It was 1989 when Florida natives Nathan and Betty Mae Figgers found a little boy nestled up by a dumpster. They took him home, named him Freddie, and adopted him, having no clue about the amazingly brilliant man he would grow up to become after finding a passion early in life.
It All Started With An Adoption
Nathan and Betty Mae Figgers did not have children of their own. They'd fostered many kids throughout the years but never adopted. That all changed in 1989 when they decided to adopt a baby boy.
When Nathan and Betty Mae found the child, he was two days old. They named him Freddie.
A Small Town And A Family Full Of Love
The Figgers lived in the tiny town of Quincy, Florida, with a population of 7,000. The 50-year-old couple thought it the perfect place to raise their new son. Betty Mae worked on a farm, and Nathan has a handyman around town.
Later, Freddie would say his childhood was filled with nothing but love.
Freddie Spoke Highly Of His Father
During an interview later in his life, Freddie spoke of his parents, saying, "I saw my father always helping people, stopping on the side of the road helping strangers, feeding the homeless."
"He was an incredible man, and for them to take me in and raise me, that's the man I want to be like." Sadly, things weren't easy for the Figgers.
The Family Went Dumpster Diving
There were times when Nathan and Betty Mae struggled financially. Even so, they did what they could to give their son a better life, things that he wanted.
One of the ways to do that was going dumpster diving and picking through other people's trash in hopes of finding treasure.
He Always Kept An Eye Out For A Computer
Little did the family know that dumpster diving would lead to Freddie's later success. During an interview, Freddie spoke of dumpster diving, saying, "It's an old saying, 'One man's trash is another man's treasure."
"I was always fascinated by computers. I always wanted a Gateway computer, but at that time, we couldn't afford one." It would take time, but Freddie would eventually find his dream computer.
Nathan Told Freddie The Truth
When Freddie turned eight, he began wondering about his biological mother. The answer he got when asking Nathan and Betty Mae were not what he expected.
After hesitating, Nathan told Freddie where he came from and how he wound up in his and his wife's care -- he was thrown away as a child.
The News Didn't Bode Well
According to Freddie, "[Nathan] said, 'Listen, I'm going to shoot it to you straight, Fred. Your biological mother, she threw you away, and me and Betty Mae, we didn't want to send you through foster care, and we adopted you, and you're my son."
Needless to say, after learning he was left next to a dumpster, Freddie felt unwanted and like trash.
The Bullying Began Shortly After
Freddie recalled the moment he found out about his biological mother, saying, "When he told me that, I was like, 'Ok, I'm trash,' and I felt unwanted. But he grabbed my shoulder, and he said, 'Listen, don't you ever let that bother you.'"
Sadly, even though Freddie was loved at home, the kids at school endlessly bullied him when the news about the dumpster broke.
The Bullies Went After Freddie And His Father
The school bullies got so bad that the school intervened, calling Nathan to wait for his son at the bus stop so kids would stop picking on him. The plan didn't work, and the bullies began making fun of Freddie's elderly father, too.
Thankfully, things were about to look up for Freddie, including a multi-million dollar fortune that would leave his bullies speechless.
Finally, He Hit The Computer Jackpot
After weeks of searching for a computer, Freddie and Nathan found one. In a local Goodwill, they found a Macintosh computer. According to Freddie, he and Nathan bartered with the salesman, who eventually sold them the computer for $24.
The price was right, and Freddie finally went home with a computer. Granted, it was totally broken!
Tinkering With Electronics Was A Hobby
It wasn't Freddie's first time tinkering with broken electronics, though. He'd frequently mess around with broke VCRs, radios, and clocks, playing around and teaching himself about the inner workings of everything he got his hands on.
Freddie wasted no time. "When I got home, and it wouldn't come on, I took the computer apart," he said.
He Rebuilt The Broken Computer's Circuit Board
While the broken computer most likely would have had most children turning away, Freddie got to work. He noticed the capacitors were broken.
So, he began taking apart some old alarm clocks the family had lying around, soldering them into the computer's circuit board with a soldering iron Nathan had found for him.
It Started With An Afterschool Program
After numerous attempts, young Freddie got the computer to turn on! It was then that he knew he'd found his life's calling, working with technology. The computer soon became an escape for Freddie, a way to deal with the bullying he endured at school.
A few years later, Freddie found himself in afterschool programs revolving around technology. Little did he know that his skills were going to be noticed.
An Invitation To Work At City Hall
The Mayor of Quincy happened to be the director of Freddie's afterschool program. It didn't take her long to notice his knack for fixing things, particularly computers. She invited him to City Hall, showed him a closet of broken computers, and told him she needed them repaired.
At $12 an hour, working at City Hall was the beginning of Freddie's soon-to-be multi-million dollar career.
It Was Time To Learn Some Coding
Freddie loved his new routine: going to school and then heading over to city hall and fixing computers all day. One day, though, his job description changed. While fixing a computer, Freddie heard the city manager mention his name and say, "he could probably help with this."
