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The Motley Fool history
The Motley Fool company history timeline
In 1994, an April Fool’s joke designed to teach an investing lesson put The Motley Fool on the map.
In 1994, a partnership with America Online allowed The Motley Fool to come to life online.
The Gardners' big break came in 1994 when AOL invited The Motley Fool to become a featured part of its home page.
The success of the Rule Breaker Portfolio, whose eight stocks were up 22.5 percent by May 1995, led the company to establish additional portfolios that served as case studies for a variety of investing strategies.
By mid-1995, the Gardners had added three new forums on AOL, which increased revenue estimates to $1.5 million.
The Fool's nationally syndicated weekly newspaper feature debuted in 1997, and now appears in more than 225 papers.
The company reached overseas for the first time in 1998, when Motley Fool UK was established.
In 1998, the company announced an agreement with E-Loan, the leading online mortgage marketplace, to provide online mortgage services through a co-branded Mortgage Center.
Since 1998, The Motley Fool has launched Fool U.K. www.Fool.co.uk, and Fool Japan, a joint venture with Softbank, www.Fool.co.jp.
In 1998, The Motley Fool began a nationally syndicated radio show.
The company began looking for a new strategic leader in July 1999, hoping to find someone able to steward the company in its new, multifaceted form.
1999: C. Patrick Garner is hired as chief executive officer.
In 1999, the Motley Fool Monthly magazine was launched.
After nearly a year of searching for the perfect CEO candidate, the Gardners hired seasoned marketing executive C. Patrick Garner in May of 2000.
Debuting in August 2000, Soapbox.com was an online venue that allowed anyone to post investment research reports for sale.
Visitors to the site reached into the millions within a matter of months, prompting the company to hatch plans for a German site, which was expected to launch in 2000.
At the company's Alexandria headquarters, 109 jobs were eliminated as well as another six positions in London. "We're adopting an old economy approach to profitability," a company spokesperson told the Financial Times on February 9, 2001.
Soapbox.com was shut down in February 2001, its failure just one of the casualties suffered by The Motley Fool that month.
In March 2001, David and Tom hosted "The Motley Fool Money-Making Life-Changing Special," a television program produced by PBS. Since Foolishness knows no boundaries, The Motley Fool introduced its business internationally.
Lux, Hal. "Fool's Gold." Institutional Investor, March 2001.
As The Motley Fool prepared for the future, the events of early 2001 signaled the beginning of a new era for the company.
By 2001, The Motley Fool reached 30 million people per month through its multimedia channels.
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The Motley Fool competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TheStreet | 1996 | $62.5M | 800 | - |
| Morgan Stanley | 1935 | $3.0B | 68,097 | 1,215 |
| T. Rowe Price | 1937 | $7.1B | 7,678 | 549 |
| Charles Schwab | 1971 | $1.6B | 32,000 | 837 |
| Primerica | 1977 | $602.0M | 2,104 | 71 |
| The Vanguard Group | 1975 | $6.9B | 17,600 | 278 |
| Citi | 1812 | $74.3B | 210,000 | 1,437 |
| Seeking Alpha | 2004 | $570,000 | 6 | - |
| MarketWatch | 1997 | $10.5M | 246 | - |
| Berkshire Hathaway | 1839 | $371.4B | 360,000 | 360 |
The Motley Fool history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of The Motley Fool, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about The Motley Fool. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at The Motley Fool. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by The Motley Fool. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of The Motley Fool and its employees or that of Zippia.
The Motley Fool may also be known as or be related to The Motley Fool, The Motley Fool Holdings Inc, The Motley Fool Holdings Inc., The Motley Fool LLC and The Motley Fool, LLC.