Dad Made Millions on Wall Street, Then Gave It Up to Become Paramedic

NEED TO KNOW

A millionaire commodities trader left Wall Street to become a rescue medic when he was 41

Thirteen years later, Jonathan Kleisner is one of the top instructors for the Fire Department of New York

"I am a hugely competitive person. I’m pretty good at what I do," Kleisner told The New York Times

In January 2021, Jonathan Kleisner was one of two paramedics who provided care and hospital transport to a patient after a rescue from New York City’s Hudson River .

The emergency response came six years after he’d earned the title of rescue medic for the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) — a seemingly vast career shift from his original role as a commodities trader, according to his LinkedIn page .

Once making millions of dollars a year, the father of two left Wall Street in