Dave Ramsey was born in Antioch, Tennessee on September 3, 1960. He graduated from the College of Business Administration at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 1982. By the time he was 26, he had a net worth of a little over a million dollars and was making $250,000 a year. However, the Tax Reform Act of 1986 began to have a negative impact on the real estate business and he was forced to file for bankruptcy relief. After losing everything, he went on a quest to find out how money really works, how to get control of it and how to have confidence in handling it. In 1992, he formed The Lampo Group to counsel individuals hurting from the results of financial stress. He wrote the book, Financial Peace, and started a local radio call-in show called The Money Game, now nationally syndicated as The Dave Ramsey Show. He was named the 2009 Marconi Award winner for Network/Syndicated Personality of the Year. His other books include More than Enough: The Ten Keys to Changing Your Financial Destiny, The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness, The Money Answer Book: Quick Answers to Everyday Financial Questions, Priceless: Straight-Shooting, No-Frills Financial Wisdom, and EntreLeadership 20 Years of Practical Business Wisdom from the Trenches. He also writes children's books dealing with finance including Careless at the Carnival: Junior Discovers Spending, The Big Birthday Surprise: Junior Discovers Giving, My Fantastic Fieldtrip: Junior Discovers Saving, and Battle of the Chores: Junior Discovers Debt.
