What Is The Motley Fool? Motley Fool was founded in 1993 by brothers David and Tom Gardner. Our name derives from Elizabethan drama, where only the court jester (the "Fool") could tell the King ...

The Motley Fool's name comes from William Shakespeare's play As You Like It. The court jester, known as the Fool, could speak the truth to the king and queen without having his head lopped off.