They were trying to build a program to track the city's water pressure. Freddie had never coded before.
He Saved The Town $600,000
After going through a few companies to code the program, the town realized they didn't have the $600,000 the contractors were asking. So, they turned to Freddie, a young boy who had never coded before.
Even so, Freddie jumped at the opportunity and wound up building the program to their exact specifications. He had saved the town a whole lot of money!
Freddie Dropped Out Of School To Start His Own Business
It became town news that Freddie was a computer genius. Soon, he realized that traditional education wouldn't help him, dropping out of school at the age of 15 to start his very own computer business.
Needless to say, his parents were not thrilled with the plan, even though Freddie's inventions would eventually turn into a multi-million dollar profit.
Tragedy Struck
Years after dropping out of school, Freddie's business was thriving. Sadly, the happiness of success took a sour turn when Nathan began showing symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.
One morning, Freddie woke up and his father was nowhere to be found. It was then that he decided to create something, something that would ensure he never lost track of his father again.
The First Invention
Freddie and Betty Mae found Nathan and the frightening event inspired Nathan to create his first invention. "I got my dad's shoes, I cut the sole of the shoe open," Freddie said.
"I built the circuit board and placed it inside of the shoe with a 90 megahertz speaker, a microphone, and a wide area network card. I integrated that with my laptop - this was before Apple maps or Google maps - and I integrated that through the TomTom, Garmin platform."
His Patent Sold For $2.2 Million
The shoe now served as a tracking device, something Freddie could use in case his father ever wandered off again. Not only that, but it also served as a communication device, allowing Freddie to speak to his father.
The invention was genius and Freddie eventually sold it for $2.2 million.
Freddie Never Got To Share His Wealth With Father
Sadly, Freddie's father passed away before he could share the fortune, as he had planned on purchasing his father his life-long dream of a Ford pick-up truck and a boat to go fishing.
The entire experience taught Freddie a valuable lesson about money and life. He said, "[his death] really opened my eyes and taught me that money is nothing but a tool, and I'm going to do everything in my power to try to make the world a better place before I leave it."
The Goal: To Help Others
Freddie continued speaking of his father, saying, "Knowing my father, he wasn't a rich man at all, but he [made an impact on] so many people's lives, and I want to just do right by everyone I meet and help everyone I can."
It wasn't long before Freddie came up with another multi-million dollar idea, one that would hopefully save more people's lives.
The Second Invention
After going to visit his uncle in Georgia, and finding him in a diabetic coma, Freddie created a glucometer. The device sent a person's blood sugar levels to loved ones and their doctor, ensuring someone would know if it got too high or low.
It had the potential to save a lot of lives.
Next, He Moved On To Helping Rural Communities
Freddie wasn't done yet. In his journey to help people, Freddie moved on to rural areas of the country that were still using dial-up internet instead of 2G or 3G plans.
To do so, Freddie began his own telecommunications company, becoming the youngest telecoms operator in the country. Of course, it wasn't easy.
The Idea Was Approved And Freddie Was Only 21
After many attempts to get the company up and running and investing a whole lot of money into the project, Freddie finally got his idea approved. At the time, it was 2011, and Freddie was only 21 years old.
He became the youngest telecommunications operator in the country, had invented a few devices to help save lives, and was only getting started.
A One-Man Show
When Freddie first got the telecommunications company approved, it was nothing more than a one-man show. Freddie was not only the boss but the only employee, bringing together the creativity, the technology, and even laying foundations down for new cell towers.
Eventually, his company expanded beyond his wildest dreams. He'd come a long way from being bullied in the school yard.
Net Worth: Over $62 Million
All of Freddie's hard work and love of computers paid off -- literally! According to the Washington Post, Freddie is worth over $62 million. That net worth is a long way from the days he was dumpster diving with Nathan and Betty Mae.
Aside from living a very high-end lifestyle, Freddie also has worked with many great causes.
The Figgers Foundation
Along with his empire, Freddie founded the Figgers Foundation. The foundation's main goal is to focus on issues of "school quality and support for susceptible individuals, families, and children."
He focuses on helping children in foster care, supporting students heading to university, and upgrading community centers, primarily around northern Florida, where he grew up.
Freddie Started His Business At 16 Years Old
Freddie went from being left by a dumpster by his biological mother to running a multi-billion dollar company, which he started when he was 16 years old.
And Figgers Communication isn't the only project Freddie works on. Over the years, he has started many business ventures, becoming a very successful entrepreneur.
He Keeps Growing His Ideas-- And His Fortune
After creating Figgers Communication at the age of 16, Freddie went on to invest in Figgers Wireless; he was 19. At the age of 24, he created a smartphone that triggers a "safe mode" to help reduce texting and driving.
On top of all that, he's introduced Figgers Health, a company that focuses on inventing products to help people with chronic ailments. It will be impressive to see what else Freddie comes up with in the future!
