sure what that reviewer is talking about. I've received thousands of e-mails from people who are making money now after reading the book. I think it provides inspiration and information. My book was endorsed by President Clinton. I was invited to the White House four times during his administration. I was given an award by President Bush for furthering the cause of minority entrepreneurship. Bush invited me to be part of his African-American roundtable of business leaders. There were only 15 business leaders from across the country to be selected.
How did the entrepreneurial bug bite you?
Growing up poor and seeing my mom work three jobs at a time just to put food on the table—I woke up one morning and said I'm not going to come home until I've made enough money to help her with the bills. I went out and painted rocks I saw on the street. I knocked on people's doors and told people these rocks were paperweights, bookends and doorstops. People were looking at me like, "Isn't that the rock that was in front of my door?" I was like, "They're different now, they could be used as a product." I made $50 with that venture. I took my mother to a restaurant.
How did the struggle growing up help you in business?
My mother let us know how much toothpaste cost, how much rent was, both when we were on and off public assistance in East Chicago. She let me know everything about household expenses. I think that's what challenges a lot of parents with their children—they're not making them aware of how much they make every two weeks. When they're not aware, you don't know how much anything costs.
You had business cards, at age 7, that read "21st Century CEO." And there were other kids in the hood like you?
I remember asking my grandmother, "Why did I have to be poor? Was I born to be poor?" The biggest misconception of youth that grow up in the inner city is that we lack brainpower. We realized very early, as most young people who grow up in the projects do, that many of us are supposed to be in prison or dead by the age I am. We knew that one day we had to make a way out of poverty. Entrepreneurship is very common, it's just not encouraged in the projects. Trade is going on in elementary schools right now: I'll trade you my chocolate milk for your chocolate cookies. That's entrepreneurship ...
Why did you come to Vegas?
My brother got a job as a boxing promoter.
How'd you land the radio show? Who was your first interview?
There was a guy who was trying to date my sister. I had an idea to start a video-game rental company in 1995. I told this guy my idea. He would always invite me along with my sister. He was pulling all the information out of me. I didn't know anything about confidentiality agreements, nondisclosure agreements. So he's trying to impress my sister and he says there's a show at the Imperial Palace called Backstage Live. So I went to the show, met and talked to the director of marketing. I told her my friends had raised $15,000 with our lemonade stands and selling cookies. After they interviewed me, they gave me my own segment. I became a novelty. On my first show, we interviewed the Legends in Concert performers.
When were you first interviewed?
The host of the show [Backstage Live], Gary Campbell, got me my first interview. He was working at Channel 3. They wanted to talk to me about my business, New Entrepreneurial Wonders.
Were you as articulate then as now?
I was nervous, but I think I did well. I still have the audiotape. I was in his [Gary Campbell's] office later on. I told him I wanted a career in radio. He said, "You're horrible. You need to learn how to enunciate your words. Study those who are on television and then get back to me." I wanted to cry. But he made me dig deep and learn and study.
Is that when the speaking engagements came?
After the NBC [Channel 3] interview, young people, old people, teachers, event organizers, they wanted me to speak.
How did you go from speaking gigs to a food company?
My grandmother used to make our syrup because we were too poor to afford it. I took her recipe and added strawberry and vanilla. I wanted to start my own food company. I was 13. By that time, our ideas went from lemonade stands and cookie companies to technology companies. So we went from all these kiddie ideas to real-life, bona fide, moneymaking businesses and we wanted real investment dollars. Our fund was growing and I was meeting higher net-worth investors. So I read the book, From Kitchen to Market. I started going to the Food and Marketing Institute Convention, networking and passing my product sheets around. I went everywhere introducing myself and talking about my food company. Ultimately, we made a lot of money. I'd also raised a committed $1 million for the venture capital fund. So I had two million-dollar companies on Wall Street at the same time. I was 14.
Did you think you were getting in over your head opening an office on Wall Street? Did you ever feel out of your league?
Absolutely. I felt underprepared, overwhelmed, unqualified, outclassed, but it's amazing what you can accomplish when you don't know what you can't do.
When did you become a millionaire, meaning you had $1 million to spend?
At 15, after I sold the food company.
What did it feel like?
Awesome. I retired my mother and grandmother. That was the most important thing for me to do.
Talk about the inspiration for the book.
I don't feel that it's fair to make my first million in my teens, then become a multimillionaire by 21 and keep the secrets. I was on NPR on the Tavis Smiley Show and the folks who put out Chicken Soup for the Soul asked if I had a book. I was going to put a book out through my foundation. They wanted to publish it. We worked on a book. Before it came out, it was an Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble bestseller based on the announcements.
Can you really make me rich in nine steps?
Nine steps, in the spiritual sense, is a number of completion. There's actually a bonus step, so there are 10 steps. I tried to cram in as much information as possible. The book is 288 pages. I'm actually working on my second book, which will be out next year.
How many companies do you have?
I have a consulting company, Relational Broker Alliance. I used to be on the board of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers. I ended partnering with the former president when my term was over and his term was over. We created a company that would bridge the resources of major financial institutions, i.e. Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, J.P. Morgan Chase and get their resources into urban communities. I have a magazine called Innercity Magazine, in a partnership with Innercity Broadcasting. I have two real-estate brokerages that I keep private. We compete with ReMax and Century 21. After the MasterCard deal, I've been approached to come up with my own cologne, my own clothing company. I remember when they wrote me the advance check for the clothing company. When we were discussing the figures, I told them I wasn't interested in the check. Give me ownership in the company. We're working that out now. They're shopping a reality show to major networks.
A lot of athletes and rappers start foundations but don't do much with them.
A lot of people start foundations for tax benefits. I'm chairman of the Farrah Gray Foundation. We're licensing a curriculum and we provide scholarships to students who want to go to HBCUs [historically black colleges and universities]. I'm the spokesman for the National Coalition for the Homeless. I got an award from the American Red Cross for being very active in National Youth Service Day where we get out physically and help people. Being spokesman for the National Coalition for the Homeless is not just a pretty title. We're planning American Plunge. I'm actually going to be homeless for two days. I've been homeless before. We've gotten evicted and had to sleep in cars. I'm a very hands-on person. I own so many businesses, I could write all this money off. So the foundation is not a cop-out for me.
With all you've accomplished, can you make an impact on the hip-hop generation?
Farrah Gray represents what else is possible. We're more than just rap stars. I did 150 speeches last year. My appeal is that I can say, "Look where I came from. Look where you can go."
Five years ago, your brother said in a Weekly article that you would be a household name. Where will you be 10 years from now?
It's funny he said that. Since then, I've been on more than 60 television shows, in Time [magazine], on Good Morning America. Out of 52 weeks in the year, I've probably been on television about 30 weeks. To appear in hundreds of newspapers and magazines, it's an out-of-body experience. There's the book and the MasterCard. I can't believe that after Usher, Xhibit and Clay Aiken, they'd pick me for a MasterCard. I'm working on buying a hotel. Right after millions, there's billions and trillions, which I expect to reach. I also want to end homelessness.
Lofty goal but is ending homelessness feasible? It's going to take more than Farrah Gray as a spokesman.
Our main focus is creating awareness. They are invisible and their issues are invisible. When they aren't invisible, they are beaten and hospitalized.
You turned 21 in September. I heard you went to Texas Station.
I decline comment [laughs at colleague who spilled the beans]. I was the keynote speaker for the National Newspaper Publishers Association in Gary, Indiana. It was in a casino and I couldn't get in. I'd waited so long, so I had to put in a quarter. I don't like gambling because I gamble enough with businesses.