From working as a stock boy in his parents’ grocery store to flying hundreds of combat missions in Vietnam, to starting his own investment company, John Calamos knows firsthand that the sky’s the limit when it comes to pursuing the American dream. The entrepreneur is now the founder and global investment officer for Calamos Investments.
Calamos sat with NCTV17 Executive Director Liz Spencer to discuss his career journey and his new biography, “The Sky’s the Limit, Lessons in Service, Entrepreneurship, and Achieving the American Dream.”
An entrepreneurial spirit from an early age
The son of Greek immigrants, John Calamos grew up in Chicago. His parents owned and operated a grocery store, which is where he first experienced the importance of a strong work ethic. It was also where he discovered a box of stock certificates in the basement, igniting his lifelong passion for investing.
The then-teenager went on to study at the University of Chicago and the Illinois Institute of Technology, joining the Air Force ROTC at each school. After graduating, he learned how to fly supersonic jets and was eventually deployed to fight in the Vietnam War, flying hundreds of missions.
When Calamos wasn’t flying, he was studying the stock market. In 1970, he would go on to become a stockbroker.
Aiming high to achieve the American dream
In 1977, he began his own private firm, Calamos Investments, and pioneered the launch of one of the first convertible bonds. Fast forward to 2004, after years of success, Calamos decided to make the company public. The following year, he commissioned an architect to build new headquarters in Naperville on Route 59 near I-88. Just a few years after opening the corporate campus, the Great Recession of 2008 would challenge Calamos and the entire country. Today, his company manages more than $40 billion in global assets.
Calamos hopes he and his book can inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs chasing the American dream.
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