David L. Ramsey III
(born September 3, 1960) is an American financial author, radio host, television personality, and motivational speaker.
Ramsey's syndicated radio program The Dave Ramsey Show
is promoted with a tagline that "It's about life and money," and it is heard on over 400 radio stations throughout the United States and Canada, as well as on XM and Sirius satellite radio. [1] He has written numerous books. His books and broadcasts often feature a Christian perspective that reflects Ramsey's own religious beliefs.
Ramsey's current company, The Lampo Group, is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee, and oversees three divisions geared toward financial counseling.
Ramsey has been featured on many media outlets including The Oprah Winfrey Show
, 60 Minutes
, and The Early Show
on CBS. He has also recorded a pilot and six episodes of a reality show named The Dave Ramsey Project
[2] for CBS; however, the Network decided not to air the program. He is the host of The Dave Ramsey Show
at 8 p.m. ET and repeated weekdays on the Fox Business Network. [3]
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Biography
Ramsey was born and raised in
Antioch,
Tennessee,
United States,
North America. At the age of 26, through his brokerage firm, Ramsey Investments, Inc., he built a rental real estate portfolio worth more than $4 million and became one of Tennessee's youngest brokers to be admitted to the Graduate Realtors Institute.
[4]
Ramsey's success soon came to an end as the
Tax Reform Act of 1986 began to have a negative impact on the real estate business. One of Ramsey's largest investors was sold to a larger bank, who began to take a harder look at Ramsey's borrowing habits. The bank demanded he pay $1.2 million worth of short-term notes within 90 days, forcing him to file for bankruptcy.
[5]
Ramsey began counseling couples at his local church. Soon after offering private counseling services, Ramsey began attending every workshop and seminar on consumer financial problems that he could find. He developed a simple set of lessons and materials based partially on his own experience and on works and teachings by
Larry Burkett and
Ron Blue.
[6] After many requests from his clients, in
1992 wrote his first book
Financial Peace
.
[7]
Ramsey has been married to his wife, Sharon, for 25 years; they have three children: Denise; Rachel; and Daniel. The family resides in Brentwood.
[8]
The Dave Ramsey Show
Ramsey started his radio show, currently known as
The Dave Ramsey Show,
in 1992 under the title of
The Money Game
. Originally a locally based show, it is now syndicated across the country. In 2007, the
Fox Business Network launched a television show under the same title. Both shows are on air Monday through Friday.
Related companies
The Lampo Group, Inc.
Ramsey founded his company, the Lampo Group in 1991
[9], initially helping people one-on-one who were struggling with financial issues. In 1994 he hired Russ Carroll, Ramsey's lead financial counselor, and together they began teaching the first Financial Peace University classes on overhead projectors.
Between 1999 and 2004, The Lampo Group grew from 18 to 105 team members. There are currently over 200 team members.
Ramsey runs his business completely debt-free, an accomplishment he states was critical to the success of his company.
[10]
Financial Peace University
Ramsey is also the creator of
Financial Peace University
, a Biblically based 13-week video training series for adults, and a companion series targeted at teenagers that has been offered in schools across the nation. Some topics covered in the series are cash flow planning, investing, saving, credit, retirement, and giving.
[11]
Share It!
"Share It!" is a foundation created by Dave and Sharon Ramsey for the purpose of working with other
non-profit organizations such as housing initiatives, work to success projects, domestic violence shelters, drug and alcohol recovery programs, crisis pregnancy centers, youth outreaches, and high schools to help others become financially literate.
[12]
Criticism
Ramsey has been criticized in financial circles for offering overly simplistic solutions to financial issues.
[13]
The
Nashville Scene
has reported that Ramsey occasionally receives e-mails and letters containing the Biblical verse: "And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." (Matthew 19:24
KJV) Ramsey interprets such communications to be a rebuke of his own wealth and a call for poverty.
In
2004, Ramsey's column was dropped from
The Tennessean
and four other newspapers owned by
Gannett, Co. after it was discovered that the identities of those seeking help were falsified in several of his columns. A Lampo executive vice president attributed the duplications to a young former employee who was in charge of selecting and editing the column questions and answers, and said the employee has since left the company. Despite claiming to not have made the mistake himself, Ramsey accepted overall responsibility, offering refunds to the newspapers affected by the error.
[14]
Wall Street Journal
best-selling author and nationally syndicated columnist
Eric Tyson criticizes Ramsey for referring listeners to endorsed, commission-based brokers (who pay fees back to Ramsey) instead of fee-based advisors; and for advocating portfolios containing only stocks instead of portfolios balanced with bonds. Tyson also cites Ramsey's exaggeration of expected stock market returns, his focus on high-risk growth funds instead of safer index and life-cycle funds, and his failure to state the importance of investment expenses.
[15]
Publications
Additionally,
The Total Money Makeover
,
Financial Peace Revisited
, and
More than Enough
are available in Spanish.
Financial advice
- Financial Peace: Restoring Financial Hope to You and Your Family
(1997) ISBN 0-67-087361-6
- The Financial Peace Planner: A step-by step guide to restoring your family's financial health
(1998) ISBN 0-14-026468-X
- How to Have More than Enough: A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Abundance
(2000) ISBN 0-14-028193-2
- More than Enough: The Ten Keys to Changing Your Financial Destiny
(2002) ISBN 0-14-200047-7
- Financial Peace Revisited
(2002) ISBN 0-670-03208-5
- The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan For Financial Fitness
(2003) ISBN 0-7852-6326-8
- Total Money Makeover Workbook
(2004) ISBN 0-7852-6327-6
- The Money Answer Book: Quick Answers to Everyday Financial Questions
(2005) ISBN 0-8499-9619-8
- Priceless: Straight-Shooting, No-Frills Financial Wisdom
(2006) ISBN 0-9774895-9-0
Kids' books
- The Super Red Racer: Junior Discovers Work
(2003) ISBN 0-9726323-0-1
- Careless At The Carnival: Junior Discovers Spending
(2003) ISBN 0-9726323-1-X
- The Big Birthday Surprise: Junior Discovers Giving
(2003) ISBN 0-9726323-2-8
- My Fantastic Fieldtrip: Junior Discovers Saving
(2003) ISBN 0-9726323-3-6
- A Special Thank You: Junior Discovers Integrity
(2005) ISBN 0-9769630-0-0
- Battle of the Chores: Junior Discovers Debt
(2005) ISBN 0-9769630-1-9
Contributions
- 48 Days To The Work You Love
by Dan Miller, Foreword by Dave Ramsey (2005) ISBN 0-8054-3188-8
See also
- Debt
- Bankruptcy
- Talk radio
- Envelope budgeting
References
- Axia Interview with Blake Thompson, producer of The Dave Ramsey Show
- The Gospel According to Dave
- Fox Business Network Names Radio Show Personality Dave Ramsey As Primetime Host
- Financial Peace Revisited
- Financial Peace Revisited
- Focus on the Family (Dr. James Dobson) - Broadcast Archives
- Financial Peace Revisited
- Financial Peace Revisited
- Our Company History
- The Inside Story with Mike Kinosian: Behind The Dave Ramsey Show
- THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY LEARN LIFES FINANCIAL LESSONS FROM DAVE RAMSEY
- About Us
- The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness
- http://www.tennessean.com/business/archives/04/06/53312885.shtml
- http://www.erictyson.com/articles/20090313