Gregory Abel Biography and Net Worth

Gregory Abel was born in 1962 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Before his birth, his mother worked as a legal assistant and then became a stay-at-home mom. His father was in sales. They lived in a working-class neighborhood that was family oriented. "I remember getting together with other neighborhood kids as soon as we could after school," says Abel. "We played hockey nearly every day in summer and winter and stayed out until we were called in for dinner. It was one of those traditional family environments that felt safe and secure."

A big part of Abel's life was his extended family. Efforts were made to get together with grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins, even those who lived two hours away. "Understanding the importance of family and making that a clear priority is one of the first values my parents imparted to me," he says. "They also taught me the importance of working hard and having goals and dreams. They emphasized to me that if I was going to do something, I needed to give it my best effort."

Although Abel loved sports, he also understood the importance of education. His parents emphasized the idea that education is the foundation for a brighter future. Abel had great respect for his teachers, even in elementary school. He recalls one day in the fourth grade, his teacher introduced two new boys to the class. She asked the children to be welcoming, as these boys were a positive addition to their group. "I learned the importance of working well in groups," he says. "My teacher was trying to create bonds and relationships that would result in us having a better experience as students. I befriended those boys, and they are still great friends of mine."

Along with so many of his Canadian peers, Abel loved hockey. "When you play hockey," he says, "you quickly learn that you are more successful if you play as a team than as an individual. It's a physical sport and you build strong relationships with your teammates because you have to support one another. I believe sport helped me develop my leadership skills. I had a great deal of respect for my coaches, who served as my mentors. At an early age, I felt an obligation to help our team get better and for me that meant being a leader on the team through working hard."

In high school, Abel decided that he wanted his future career to be in business, but that was a competitive major at the University of Alberta, his target school. To better ensure his acceptance, he studied and took extra credit exams to enhance his overall grades. "I think my father influenced my decision to pursue business," says Abel. "He worked hard but I could tell he enjoyed what he was doing. He actively engaged with people and always had a positive view of life." Abel was also influenced by his mother. "My mom encouraged strong commitment and drive around all of my pursuits," says Abel.

Since boyhood, Abel worked a variety of jobs. He started with delivering advertising flyers to homes, which he supplemented by cleaning discarded bottles and redeeming them for money. He also worked as a laborer for a forest product company. In high school as well as college, he worked for a company where he filled fire extinguishers. It was from this company, Levitt Safety, that he earned a small scholarship to the University of Alberta.

Abel had always taken his studies seriously, but as he completed his first year of college and heard about the Dean's List, his competitive nature told him he should strive to be on the list. He could see that the more he put into his schoolwork, the more he got out of it. "It became a good life lesson for me," he says. "My quest for learning was a good investment in myself, because it helped me to seek more opportunities to learn and contribute to my classes. My college years set me up for a lifetime of learning."