Stockbroker whose life inspired film goes in pursuit of funds for South Africa

Christopher Gardner, the stockbroker who was the real life inspiration for last year's Will Smith film The Pursuit of Happyness, is planning a $500m private equity fund aimed at rehabilitating South Africa as a destination for US investment.

Mr Gardner began his career in San Francisco in 1981 sleeping in homeless shelters and train station bathrooms with his young son by night, and impressing bosses as an intern at Morgan Stanley during the day.

Since 1987, he has run his own stockbroking business in Chicago, Gardner Rich, advising public sector and union pension funds on their investments, and the company is now expanding into asset management with its project in South Africa.

Mr Gardner alighted on the opportunities in the country at the start of the decade, inspired in part by his hero Nelson Mandela. "South Africa is about to become the Hong Kong of Africa and it's all about opportunity," Mr Gardner told ABC television earlier this year.

The company would not comment on rumours that Mr Mandela was backing the project, saying only that it had assembled "political allies" in South Africa. The aim is to encourage inward investment in the country, to try to raise living standards.

Salvador Guerrero, head of marketing for public funds at Gardner Rich, said that union and public sector funds have given South Africa short shrift since pulling their money out amid the protests against apartheid in the Eighties. "They pulled all their money out and they have not really put anything back," he said. "The possibilities are enormous, but the lack of confidence and the lack of attention that the country has had is causing a lot of the difficulty."

South Africa has been engaging in a black empowerment programme aimed at transferring economic power from whites to the black community, often through worker ownership schemes. Gardner Rich is working with local unions to evaluate investment opportunities, Mr Guerrero said, although neither he nor Mr Gardner is keen to give more details on potential deal activity at this early stage.

Prospectuses have been sent to Gardner Rich clients, and the company hopes to close the fund at $500m. Consultants are carrying out due diligence work on some of the potential early investee ventures and on the local partners.

The project, when it is up and running, is sure to generate significant publicity, and Mr Gardner is unapologetic about capitalising on the fame that the film of his life story has brought. Based on his autobiography, The Pursuit of Happyness showed how a passion to succeed can overcome terrible odds. Will Smith was nominated for an Oscar for the role of Mr Gardner, while the film also introduced Mr Smith's eight-year-old son Jaden, who played Mr Gardner's son, Christopher.